9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthyof the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.REFLECTIONSWritten by Gus CameronOne of the particular focuses we had as a church a couple of years ago was to be delighting in God and depending on God in prayer, so we started things like our weekly prayer point emails and our month of prayer. As I read this passage I can’t help but be struck by how Paul describes his prayers for others.First he says in verse 9 that he has “not stopped praying” for the Christians in Colossae. My first reaction is to think about his slight exaggeration because, well, he must have stopped sometimes even just to sleep! But we mustn’t miss the emotion, he wants the Colossians to be encouraged to know that it’s not a token “I’ll pray for you”, but he really does regularly pray for them.The other thing that stuck me even more is what Paul prays for them. As I read these verses I find it hard not to compare his prayers with mine. Paul’s great concern is their spiritual health. It’s all he prays about here! He prays that they will understand God’s plans for them so that they will live for God and know God more and more. He prays that God will help them endure in their faith. He prays that they will be joyfully thankful to God as they remember their future with God.God cares for every detail of our life, big and small, but I wonder if we can sometimes overlook the most important of them all. In a year dominated by COVID, job losses and elections, and all the increased stresses of life, let’s not stop praying. And let’s pray prayers that share Paul’s concern for each other’s spiritual health. Take a moment now to pray for someone – and pray for their spiritual health.ABOUT THE AUTHORGus is an assistant minister at our Fairfield Congregations.