📊 Colossians 1:9 | Let's Pray

together with

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Who are you praying for this week?

If you missed yesterday’s email, you can read it here. 

In today’s email…

• 📖 The big-picture theme of Colossians (macro)

• 🧩 How Colossians 1:9 functions as the hinge of chapter 1 (micro)

• 🙏 A story about stopping everything to say, “Let’s pray.”

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ______ __ ____ for you,

asking that you may be _____ ___ ___ ________ of his will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:9

TOGETHER WITH VOICE OF THE MARTYRS

"They said that when we were praising God, we clapped too much and we sang too loud."

When Pastor Victor refused to load his church's drums into the police vehicle, he was thrown into a cell for three days.

His crime? Worshiping Jesus in a nation where voodooists demand silence from Christians.

Like Paul writing Colossians 1:9 from his Roman prison, Victor discovered God's purpose in persecution: "The Holy Spirit told me it is for the gospel to spread."

What happened next shocked even the police chief who arrested him.

From a jail cell in Benin, Africa, to miraculous vindication that brought voodoo leaders to their knees asking for prayer — this is a story of faith that conquered darkness itself.

Read Victor's testimony, discover how his refusal to be silenced ignited a spiritual revolution that transformed an entire city — and learn how your prayers are changing lives across hostile nations.

CONTEXT 📕 

Colossians is not a long book. Just four chapters you can read in 15 minutes.

But don’t mistake short for shallow. This letter is packed.

And Paul wastes no time getting to the heart of it: Jesus is supreme over everything.

That’s the macro theme. Colossians is Paul hammering home the bold truth that Christ is not just part of your life—He is your life (Colossians 3:4).

So how does Colossians 1:9 fit into that big picture?

Paul opens the letter by thanking God for what the Colossians already have: faith, love, and hope (1:3–8). But then, instead of saying, “Good job, keep it up,” he immediately shifts to prayer:

Paul knows the Christian life is never static. You’re either growing deeper into Christ or you’re drifting away. There is no middle ground.

That’s why prayer sits at the center of Colossians on both a macro and micro scale.

• Macro (the whole book): Prayer is the engine. Paul begins with it (1:9), circles back to it (2:1–2), commands it (4:2), and points to people devoted to it (Epaphras, 4:12). It’s like Paul saying: If you miss prayer, you miss the whole point.

• Micro (chapter 1): Prayer is the hinge. Paul thanks God for what He’s done (1:3–8), prays for what God will do (1:9–14), then paints a jaw-dropping picture of who Christ is (1:15–23). Without prayer, the flow breaks.

So Colossians 1:9 is the launchpad for the entire letter.

It’s as if Paul is saying: “I’m begging God to align your life with His will, because if Christ really is supreme, then nothing matters more than living in step with Him.”

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

I periodically teach Bible class at my church, and one Wednesday night our discussion drifted to a few heavy topics.

• A widow shared the ache of losing her spouse.

• A parent shared fears about their adult children walking away from faith.

• Others admitted deep anxieties about the world.

I remember the room feeling thick. And I could have said, “Thanks for sharing. Let’s all try to stay positive.” But that would’ve been hollow (and unhelpful).

Instead, I stopped and said, “Guys, the only thing I know to do right now is pray.”

Not because I thought God would flip a switch and instantly solve their problems.

But because prayer sets apart that moment. It hallows it. It takes ordinary people with ordinary struggles and places them before the throne of our extraordinary God.

That’s what Paul is doing in Colossians 1:9. He hears their story and says, “Let’s pray.” He doesn’t pray small prayers for comfort. He prays big prayers for wisdom, knowledge, and radical devotion.

📖 Read Colossians 1:1–14. Notice the centrality of prayer. Underline our memory verse.

🧠 Memorize: Write Colossians 1:9 on an index card or in your prayer journal (start one if you don’t have one yet). Every time you see it today, pray it over someone you know by name.

🙏 Pray

Father, don’t let me settle for shallow prayers. Teach me to pause in hard moments and simply say, “Let’s pray.” Fill me with Your will, with wisdom, and with understanding. Make my first instinct in all situations to direct my attention to you.

TRIVIA 📊 

Click one of the answers below. Let’s see how you do…

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you,

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:9