How can we, as Christ followers, grow deeper in our prayer lives? We value prayer, we know we should pray, we struggle with it, and probably none of us are satisfied with where we are. Prayer is hard work and just finding the time to make it a priority can be a challenge in our fast paced, noise-filled world. And then there is this question.  We are pretty good at praying about our own needs - that comes naturally. But how do we go deeper and ask God to build into our lives, faith, and character? If we want to go deep with God, live in his joy, see our lives count, and please Him, what do we pray for? 

The Apostle Paul gives us some examples of how we can go deeper in our prayer lives by focusing on spiritual issues, not simply our felt needs. These are the things that God wants to build into our lives in order to deepen our understanding of Him and transform our thinking, character, and practices so that we are more like Him. This is how Paul prayed for the Colossian church in Colossians 1:9-14.

“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, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 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. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

When my boys were young and we would be talking at the dinner table, they would frequently say to me, regarding some word I had used, “Dad, that is a BIG word!” In the same way this is a BIG prayer! It is a profound prayer! It is a life-changing prayer in its implications for our lives.

Think of what Paul prays for the Colossians. That they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. That their lives would please God and be fruitful. That they would be strengthened by God’s power, and that they would realize that they have been rescued from darkness so they can live in the light. If we started every day with that realization, that prayer, and that desire our days would be far different than they often are. It is a big prayer to a big God who has big plans for His work in our lives. 

One of the key ways to grow our prayer lives is to pray through the prayers we find in Scripture and apply them to our lives and the lives of our fellow believers. Have you ever prayed this way for yourself? Or others? And notice here that the focus is not so much on physical needs we have and that we are to pray for - but they go deeper to the spiritual needs we have and the life change God wants to bring. Both physical and spiritual needs are important to pray for. 

Consider praying this prayer of Paul’s each morning for your life and the lives of those around you for the next week. It will grow your concept of prayer. It will change your day!

Father, I need these things in my own life today. Help me to learn to pray not only for my physical needs but for the deeper spiritual issues of my life. Deepen my desire to become more like you and to experience the reality of what Paul prayed for in this prayer. Amen.