“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:9-14)
What a powerful prayer and oh what a string of words! I was tempted to stop at verse 12, ending with “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us…” But as we will see the prayer of Paul and the following powerful declarations are beautifully connected.
Paul starts the prayer by asking that the church at Colosse would be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” An important distinction is that the word “filled” is found in the passive voice, meaning the being filled is something received. It may sound basic but learning to receive from the Lord is crucial. That is why God promised that
“But those who wait on the LordShall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:31)
In the context of Paul’s prayer, those that wait on the Lord are filled with the knowledge of His will with wisdom and understanding. But it all starts with receiving.
Let’s go on. Paul said a result of us being filled (passive) is “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.” Our response to being filled is to walk in a way that is worthy of the Lord. Our “walk” is the daily choices that we make, many of which may seem insignificant.
Paul said the result of walking worthy is “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might.” The words “increasing” and “strengthened” are both found in the passive voice. They are being received. Do you see the beautiful exchange happening? God’s part: filling. Our part: walking. God’s part: increasing and strengthening. Walking with God is not about following rules but a beautiful exchange. The most important exchange is our giving up our old lives and letting Christ live through us.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”(Gal 2:20)
After the prayer Paul makes two powerful and related declarations. The first is “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Notice another “our part” – giving thanks. We give thanks as a result of Him qualifying us. The Greek word for “qualified” is hikanoō and it means “to make sufficient, render fit, to equip one with adequate power to perform duties of one.” He has qualified “to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” We can partake of wisdom and spiritual understanding because He has perfectly equipped us to do so. It is just like the eagle is qualified to fly in the wind with its wings and the makeup of its body. We can say to the Lord: “You have perfectly equipped me for receiving my inheritance of spiritual light. I ask for and receive all that you have for me.”
The second and declaration of Paul might be one of the most powerful in all of scripture. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”The Greek word for delivered is ryoma and means “to draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver.” Not only does God set us free, He draws us to Himself. He sets us free not so we can roam but that we would be with Him. That Greek word ryoma Aorist tense, meaning is something that has finished. Not only is the “delivered” a finished work but because the word is in the middle or passive deponent voice the subject (God) still performs the action.
Lastly, the word is found in the indicative mood, which describes a situation that actually is — as opposed to a situation that might be, is wished for, or is commanded to be.Therefore, His delivering us is a finished work that He continues to perform in our lives. And we can have confidence that He is doing it. It is not something we hope for, it is something that actually is! What are we delivered from? The “the power of darkness.” The Greek word for power there is exousia. It can be translated as authority. We get our English word executive from it. Another translates it as “the domain of darkness.” Either way we can have complete confidence that He has delivered us from the authority of power of darkness. It should not rule our lives.
Not only are we delivered from darkness but we are translated to a place of loving acceptance. “…and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” The Greek word for “conveyed” is a very powerful word that means “to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another.” God put in a transfer order for you and I! We have been delivered from the authority of darkness and transferred to His loving kingdom. Like the word delivered “conveyed” is found in the Aorist tense. This time the tense is active, meaning the subject (God) performs the action. It is also found in the indicative mood, telling us once again that the situation actually is, and not something wished for.
We can see from this prayer that God does the heavy lifting in our lives. He fills us with wisdom and spiritual understanding. Our response is the walk according to what has been revealed to us. We give Him thanks for delivering us from darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of the son of His love. It is my hope that you learn this prayer and most importantly pray this prayer over the lives of your family, church etc. Like all of Paul’s prayers they run deep. Use them as a spiritual diving board.
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Posted: April 19, 2024 by I am a VOICE Ministries
Prayers of Paul – Receiving the Great Exchange – Part 11
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:9-14)
What a powerful prayer and oh what a string of words! I was tempted to stop at verse 12, ending with “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us…” But as we will see the prayer of Paul and the following powerful declarations are beautifully connected.
Paul starts the prayer by asking that the church at Colosse would be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” An important distinction is that the word “filled” is found in the passive voice, meaning the being filled is something received. It may sound basic but learning to receive from the Lord is crucial. That is why God promised that
“But those who wait on the LordShall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:31)
In the context of Paul’s prayer, those that wait on the Lord are filled with the knowledge of His will with wisdom and understanding. But it all starts with receiving.
Let’s go on. Paul said a result of us being filled (passive) is “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.” Our response to being filled is to walk in a way that is worthy of the Lord. Our “walk” is the daily choices that we make, many of which may seem insignificant.
Paul said the result of walking worthy is “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might.” The words “increasing” and “strengthened” are both found in the passive voice. They are being received. Do you see the beautiful exchange happening? God’s part: filling. Our part: walking. God’s part: increasing and strengthening. Walking with God is not about following rules but a beautiful exchange. The most important exchange is our giving up our old lives and letting Christ live through us.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”(Gal 2:20)
After the prayer Paul makes two powerful and related declarations. The first is “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Notice another “our part” – giving thanks. We give thanks as a result of Him qualifying us. The Greek word for “qualified” is hikanoō and it means “to make sufficient, render fit, to equip one with adequate power to perform duties of one.” He has qualified “to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” We can partake of wisdom and spiritual understanding because He has perfectly equipped us to do so. It is just like the eagle is qualified to fly in the wind with its wings and the makeup of its body. We can say to the Lord: “You have perfectly equipped me for receiving my inheritance of spiritual light. I ask for and receive all that you have for me.”
The second and declaration of Paul might be one of the most powerful in all of scripture. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”The Greek word for delivered is ryoma and means “to draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver.” Not only does God set us free, He draws us to Himself. He sets us free not so we can roam but that we would be with Him. That Greek word ryoma Aorist tense, meaning is something that has finished. Not only is the “delivered” a finished work but because the word is in the middle or passive deponent voice the subject (God) still performs the action.
Lastly, the word is found in the indicative mood, which describes a situation that actually is — as opposed to a situation that might be, is wished for, or is commanded to be.Therefore, His delivering us is a finished work that He continues to perform in our lives. And we can have confidence that He is doing it. It is not something we hope for, it is something that actually is! What are we delivered from? The “the power of darkness.” The Greek word for power there is exousia. It can be translated as authority. We get our English word executive from it. Another translates it as “the domain of darkness.” Either way we can have complete confidence that He has delivered us from the authority of power of darkness. It should not rule our lives.
Not only are we delivered from darkness but we are translated to a place of loving acceptance. “…and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” The Greek word for “conveyed” is a very powerful word that means “to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another.” God put in a transfer order for you and I! We have been delivered from the authority of darkness and transferred to His loving kingdom. Like the word delivered “conveyed” is found in the Aorist tense. This time the tense is active, meaning the subject (God) performs the action. It is also found in the indicative mood, telling us once again that the situation actually is, and not something wished for.
We can see from this prayer that God does the heavy lifting in our lives. He fills us with wisdom and spiritual understanding. Our response is the walk according to what has been revealed to us. We give Him thanks for delivering us from darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of the son of His love. It is my hope that you learn this prayer and most importantly pray this prayer over the lives of your family, church etc. Like all of Paul’s prayers they run deep. Use them as a spiritual diving board.
Category: Prayers of Paul Tags: exchange, Paul, prayer
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