“The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ.”—2Thess.iii. 5, R.V.“The Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.”—2Thess.iii. 16.
“The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ.”—2Thess.iii. 5, R.V.
“The Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.”—2Thess.iii. 16.
It is striking to note the number of prayers in these two short Epistles to Thessalonica. They are probably the earliest of the Apostle’s writings, and the frequency of his prayers is a significant testimony to his thought for his converts and their needs.
Hardly less striking is the variety of the prayers, of which we have already had several proofs. There are still two prayers to be considered in the second Epistle, very terse petitions, yet full of suggestiveness and importance. It will be convenient to consider these two together, not only because of theirbrevity, but also because of the spiritual connection between them.
The context of the prayer is noteworthy. The Apostle had been asking for their prayers, more particularly for deliverance from evil men. Then comes the strong assurance that God in His faithfulness would keep them from evil, together with the expression of his own personal confidence concerning them that they would be faithful to his counsels and commands. And then follows the prayer of our text in which he asks that their hearts may be directed to that Divine goal which is, and ever must be, the true home of the soul.
“Your hearts.” Once again does the Apostle lay stress on this central reality of their spiritual and moral being. The heart is the citadel of the life, and the usage of the term in the Word of God must ever be kept clearly before us. It includes, as we have already seen, intellectual, emotional, and volitional elements. There is no such contrastin the New Testament between “the head” and “the heart” as we are now often accustomed to make, for intellect, feelings, and will are all comprised in the Biblical meaning. If, therefore, the heart is right, all else will be right. It was for this reason that Solomon gave the counsel to keep the heart “above all keeping,” since “out of it are the issues of life.”
“Into the love of God.” The phrase seems to suggest the direction of the heart towards a goal—“Intothe love.” This must mean first and foremost the love of God to us, for this is the true goal and home of the soul. Home is at once a protection, a fellowship, and a joy. “There’s no place like home;” and there is no place like the love of God as a home for the soul. In that love we find constant protection, for all the refuge and safety of a true home are experienced there. In that love we find the fullest, truest fellowship, for “truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ”; and we know also “the fellowship of the Holy Ghost.” Not least of all, inthis home of the soul, is perfect and permanent satisfaction. Just as when the door closes upon us and we know that we are within the privacy, comfort, cheer, and fellowship of home, we find blessed restfulness and satisfaction, so when the soul enters the home of God’s love it soon realises the fulness of satisfaction, for it is “satisfied with favour, full with the blessing of the Lord.” Love that is deep, unfathomable, constant, pure, unchanging, Divine, is our everlasting home. It is recorded that Spurgeon once saw a weathercock with the words on it, “God is love.” On remarking to the owner that it was very inappropriate, since God’s love did not change like a weathercock, he received the reply that the real meaning was, “God is love whichever way the wind blows.” This is the experience of the believer. Whatever comes, wherever he is, he knows that “God is love.”
It is possible, perhaps probable, that this phrase, “the love of God,” may also include our love to God. At any rate, in several passages it is almost impossible to make arigid distinction between the two ideas (cf. Rom. v. 5). The one is the source of the other, and “we love Him because He first loved us.” Love from God begets love to God, and when once the soul has entered into God’s love as its goal and home, love at once begins to be the spring, the strength, the sustenance, and the satisfaction of its life.
“Into the patience of Christ.” The Authorised Version has somewhat misread this verse by translating it “into the patient waiting for Christ,” which would need another expression in the Greek. It really refers to active, persistent, steady endurance rather than to patient waiting. It refers to present patience, not to a future prospect. The patience of Christ must mean the active endurance which is like His, the endurance of which He is the pattern. How marvellously He “endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself”! How striking is the statement that “He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem”! Whether in suffering or in service, our Lord “endured as seeingHim who is invisible”; and having endured to the end, He became our Saviour.
But “the patience of Christ” is also the endurance which comes from Him. He is not only our pattern, but also our power, since He enables us to endure with a like endurance to His own. As the Apostle says elsewhere: “I have power for all things in Him who is empowering me.” To have a pattern without the power to realise it, to have our Lord’s example without His efficacy and energy, would be of little practical use except to discourage and to mock us; but He who sets the standard supplies the strength, and our hearts are thus enabled to enter into and abide in the endurance of Christ.
The need of patient endurance is obvious. Those early Christians of Thessalonica were soon put to the test. A few days and their new-born experiences were severely proved. Persecution, ostracism, suffering, and, it may be, death put a real strain upon their Christian profession; yet they endured, and the Apostle’s prayer was answered; for weknow with what joy he received tidings of their endurance and continuance (ch. i. 4). The same endurance is needed to-day, though the circumstances are very different. Sin is still powerful, and trials, suffering, sorrow and death are found on every hand. Many things would tempt us from our allegiance and continuance. Like the Psalmist, we see the wicked prospering, and we are ready to burst out with the faithless cry: “I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.” Or we have been toiling in the vineyard for long without seeing any fruit, and like the prophet, we are tempted to cry: “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought.” Then we hear the voice of the Apostle reminding us of “the love of God” and “the patience of Christ.”
The secret of patience is love. If only we live in the love of God we shall thereby find the grace of patience. The union of love and patience was exemplified in our Lord’s earthly life. He kept His Father’s commandments and abode in His love, and ifonly we will continue in His love we shall thereby be enabled to keep His commandments, and endure as He endured.
“The Lord direct your hearts.” We need direction. Sin has blinded us, and kept us from knowing the way home into the love of God, and into the endurance of Christ. Still more, sin has biassed our hearts, and kept us from going along the way. Thus we need nothing short of a Divine direction. If the Lord does not make straight our way home we never shall arrive there.
How does our Lord direct our hearts? First, by constant and ever-increasing experience of His love. “God is love,” and as it is of the essence of love to communicate itself, God is ever revealing to our hearts and bestowing upon them His own Divine love. Along the straight pathway He guides the soul into deeper and fuller experience of His unchanging, unerring, and unending love.
He also guides by bestowing upon us an ever-fuller experience of the power of Christ.Patient endurance is not learned all at once, and the Lord leads us as we are able to bear His disclosures and His discipline. Every lesson of testing brings with it a fresh experience of grace, and every call to endure carries with it the assurance of sufficient strength and power.
The means used for our direction, as we have already seen, are three in number, but the truth is so important that it needs renewed emphasis. The Lord directs usby His Word. Its examples, its counsels, its promises, its warnings, it anticipations, its incentives all come with force and blessing upon the heart, impelling it to go the right way home. He also directs usby His Holy Spiritdwelling within us. The Divine Spirit possesses and purifies our thoughts, cleanses and clarifies our motives, freshens and fertilises our soul, sanctifies and sensitises our conscience, guides and guards our will; and thus “every virtue we possess, and every victory won, and every thought of holiness” are the work of the Holy Spirit of God in guiding and directing our hearts into thelove of God and into the patience of Christ.
The Lord also guidesby His Providence. He uses the circumstances of our daily life to indicate His will. The discipline, the thousand and one little events and episodes, the ordinary experience of daily duty, the shadows and the sunshine, are all part of His providential guidance as He leads us along the pathway home into the love of God. All things are continually working together for good to them that love God.
Now we pass to consider the second and complementary prayer.
In this concluding prayer of the Epistle the Apostle sums up by speaking of that which is in some respects the greatest gift of God in Christ, the gift of perfect and perpetual peace.
Our first need ispeace of conscience. The burden of sin weighs heavily upon the awakened soul, and the condemnation of the law consciously weighs upon it. As we look back over the past, and realise what it hasbeen, we long for rest in the removal of condemnation and the bestowal of forgiveness. Our hearts cry out for peace with God.
Our second need ispeace of heart. The soul set free from the burden of condemnation and guilt soon finds the need of a new strength, new interests, new hopes. The past has been obliterated by mercy, but the present looms large with difficulty. Temptations to fear and discouragement arise, and the soul longs for peace. Peace with God by reconciliation must therefore be followed by the peace of God through restfulness of heart day by day.
Our third need ispeace of fellowship. The true Christian life is never solitary, but is lived in association with others. Our relationship to Christ necessarily carries with it a relationship to those who are in Christ with us, and as a consequence the peace which is ours in Christ is expressed in peace and fellowship with our fellow-believers. The context of this prayer shows that the Apostle had this aspect of peace in mind, and no true peace can be enjoyed with God that is not shared with our fellow-Christians.Our Lord has broken down the wall of partition between us; He has made us all one in Himself, for He is our peace.
The source of this threefold peace is “The Lord of peace Himself.” By His death He brings us peace of conscience, by His Resurrection life peace of heart, by His Holy Spirit peace of fellowship. “Peace I leave with you” is the legacy of His Death. “My peace I give unto you” is the gift of His Spirit. On the Resurrection evening He came with this twofold peace. First, He said, “Peace be unto you,” and “showed them His hands and His side,” thus assuring them of peace of conscience through His Death. Then He said unto themagain, “Peace be unto you,” and bestowed upon them His Holy Spirit, thus guaranteeing to them peace of heart. His own peace, which had been so marked a feature of His own life and ministry, was now to be theirs. He, the possessor of peace, was now to be the provider of peace to them.
The title, “The Lord of peace,” in this passage is very noteworthy. It is only found here, though the title “God of peace” occurs several times. What are we to understand by it? Surely it is a hint to us that only in His Lordship, acknowledged and experienced by us, can we find peace. In very significant words we read in the prophet of “His government and peace.” First government and then peace, since peace is only possible as a result of government. In like manner we read in the psalm of “righteousness and peace,” for it is only as He is “the Lord our righteousness” that He becomes the Lord our peace. When the government is upon His shoulder, and He is the Lord of our life, the inevitable and blessed result is “peace, perfect peace.”
The continuity of this peace is very noteworthy—“Give you peacealways.” It is a constant peace. It is independent of circumstances, and does not change with changing experiences, since it is independent of our variableness, and depends entirely upon the Lord of peace and His Divine gift.Peace is associated with our permanent relationship to God in Christ, and a relationship of this kind is unalterable by any experiences or circumstances. The Lord gives peace always.
The channels of this peace are also significant—“Peace alwaysby all means.” “In every manner,” by all conceivable channels and methods this peace comes. No circumstance or condition of life can be ours which does not give some opportunity for the bestowal, experience, and enjoyment of peace. Not only does peace come “always,” but “all ways.”
Love, Patience, Peace—how beautiful and suggestive the combination and association! Patience is the fruit of love, and peace is the fruit of patience. When the soul is dwelling in the love of God patience and peace flow naturally into the life, and are as naturally exemplified in it. And so the heart rejoices in the love, reproduces the patience, and reposes in the peace of the Lord of peace, because it is ever at rest in the presence and grace of “the God of love and peace.”
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father.”—Col.i. 9-12.
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father.”—Col.i. 9-12.
The Epistles of the (first) captivity of the Apostle (Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon) represent his maturest experiences. As a consequence the prayers found in them are particularly noteworthy, revealing some of the deepest things of the writer’s spiritual life. In this respect they are at once tests and models for us; and it is perhaps not too much to say that careful and prolongedprayerful meditation on the prayers found in these Epistles will prove one of the most valuable and helpful methods of deepening the spiritual life. The first of these we now consider.
Colosse was one of the Churches which Paul had neither founded nor visited (ch. ii. 1). Christianity was brought there by Epaphras, one of his disciples (ch. i. 7). But the Apostle was as keenly interested in its spiritual welfare as if he had been instrumental in founding it. So when he had heard of their faith and love (ch. i. 4), and the fruitfulness of their life (ch. i. 6), he thanked God on their behalf (ch. i. 3), and prayed this prayer. Deep interest in the spiritual life of others was one of the prominent marks of the Christian character of St. Paul. His was no self-centred life, for he was ever keenly alert to appreciate the marks of grace in others. This is a test, and at the same time a rebuke, for us. How unlike we are to a Christian of the type of Barnabas, of whomwe read: “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad” (Acts xi. 23). This is only possible by having “a heart at leisure from itself”; and when we are thus deeply interested in the marks and manifestations of the Divine working in other people’s lives we shall not only praise God on their behalf, but also, like the Apostle, pray for them; and thus the blessing will extend and deepen.
The main point of his prayer was that they might be “filled with the knowledge of His will.” The will of God known and done is the secret of all true living. It was the key-note of our Lord’s earthly life. He came to do the will of the Father, and in one of the deepest experiences of His life He said: “Not My will, but Thine be done.” He told His disciples that His meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him; and He taught them to pray, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” The will of God is the substance of revelation, for what is the Biblefrom beginning to end but the revelation of God’s will for man? Perhaps the most all-embracing prayer is: “Teach me to do Thy will”; and certainly the ideal life is summed up in the phrase, “He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” Well might the Apostle pray for these Christians of Colosse to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
The word rendered “knowledge” means “mature knowledge,” and is one of the characteristic words of these four Epistles written from Rome. The Apostle evidently regarded mature knowledge, or deep spiritual experience, as the pre-eminent mark of a ripening Christian. In this respect St. John bears the same testimony, in his reference to the three stages of the Christian life represented by “little children,” “young men,” and “fathers.” The little childrenhave; the young menare; the fathersknow(1 John ii. 12-14). This spiritual knowledge or experience is the great safeguard against error, in that it gives power to distinguish between good and evil, between truth and falsehood.
The measure of this knowledge is to be carefully noted—“filled withthe knowledge of His will.” The word also implies a fulness which is realised continually—not a bare knowledge, but its completeness; not an intermittent stream, but a perpetual flow. When the soul experiences this it is provided not only with the greatest safeguard against danger, but also with the secret of a strong, growing, powerful Christian life.
The characteristics of this knowledge should be observed: “In all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” “Wisdom” is a general term which implies the capacity and faculty for adapting the best means to bring about the best ends in things spiritual. “Spiritual understanding” is the specific coming or putting together of principles by means of which true action is taken. It really means “putting two and two together,” comparing ideas and principles, for the purpose of adopting the best in any given course of action. Of the importance and necessity of wisdom and spiritual understanding scarcely anything need be said. Christian wisdom,Christian understanding, Christian perception in the thousand and one things of life—this surely is one of our greatest necessities and choicest blessings. How many errors would be avoided, how many wanderings checked, by means of this spiritual wisdom! Still more, how much joy would be experienced and how much genuine service rendered, if we were always saying and doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way.
“Filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” This means for its complete realisation constant touch with that Book which presents the clearly expressed will of God. The will of God is in that Word, and when the Word is illuminated by the Spirit of God we come to know His will concerning us. No one will ever have the full knowledge of that will, no one can possibly be mature in experience, if the Word of God is not his daily, definite, direct study and meditation. It purifies the perception of the faculties by its cleansing power; it illuminates the moralfaculties with its enlightening power; it controls the emotional faculties with its protective power; it energises the volitional faculties with its stimulating power; and thus in the constant, continuous use of the Word of God in personal practice, with meditation and prayer, we shall become “filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
Knowledge is not an end in itself, but the means to an end; and so the Apostle states the purpose for which he asks this knowledge of God’s will: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all-pleasing ... fruitful ... increasing ... strengthened ... giving thanks.”
Their life is to be influenced by this knowledge—“walk worthy of the Lord.” Knowledge is to be translated into practice. “Walking” is the characteristic Bible word descriptive of the character of the Christian life, the full expression of all our powers. As it presupposes life, so it means energy, movement,progress; and for this, knowledge is essential. How can we walk unless we know why and whither we go? The knowledge of God’s will gives point and purpose to the activities of life.
“Walk worthy of the Lord.” What a profound and searching thought is here—“Worthy of the Lord.” Surely this is impossible; yet these are the plain words of the inspired writer. To walk worthy of the Lord—it is almost incredible, and yet this is one of the possibilities and glories of grace. The Apostle is fond of the word “worthy.” We are to walk worthy of our vocation (Eph. iv. 1), worthy of the Gospel (Phil. i. 27), worthy of the saints (Rom. xvi. 2), worthy of God (1 Thess. ii. 12). We may be perfectly sure that Paul would not put such an ideal before us if it could not be realised. God’s commands always imply promises.
“Unto all pleasing.” Bishop Moule beautifully renders this phrase: “Unto every anticipation of His will” (Colossian Studies). “Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth Thee” (P. B. version). What aglorious ideal! We are so to walk as to please Him in everything. Not only doing what we are told, but anticipating His commands by living in such close touch with Him that we instinctively know the thing that will please Him. These words sound a depth of the spiritual life with which comparatively few are familiar; and yet here they are, facing us definitely, with their call to realise that which God has placed before us.
The specific details of this worthy walk are next brought before us in four pregnant phrases:
“Being fruitful in every good work.” Notice every word of this sentence. Our life is to be characterised by good works, and in each and every one of these we are to be fruitful, manifesting the ripeness, and, if it may be so put, the beauty and lusciousness associated with fruit. Mark, too, that it is “fruitfulinevery good work,” that is, in the process of doing the work, and not merely as the result or outcome of it. The very work itself is intended to be fruitful apart from particular results. There may be very fewresults of our service for God, but the service itself may and should be fruitful.
“Increasing in the knowledge of God.” Notice the difference between the knowledge of His will and the knowledge of Himself. “That I may knowHim” (Phil. iii. 10); “They might knowThee” (John xvii. 3); “Ye have knownHim” (1 John ii. 13). The knowledge of His will will lead us to the knowledge of Himself, and beyond this it is impossible to go.
“Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” The Apostle’s thought pours itself out in rich abundance in these words. It seems as though he could not adequately express the possibilities and characteristics of the Christian life about which he prays. They are to be “strengthened,” and not only so, but “with all might.” The principle or standard of it is “according to His glorious power,” and the end of it is “unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” The man of the world might see in this phrasean anticlimax, when it is said that the end of strength is patience and longsuffering; and yet Christianity finds its ideal in energy expressed in character, activity manifesting itself in passivity, and might in meekness.
Notice, too, the suggestive addition, “with joyfulness.” Patience and longsuffering without joy are apt to be cold, chilly, unattractive. There is a stern, stoical endurance of suffering which, while it may be admired sometimes, tends to repel. But when patience and longsuffering are permeated and suffused with joyfulness, the very life of Christ is lived over again in His followers. Resignation to the will of God is only very partially a Christian virtue; but when we take joyfully the things that come upon us we are indeed manifesting the very life of God Himself.
“Giving thanks unto the Father.” This is the crowning grace for which the Apostle prays—thankfulness. How much it means. The heart full of gratitude and gladness, the life full of brightness and buoyancy, the character full of vitality and vigour. The joyof the Lord is, indeed, the strength of His people, and when this element of thanksgiving characterises our life, it gives tone to everything else, and crowns all other graces.
We have seen what the Apostle desired for the Christians of Colosse, and in so doing we have learnt some of the deepest secrets of Christian living. It remains to notice the characteristics of this prayer, in order that our prayers may be taught and guided and inspired with power.
His prayer wasurgent—“Since the day we heard.” From the moment the tidings came by Epaphras of the Christian life in Colosse the Apostle’s heart went up to God in prayer.
His prayer wasincessant—“Do not cease to pray.” Again and again he asked, and kept on asking, so fully was his heart drawn out in prayer for these Christians whom he had never seen.
His prayer wasintense—“And to desire.” This was no mere lip service. His heart hadevidently been stirred to its core by the tidings of the Christian life at Colosse, and as he heard of their faith, their love, their hope, their holiness, their service, a deep, intense, longing desire came into his soul to seek for still fuller and deeper blessing on their behalf. What a man he was, and what prayers his were!
His prayer wasoffered in fellowship with others—“Since the day we heard.” Timothy was associated with the Apostle in these petitions. United prayer is one of the greatest powers in the Christian Church. “If two of you shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done.” Personal prayer is precious, united prayer is still more powerful.
Thus in these verses we have one of the fullest, deepest and most precious of the Apostle’s prayers, and as we consider its union of thought and experience, of profound teaching and equally profound revelation of Christian life, we learn two of the most urgent and necessary lessons for the Christian life to-day.
The first of these shall be given in the words of Bishop Moule: “Beware of untheological devotion.” If devotion is to be real it should be characterised bythought. There is no contradiction between mind and heart, between theology and devotion. Devotional hours do not mean hours when thought is absent. Meditation is not abstraction, nor is devotion dreaminess. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thymind” is an essential part of the commandment. If genuine thought and equally genuine theology do not characterise our hours of devotion, we lose some of the most precious opportunities of grace and blessing. A piety which is mere pietism, an evangelicalism which does not continually ponder the profound truths of the New Testament, can never be strong or do any deep service. We must beware of “untheological devotion.”
We must also beware of “undevotional theology.” This is the opposite error, and constitutes an equally great danger. A hard, dry, intellectual study of theology will yield no spiritual fruit. Accuracy in knowledgeof Greek, careful balancing of aspects of truth, large knowledge of the doctrinal verities of the New Testament, are all essential and valuable; but unless they are permeated by a spirit of devotion they will fail at the crucial point.Pectus facit theologum—it is the heart that makes the theologian; and a theology which does not spring from spiritual experience is doomed to decay, to deadness, and therefore to disaster.
When, therefore, our devotions are theological, and our theology is devotional, we begin to realise the true being, blessing, and power of the Christian life, and we go from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory unto glory.
“For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”—Col.ii. 1, 2.
“For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”—Col.ii. 1, 2.
Although he was in prison the Apostle was constantly at work for his Master, and not least of all at the work of prayer. If ever the wordsorare est laborare, “to pray is to labour,” were true, they were true of St. Paul, for to him to pray was to work with all his might, as we shall see from a study of another of the prayers offered in his Roman prison.
Prayer is described as aconflict. We have a similar expression used of the prayers ofEpaphras, in the words “labouring fervently” (Col. iv. 12). The same word “conflict” is associated with faith, “the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. vi. 12), and with the “good fight” of the Apostle’s entire life (2 Tim. iv. 7). Prayer regarded as a conflict includes the two ideas of toil and strife.
The toil of prayer shows us the work involved in it. Sometimes we hear the expression, “If you can do nothing else, you can pray,” as though prayer were the easiest of all things. As a simple fact, it is the hardest. No man knows what prayer means unless he knows what it is to “labour” in prayer. The strife involved in prayer implies opposition—the opposing force of one who wishes above all things to check and thwart our prayers. We discern something of this opposition in the well-known words, “We wrestle” (Eph. vi. 12); and the words of the hymn are as true as they are familiar—
“And Satan trembles when he seesThe weakest saint upon his knees.”
The Apostle knew by spiritual experiencethat to pray was to rouse up against himself a mighty opposition, and it was this force that made his prayer such a “great conflict.” No believer should be surprised at his prayers “being hindered” (1 Pet. iii. 7). It is evidently one of Satan’s main objects to get the Christian to restrain prayer. The Christian man or the Christian Church that continues instant in prayer may rest assured of malignant opposition from the hosts of spiritual wickedness in high places. On the other hand, we may be sure that Satan scarcely troubles himself about the believer or congregation whose private, family, and public praying is neglected or thought little of. Prayer is, therefore, a “great conflict.” It is not solicitude only, but a struggle; not merely anxiety, but activity. As Bishop Moule says: “Prayer is never meant to beindolentlyeasy, however simple and reliant it may be. It is meant to be an infinitely important transaction between man and God. And therefore very often, when subjects and circumstances call for it, it has to be viewed as a work involvinglabour, persistency, conflict, if it would be prayer indeed” (Colossian Studies, p. 124). The Bishop goes on to quote a familiar incident which illustrates this great truth: “A visitor knocked betimes one morning at the door of a good man, a saint of the noblest Puritan type—and that was a fine type indeed. He called as a friend to consult a friend, sure of his welcome. But he was kept waiting long. At last a servant came to explain the delay: ‘My master has been at prayer, and this morning he has been long in getting access.’”
The practical question for us is whether this is our idea of prayer, or whether we are merely playing at prayer, and not regarding it with true seriousness. If we know what it is to have “great conflict” in prayer, happy are we. If we do not, we may well ask God to search our hearts and change our minds about prayer.
Prayer is characterised byunselfishness. The conflict of the Apostle was not self-centred. It was on behalf of others: “Great conflict I have for you, and for them atLaodicea.” This is the essence of prayer—intercession on behalf of others. If our seasons of prayer are largely taken up with prayers for our own needs, however genuine, we are failing at a crucial point; but if our time is mainly taken up with prayers for others, we shall soon find that our own blessings begin to abound. “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth.”
Prayer also impliessympathy. The Apostle was praying for people whom he had never seen, and probably never would see. This is not easy—indeed, is very difficult—but it is a real test of spirituality. “Out of sight, out of mind.” We are tempted to limit our prayers to friends whom we know, causes in which we are interested, subjects spiritually near and akin to us. Not so the Apostle, whose heart went out to the whole Church of God in every place where he knew through friends that little bodies of Christians were to be found. His sympathy was at once quick, wide, and deep, and it is one of the supreme tests of true spirituality to have a sympathy possessed of all these three characteristics.Our sympathy may be quick and yet narrow, or wide but not deep, or even deep and not wide; but to be at once quick, wide, and deep in sympathy is to be a true follower of Christ.
As we ponder these things—conflict, unselfishness, sympathy—do not our hearts condemn us? Instead of conflict, how easy-going have been our prayers! Instead of unselfish, how self-centred, instead of sympathetic, how contracted! Thus the Apostle searches and tests us as we dwell on his wonderful life of prayer.
What were the objects for which the Apostle prayed so earnestly on behalf of these unknown Christians? What were the precise gifts that he sought for them from God? This is no unnecessary question, for the same gifts will surely be suitable to us.
He asked for spiritualstrength: “That their hearts might be comforted.” St. Paul always went to the very centre and core of things, and so we find him constantlypraying with reference to the “hearts” of these Colossian Christians. Since, as we have seen, the “heart” in Scripture is the centre of our moral and spiritual being, if the heart is right, all will be right, for “out of it are the issues of life.” He prays that their “hearts” might be comforted—that is, in the full sense of the word, encouraged, exhorted, strengthened. “Comfort” includes the three elements of strength, courage, and consolation. We must be strong, brave, and cheery. This is the full meaning of the term “Comforter” as applied to the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who gives strength, courage, and consolation. This, too, is the true meaning of the familiar phrase of the English Prayer Book, “Comfortable words”—words that minister strength, fortitude, and cheer. The fact that this thought of “hearts comforted” was often in the mind and on the lips of the Apostle shows the importance he attached to it (2 Thess. ii. 17; Eph. vi. 22). With hearts made strong, courageous, and cheerful, Christians can face anything; while with hearts that remain weak, fearful,and sad the Christian life is a prey to all the temptations of the Evil One. It is exactly similar with a Church or a congregation of Christians, for one of the supreme needs in any community is comforted hearts—the centres of life made strong, courageous, and happy. Then it is that Churches live, grow, extend, and witness for Christ in the demonstration of the Holy Spirit the “Comforter.”
He asked for spiritualunity: “Being knit together in love,” or, quite literally, “having been compacted in love.” He prayed that these Christians might be kept together, knit together, joined together in a spirit of love. Solitary Christians are always weak Christians, for “union is strength.” If Christians are not knit together, the cause of Christ must necessarily suffer, for through the severances caused by division the enemy will keep thrusting his darts. That is why the Apostle elsewhere urges them “earnestly to strive to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. iv. 3). One of the greatest powers that Satan wields to-day is due to the disunionamong the people of God. It is true of the Christian home, congregation, and denomination. The wedge of discord is one of the enemy’s most powerful weapons. On the other hand, where the brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands His blessing. In almost every Epistle the Apostle emphasises unity, and we can readily understand the reason.
This unity is only possible “in love.” It is the love of Godtous that unites us to Him, and it will be the love of Godinus that unites us to our brethren. There is no power like love to bind Christians together. We may not see eye to eye on all aspects of truth; we may not all use the same methods of worship and service, but if we love one another God dwells in us and among us, and adds His own seal of blessing to the work done for Him. Let every Christian be fully assured that in so far as he is striving, praying, and labouring for the union of God’s people in love, he will be doing one of the most powerful and blessed pieces of work for his Master, and one of the greatest possiblepieces of disservice to the kingdom of Satan. Contrariwise, the Christian man or Christian Church that stands out for separateness and exclusiveness is one of the best allies of Satan, and one of the most effective workers for the kingdom of darkness.
He asked for spiritualcertitude: “Unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding.” Wealth is a favourite metaphor of St. Paul, and is used to denote the fulness and abundance of the Christian life as conceived by him. Mark how he piles phrase upon phrase—“understanding,” “fulness of understanding,” and then “wealth of fulness of understanding.” To the Apostle, the mind was one of the essential powers and principles of the Christian life. So far from thinking according to a modern fashion that the less one uses the mind the better Christian one is, St. Paul, following his Master, ever emphasised the duty and glory of loving God “with all the mind.” This wealth of the fulness of “understanding” means an abundance of conviction, both intellectual and moral, that Christianity is what it claims tobe, and that the Christian life is the perfect satisfaction of all the different parts of man’s nature. He prays that they may “rise to the whole wealth of the full exercise of their intelligence” (Moule). Just as we find elsewhere “the fulness of faith” (Heb. x. 22), “the fulness of hope” (Heb. vi. 11), and “much fulness” (1 Thess. i. 5), so here the Apostle desires them to enjoy to the full the intelligent grasping of assurance of Christian truth which was theirs in Christ.
In the same spirit Luke writes to Theophilus: “That thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed.” A firm conviction of the understanding is one of the greatest needs, as it is also one of the greatest blessings, of the Christian life. If a Christian cannot say, “I know,” “I am persuaded,” he is lacking in one of the prime essentials of a vigorous experience. Let us ponder, then, this remarkable phrase, “the whole wealth of the fulness of intelligence,” and see in it one of the absolute necessities of daily experience.
But how does it come? It is the resultof the foregoing “comfort” and “love.” Hearts made strong mean minds fully assured. Hearts full of love mean intellects full of knowledge and conviction. Let no one say that love is blind: on the contrary, it is love that sees and knows. It was the Apostle of love who was the first with spiritual insight to say, “It is the Lord,” on that memorable early morning on the Lake of Galilee. It is the Christian with a heart strong and full of love who will have the “wealth of the fulness of intelligence.” The same is true of a Church, for when it is strong and united in love, there will come such an influx of conviction and certitude that the world will be impressed by the demonstration of the truth of the Christian Gospel.
He asked for spiritualknowledge: “To the full knowledge of the mystery of God and the Father, even Christ” (not as A.V.). Here, again, we have a favourite word of these Epistles, “full knowledge,” that is, ripe, mature experience; and it means the experience of all that is summed up in the one word “Christ.” In view of thedangerous errors, then rife and increasing, of a special knowledge confined only to a few, to an intellectual aristocracy, the Apostle lays stress upon the possibility of every Christian becoming acquainted in personal experience with all the knowledge of God that is stored up in Christ. He declares Christ as the Image of God (ch. i. 15), as the Head of the Church (ch. i. 18), as the One in Whom all fulness dwells (ch. i. 19), as the Redeemer from sin (ch. i. 20), as the Hope of glory (ch. i. 27), as the One in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (ch. ii. 3). There is no mistiness here, no vagueness, no hesitation, no limitation, but a full, free, open opportunity for all believers to become acquainted with Christ in His Divine fulness. This is the crowning-point of the Apostle’s prayer, for in the full knowledge of Christ everything else is included. This knowledge, at once intellectual, moral, and spiritual, is the safeguard from all error, the secret of all progress, and the guarantee of all blessing.
Let this prayer, then, be our constant andcareful study. We shall find in it much to rebuke the shallowness, the selfishness, the dulness, and the sluggishness of our prayers; and we shall also find in it a model of instruction, and the inspiration of all true petition and intercession. The Christian who learns from the prayers of the Apostle will learn some of the deepest secrets of the Christian life.