Continue!

Continue!

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Colossians 4:2 KJV

There are quite a number of action words in today's extract but we start with clarity on the target of these words. Paul speaks to masters, those who had slaves, charging them to remember that the earthly state is just a preparation for the eternal. I must not be so caught up in temporary power, position and privilege that i forget that I am also a servant to God. No matter how 'high' I raise or how 'low' the work I am called to do is, I am a servant, and there are things expected of servants. A few of these things are the focus of today's extract. 

I am asked to continue. Whatever lies at the end of that continue must have been started, for it it continue. A servant must continually draw strength from the One who has it in abundant supply. You cannot continue something you never started, and you cannot start it if you do not know the value. Prayer is the supply of all that I need for effective service. Labour isn't as important as the heart behind it. If the heart is wrong, men may applaud, but if God does not accept, it has no reward. Have I found the secret to a life of impact, which is prayer? 

Jesus understood this power and used it a lot. All who will get this power must use it a lot. And there is the bit about 'watching'. Can a man pray well and still watch well? Actually, that is the right balance. If God answers the prayers, how would you know if you don't watch? He determines how best to hear the prayers, and if I remain connected to Him, I know what the next step is. If He would have me stay still or move on to something else, the secret is in both praying and watching. I can't be so focused on prayer that I fail to watch. 

And in all, there is the bit about giving thanks. I cannot fathom the depth of the love of God who calls me to himself. He is the ruler of the universe, the Mighty Man of War, yet he seeks me out: mortal and weak man. If that does not make me humble and dependent, then I may be beyond help. And I note all these actions are in the continuous tense, which means that I never stop doing them for as long as I live on this side of eternity. I don't stop depending on God, and death or rapture is just a transfer to eternal life and peace with God. This is the God that Paul introduces here. Have you met Him? Does He supply all that you need, or are there other viable options? Remember, He only sustains that which is entrusted to Him. God's time of favour is here.