October 11

Photo by Raul Petri on Unsplash

Colossians 1

A foremost discipline in following Christ is of course prayer. This is in addition to consuming the Word and partnering with other Christians in your faith. Word, prayer and fellowship: these are the three “means of grace.”

The most obvious yet overlooked way to learn prayer is imitation. This is after all the method of our Lord: “pray then this way” (Matt. 6:5-14). And he too structured his “Lord’s Prayer” in two groups of three - three requests for God, and three for us. Good and important things in the Bible often come in three’s.

Let us combine these two thoughts, as we consider Colossians 1. Paul almost always begins his letters with genuine, specific and thoughtful prayer for the people he is addressing. Because this is God’s Word we may imitate his prayers, too, and thereby learn to really pray. (Suggestion: get a notebook, look through Paul’s letters - especially their beginning - and write down his prayers. Then imitate his prayers as models for your own.)

Now, Paul begins his prayer to the Colossians with another group of three. It’s so common with Paul that scholars call it the “Pauline Triad.” Paul thanks God for them (3) because of their

faith (4a)

and their

love (4b).

These we expect. But the order is important:

. . . because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (5)

Faith, hope and love. These always exist together. Now, we may think that faith is always the source of the other two - but not here. The “because” in v. 5 denotes the source. Their faith and their love were the result of the hope they held. And this Hope resides in a certain place - in heaven.

That’s because our Hope is not a thing but a Person - the Lord, crucified, resurrected and also ascended. He exists now, with all that belongs to the Father handed over to him. We do not hope the way the world does, in wishful thinking. We hope in a living Savior, reigning and returning.

Take away this hope, and watch faith and love shrivel. This is why the American church is anemic. Our faith and love are weak because our hope is weak. Wealth can cause this. Without realizing it we hope in the utility of our stuff rather than the King.

“Lord, gently pry our hope from our stuff and redirect it to rest on You, our living hope.”