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Jonathan Griffiths: The expectation of the Bible, the expectation of Paul the Apostle, of the Lord himself, is that you and I should be a praying people. So let me ask, how is your prayer life at the moment? What place does prayer have in your daily routine, in your walk with the Savior, in your Christian life?

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I’m Steve Hiller, glad you're with us as we begin today taking a look at the topic of prayer. And Jonathan, I don't know any Christian who would say my prayer life is everything I want it to be. In fact, a lot of us would say it's pretty dismal if we were to be honest.

And we may have the temptation to turn the radio off because we feel like, "Okay, I'm going to get a little beat up spiritually here because my prayer life isn't what I know it should be." Why would you encourage people to continue listening today if they are struggling in their prayer life?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, please keep listening. There's no judgment here on that question. I think all of us find that question a little bit embarrassing. How is your prayer life? If someone asks that, we squirm a little bit because we all know it is not what it could be. At least most of us feel that way. I certainly do. And we need encouragement to pray.

Praying does not come naturally to us in our fallen state. Expressing dependency upon an unseen God is a tough thing for us to do as human beings who love to assert our independence. But God calls us to pray, and the Bible teaches us to pray.

And in this particular passage, we have a great encouragement to continue steadfastly in prayer. I trust it will be an encouragement to you as you hear this spurring on from the Word of God to persevere in prayer. We need that, each one of us.

Steve Hiller: Well, let's get right to it then. Join us in Colossians chapter four as we begin a message called "Walking Prayerfully and Wisely." Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: A kind of hinge for this whole section really is verse 17 of chapter three. We've given a fair bit of attention to that verse actually in our series and in recent messages. I want to highlight it again as we begin. Chapter three and verse 17, Paul exhorts us, and he says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Paul wants the believers at Colossae, and he wants you and he wants me to be able to say of all the things we do, all the activities in life, and all the words we say, that we are doing them in the name of Jesus. That is, as his faithful representatives, doing his bidding, doing his will.

And if you remember from previous messages and from last time, Paul took that principle and he applied it to the home and he applied it to the workplace. He showed us what it meant to serve our spouse and our children, our parents, our employers, our employees, all in Jesus' name. How to interact in those relationships as true, authentic representatives of Jesus Christ.

Now Paul's concern in these verses remains just the same, but his focus broadens out to include practical living in three areas of focus: our praying, our walking, and our speaking. And that's what I want to look at, each of those in turn. First, our praying. Verse two: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us."

You know, there's an assumption built into those words. You may have noticed it as we read them. The assumption is this: it is that the Christians at Colossae are already a praying people. They are already a people who are committed to prayer. And I think it's a fair assumption. It's a reasonable assumption, isn't it, of the Christian believer?

As believers, we have entered into relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. We hear him speak to us through his living word, and we respond to him. How we respond to him relationally in prayer. We have that privilege, don't we, of access to the very throne room of heaven? Jesus is our great High Priest. He is our advocate. He is our intercessor. And so we pray, and so we are a praying people.

We begin the Christian life with prayer. That's where it begins: crying out to God for forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus. And the Christian life, it continues from that foundation of a cry, of a prayer. And by the way, that is the starting point of everything that we're talking about, everything we're about here this morning.

A relationship with Jesus Christ begins at the cross. It starts with a simple prayer asking for the forgiveness which he is only too ready to give. And if you haven't made that start, let me say right at the outset, we'd love to help you make that start. It's where everything begins. That's the foundation.

But the truth is, and many of us will be all too aware of it as we consider these things, the truth is that for many of us, prayer plays a very small part in our lives. We cry out in prayer in times of distress. We utter a quick prayer, perhaps before a meal or something like that. But to hear the call to continue in prayer, to persevere in prayer, we hear that, and we think to ourselves, if I'm being honest, the assumption of the Apostle Paul behind that call, in the case of my life, it is a fairly charitable assumption.

And I don't know, maybe even that, just that, is a little bit of a wake-up call for you, a wake-up call for us collectively. The expectation of the Bible, the expectation of Paul the Apostle here, of the Lord himself, is that you and I should be a praying people. So let me ask politely, I hope, as politely as I know how: how is your prayer life going at the moment? How is it? What place does prayer have in your daily routine, in your walk with the Savior, in your Christian life?

"Continue in prayer," says Paul. But he says more than that, doesn't he? Of course, there's lots more here. He calls us, notice, to continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it. Persevere in prayer. That's the force of this. And I think within this, we see Paul's realism. He's very, very realistic. He knows, just as you and I will know if we've been Christians any length of time, that prayer is a discipline.

That prayer, it just doesn't come all that naturally to any of us. Prayer requires the Spirit's help and the believer's self-discipline in concert. You don't need to call someone to continue steadfastly in something that's easy, that comes easy. Continue steadfastly in lying on the beach. I don't need to be told that. Continue steadfastly in eating your way through that tub of ice cream. I don't need to be told that. Or working through a TV series that you love. No, I don't need that encouragement.

No, the call acknowledges, the call implies that this is something that takes intentionality, that takes planning, that takes effort and the strength, ultimately, that only God can supply by his Spirit. Prayer is the greatest privilege in the Christian life. It's a great privilege, but it is also one of our greatest challenges, is it not?

The world, the flesh, and the devil will conspire together to stop you and to stop me from praying, to divert us to anything else. And I think we know this from experience, don't we? The challenge of setting apart time in a busy day. In the sleepy moments of the morning, I don't know about you, if you're a morning person, I am not. Pre-morning cup of coffee, you don't really want to encounter me, and I'm not good for anything.

In the exhausted moments at the end of the day. In the busy hours in between, you sit down and read your Bible and you try to pray, but as you're doing that, the phone rings. The little alert, those annoying little alerts on the phone, it buzzes. The kids need something. You remember, "Oh, a bill needs paying this morning." The work task that just can't wait. The garbage needs to go out. And to guard that moment, to really guard it, to quieten your spirit, to actually pray. What a challenge that is. Huge challenge, isn't it?

We want to set apart time, don't we, to pray with other believers? Great opportunity tonight, everyone. Great opportunity. But the challenge of getting to that small group time, of getting to the church prayer gathering when it's a nice sunny day and there are other things to do. Of making time to pray, of actually being there.

And then once we're there at the prayer time, what a challenge it is actually then to pray. We chat, catch up over coffee, we have a Bible discussion time, we share prayer requests, but the time actually remaining to pray, it soon gets really squeezed out, doesn't it? What does it mean? What does it look like to continue steadfastly in prayer? How do we do this practically?

Now different things work for different people, of course, and we all need to find our own rhythm within these things. But one thing I have learned and observed, one thing I think that is true of all of us, is that we don't just fall into, stumble into, the habit of praying. If we ignore the need to pray, if we just set that aside and don't bother with it, we won't just find ourselves naturally and spontaneously developing this vibrant prayer life all out of nothing.

I have never once seen that happen. Never. No, we need to devote ourselves to prayer. There needs to be a concerted steadfastness to all this. And it takes planning. It takes, I think, it takes some measure of strategy, actually. I'll tell you from my own experience. If I intend to pray for something or someone, some matter, some ministry initiative, some concern, I intend to pray in general terms for that person or that need.

But then if I then fail to plan out how I am going to pray for that person or that need, I will probably fail to pray. But if I have a plan for praying for that person or that need, a list of people or concerns for the day, I'm much more likely to pray as I intended. A person who actually gets onto my prayer list is likely to get prayed for, and a person who doesn't get onto the list, I'm afraid they likely won't get prayed for.

If I put it in my calendar to have a prayer time, a prayer time with our staff, we have that every Thursday. Or with our elders, like we did on Wednesday. Or with the whole church family, as we are this evening, I'll be there, God willing, and I'll pray. We'll pray. But if it is not planned, if it isn't in the calendar, it's very unlikely that it's spontaneously going to happen. Friends, let me just encourage you: plan to pray. Plan your praying.

Let me encourage you: a simple thing. Have a prayer list for your personal prayers. I have a simple thing myself. I had to update it this week. I realized it was out of date. Needed some names added and some changes made. But I have a simple thing. I'll tell you. I have a simple thing where I have certain people and priorities that I try and pray for daily as best I can. And then I have some that are assigned different days in the week.

Some that are just Monday, some that are just Tuesday, some that are Wednesday. Some on a daily pattern, some on a weekly. It's so simple. But I have that thing stored on my computer so I can update it, and I print out a copy and I put it in my Bible. But there are people and priorities who simply would not be prayed for were it not for my list tucked into my Bible.

Other modern people, technological people, I've met people like that. They use something called an app for this. There are prayer apps out there. That's fine. Here's the problem with it. It's fine as long as you stay on that prayer app while you're praying and don't drift onto Facebook or Instagram or whatever while you're trying to pray. Less of a temptation I find with a piece of paper as your prayer app.

But anyway, whatever you do, however you structure it, do you have something like that? Do you have a system? Do you have a plan? If not, let me commend it to you. I think I can guarantee you will notice a difference in your praying if you have a system.

And what about calendar planning? What about the time in the day that will be blocked off, set aside? What about the time of prayer with family, with your small group, with the church prayer gathering? Are those things blocked off? Are they guarded in some way? I can guarantee you this: they won't happen if they are not planned, if they're not guarded, if they're not protected.

"Continue steadfastly in prayer," says Paul. And he continues: "being watchful in it." Now, I think we can hardly read those words and fail to think of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Garden of Gethsemane. I wouldn't mind turning there just for a moment, just to consider this idea of watchfulness in prayer. This is Matthew 26 and verse 36.

You recall the narrative, the events just leading up to the cross. In Matthew 26, verse 36, then Jesus went with them, that is with the disciples, to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me." And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So you could not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

What does it mean to be watchful in prayer? What does it mean to be keeping watch, as Paul calls us to do? I think the events of Matthew 26 are pretty instructive for us. Jesus is heading into the greatest spiritual battle in the history of the universe. He's going to pray in the garden ahead of his crucifixion. It's a time of tremendous testing for the Savior. Horrendous suffering awaits him. The salvation of sinners is at stake. The redemptive plan of God hangs in the balance.

And as Jesus approaches all this, he asks his friends, "Would you keep watch with me and pray?" As he goes to pray, he says to Peter, "Keep watch with me. Join me in this crucial hour. Join me in prayer." And pray not only for me, but for yourself. Notice what he says: "Watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation."

What does it mean to be watchful in prayer? I take it that the thought here is the thought of a battle. Soldiers keeping watch through the night, being alert, being on guard, being at the ready. This is a warlike footing for the soldier of Jesus Christ.

And here is the reality: you and I, we are in the midst of a huge spiritual battle. That's true all the time in this age, in this era. The evil one seeks to undermine the work of God and destroy the people of God. He is the tempter. He is the accuser of the brethren. He is the arch-enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are subject to trial and temptation. The work of God is subject to frustration. The danger is real. The threats are constant. We are not without help, though, and we are not without protection. But here's the thing: we need to be watchful in prayer. We need to be alert to the dangers before us and before the people of God. And our posture in prayer needs to be one of attentiveness, continual watchfulness for ourselves and for others.

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it." But there's something else in this instruction. Every word counts. Did you notice it? "With thanksgiving." With thanksgiving. We've got to be watchful. The battle is on. The stakes are high. But fear, ultimately, is not the thing that is driving us. Fear is not the engine here.

No, the engine is actually thanksgiving. And here's why: the battle has been won. Salvation has been achieved. Pardon has been purchased. The blood of Christ has been shed for me and for you. The doors of heaven have been opened to us. The future has been secured for us. I have been ransomed, redeemed, restored, and forgiven. And so everything, all that I bring to God in prayer, it is driven, it is shaped by thanksgiving. True thanksgiving, surrounded with thanksgiving.

But you know how slow we are to give thanks? Isn't that the truth? How easily we forget the benefits and the blessings of God and instead come to him only with concern or, worse, complaint. You may remember how in Luke 17, we don't need to turn there, I don't think, but Jesus was met by 10 lepers as he entered a village. They cried out to him and he sent them to the priests, and as they went, they were healed. Lives transformed, bodies restored, hope given, all at the word of Jesus.

And then we read this: Luke 17 and verse 15, then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Where are the nine? Ten cleansed, only one returns to give thanks.

Thanksgiving does not come naturally to you, and it does not come naturally to me. We easily actually tend to feel hard-done-by, under-appreciated, and worse. And that's not to diminish, of course, the trials and the griefs and the difficulties we face. Those things are all too real. But the truth is, if we belong to Jesus Christ, we have been healed of the deadly disease of sin. Our life has been redeemed. We've been forgiven. We've been cleansed, not through our own deserving, but through the merciful and gracious work of Jesus.

And so our prayers, all of them, no matter how urgent or tear-soaked they may be, they come to the Father through Jesus Christ by the Spirit with thanksgiving. Before we leave prayer, Paul has a specific request, and we need to just register this. He wants us to pray for him and for Timothy, who's the co-writer of the letter. For him and Timothy as gospel ministers, as preachers of the word. He wants us to pray specifically and specially for the work of the gospel.

Notice this with me, verse three: "Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." Paul has no embarrassment about asking for prayer for himself and for other gospel ministers as they minister the word.

And Paul does so not because he's selfish, because he's self-obsessed, but because he knows he needs prayer. And he knows that the true people of God will care deeply and passionately about the work of the gospel, about the gospel getting out. And at the end of the day, I think it is a mark of spiritual health, isn't it? That we care about the work of the gospel and that we pray for the work of the gospel and pray specially for gospel workers.

It's a sign that we prioritize ministry as being vitally important. That we care about the spread of the gospel. That we recognize that gospel ministry rests not on the powers of gifted people. See, if we weren't prayerful about it, we'd think, "Well, it's just the people doing it." No, but on the strength and the opportunities that only God can supply.

And you know, from time to time, actually pretty frequently, folk here in the church family come up to me or drop me a note in the week just saying, "I'm praying for you." Sometimes a member of the church family will just quietly reassure me, "I'm praying for you." Someone will say, "I'm praying for you every day."

And each time I hear that, I'm genuinely moved by that. It's not water off a duck's back to me. "He hears that all the time, it doesn't mean anything." No, no, no. I'm moved by that because I know the commitment that's involved in that, and I know how much I need those prayers.

Our pastors, our lay elders, our missionaries, our key leaders in ministries who teach the word here at the church, we are feeble and frail people. And we are only able, only able to serve and endure as God provides the strength and the opportunity. Pray for us. Please pray for us. Please keep praying for us. Thank you for praying for us.

And notice the priorities in prayer for gospel ministers: verse three. It is that God will open the doors of opportunity. That there will be people willing to hear, prompted by the Spirit of God to hear the word and receive it. If God doesn't open the door for opportunity, we can do absolutely nothing.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths with a message called "Walking Prayerfully and Wisely." We do have to pause here, but we'll get back to the message next time. If you ever miss a program, come and listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org.

Well, Encounter the Truth is listener-supported. That's exactly what it sounds like. We're able to be on this station because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount, we want to say thank you by sending you a book called "The Final Lap." It's all about navigating the transitions of later life. And Jonathan, who do you think is really going to benefit from reading this book?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, this book is helping us to think biblically about a number of key transitions in later life. So it helps us think through how to move as believers from the world of work to the world of retirement, then from the time of independence to the time of dependency, and then ultimately from life to death as we approach the finishing line.

And for anyone who is in the midst of any of those transitions in those later stages, those later decades of life, I think this book will be pure gold. There aren't many books, actually, in the Christian marketplace that help us think biblically about these seasons of life. But we need to be ready for them, and we need to think about them, and we need help to navigate them well.

But there will be others who are supporting parents and grandparents, who are perhaps caregivers, who need to have a biblical framework and some real encouragement as well for thinking through these things properly and from a biblical perspective.

And John is a trusted teacher, a Christian ethicist, a medical doctor as well, and his wisdom is tremendously helpful. I know many have benefited from his teaching over the years. And I'm just thrilled that this book is available and that we are able to make it available to listeners here on Encounter the Truth.

Steve Hiller: Well, the book is called "The Final Lap," written by John Wyatt, our thank-you gift to you as you financially support Encounter the Truth with a gift of any amount this month. You can give online at encounterthetruth.org or when you call 1-833-99-TRUTH. That's 1-833-998-7884 or encounterthetruth.org.

You can also write to us at Encounter the Truth, PO Box 5513, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M1. Or in the US, at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, Suite 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004. For Jonathan Griffiths and our producer Mark Breatht, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time.