Prayer and Witness – Colossians 1:3-14
There recently in many of my daily devotionals seems to be a common theme. How we live our lives is one of the most important witnesses to the lost we can give. In Colossians, we find them praying for their brother that he may have strength and wisdom. Checkout this verse:
Colossians 1:10 – …And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God… (NIV).
Here they pray that their brother may live a life worthy of the Lord. Not conforming to localised peer pressures, or becoming captive to sin, but living in the light and knowledge of the Lord that he may bear fruit. His actions are a witness to those around him.
How this passage differs from previous sections on “imitating” God and living like him, is the emphasis on prayer. It is a strong reminder that we cant live for him, or live like him without his help! Go it alone and you will fail. However if you have him with you at all times, you will bear fruit.
I am reminded of a verse in Revelation 22:1-3, …Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse…
I can envisage that the crops and trees were growing and bearing fruit as they were feeding from the living water flowing from the throne. We as Christians can bear fruit by drinking the living water, in reading the word, in prayer and in living for him (you cant pick one of them, they are linked).
