First Mennonite Church
July 19, 2026
A Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
Text: Colossians 1:1-14
In similar fashion with his other letters, that is except for his letter to the Galatians, Paul opens this letter according to the conventions of letter-writing of his time. In Paul’s times, the sender of a letter did not wait until he or she closes to sign, thus identifying him/herself, as we do today. Instead, the sender identifies himself from the very beginning of his missive.
So, here Paul identifies himself as an “apostle,” literally: “the one who has been sent” or “the sent one” by Jesus Christ, by the will of God, along with his companion Timothy. The letter seems to indicate that Paul had not visited the city of Laodicea before he wrote this letter to them. That would also indicate that the church he was addressing had not been planted by Paul but by Epaphras (v.7).
Paul also addresses his readers as “God’s holy people” and “faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.” Paul highlights the separateness and distinct nature of this community effected by God’s calling. That is the very nature of the church. Although we live in this world, with neighbors residing by our side as any other person in town, there is something that makes us different. God’s calling has made us different. His calling has separated us for himself. We belong to God and we are his holy people. These two aspects about the nature of the Colossians’ identity will become central topics throughout the letter.
In verses three to eight, Paul explains the reasons for his thanksgiving to God for the Colossians. Epaphras must have reported to Paul the condition of the Colossian church. And since getting the positive report, Paul had not ceased praying for them and giving thanks to God because of them. Paul gives thanks to God because of the three central virtues that characterized the Colossian church, namely their love for all God’s people, their faithfulness since they received the true message of the gospel, both of which flow from their hope secured in heaven. These virtues: love, faithfulness and hope are making them fruitful in every good works.
From thanksgiving, Paul moves to intercession on behalf of the Colossians.
The apostle Paul declared, “For this reason, we have not ceased praying that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord . . . .”
Paul’s letter to the Colossians was motivated by his desire to deepen their understanding in the gospel message and of their identity in Jesus, as God’s Savior. Paul knew that the Colossian’s level of knowledge of the Lord directly impacted the way they lived their daily lives. If their knowledge of the gospel message and Jesus was poor and shallow, so would their moral lives be. Their fruitfulness depended on how much of a grasp they had of both the gospel and Jesus Christ. Paul knew that if the Colossians could only see who Jesus is for real, their moral lives would also be transformed.
Thus, St. Paul started first by praying for this church.
This part of Paul’s prayer clearly links the knowledge of God’s will with daily life. Paul was asking God to give the Colossians spiritual wisdom in order to know how to live worthy of Christ. Spiritual wisdom is the insight into God’s will on how to live the daily life faithfully and godly. We need this kind of wisdom. The issues we face daily, with many voices vying for our attention and allegiance, the easiness there is to engage with a wider audience, require us to be wise, so that what we do or who we follow, and what we say give witness that we are a different kind of people. We need spiritual wisdom to engage the vociferous more often than not, divisive world.
The believer can only be able to live a life worthy of the Lord if he or she knows the will of God and has wisdom—not according to the world’s wisdom, but God’s. But knowing the will of God only comes by intentionally wanting to know it.
By nature, we are inclined to act and speak according to how we feel, to how we are used to. It is natural for us to follow what interests us. Instinctively, humans invest their money, time, energies basically in themselves. But wanting to do the will of God does not come naturally. We have to have the Holy Spirit in us and are intentional about wanting to know God’s will.
Thus, Paul’s unceasing prayer was that the Colossians be filled with the knowledge of God’s will which would lead to live lives worthy of Jesus Christ. Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with spiritual wisdom to know how to conduct themselves among those who did not know the gospel or Christ. Having a deeper knowledge of God’s will and having spiritual wisdom would enable the Colossians to grow in their fruitfulness in every good work. It would also secure them of their inheritance along with God’s holy people in the kingdom of light of his Son, says Paul.
As we can see, just as Paul considered the Colossian church to be God’s holy people and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, we are too. We are called to live a life worthy of our calling by God. But it is imperative that know God’s will for our daily lives. It is imperative that we have spiritual wisdom. We need to seek God’s daily guidance. Modern life is not easy to navigate as a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Our connection with the world around is very close, thus our involvement with it should be carried out with wisdom—spiritual wisdom. Otherwise, our lives will be no different than of those who do not know Christ or the gospel.
Therefore, let us pray that the Holy Spirit would give us a deeper knowledge into God’s will. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten the eyes of our spirit and give us God’s wisdom. Let us ask the Lord to reveal himself to us as we have never comprehended before. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to take over our speech, to guide our decisions, and to let Christ’s love to be the motivation behind everything we do or say.
Let us desire to take advantage of every opportunity to touch the life of someone. We might not have the power to reach out to the masses or to do anything spectacular, but that whatever we do may reflect the knowledge and wisdom of God to the person we get to interact that day. Amen!
Pastor Romero