1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2. To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
This seems to be the usual apostolic greeting. I think the line "Grace and peace... from God our Father." is worth noting as it confirms that the apostles knew they were acting under the Lord's authority and inspiration.
3. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4. because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5. the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6. that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8. and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
In this passage we learn that Paul prayed regularly for the Colossian Church. These were people that Paul had never met personally; he had only heard of their faith. Yet he prayed for them.
Often, I only have the diligence to pray for my daily needs and those of my immediate family, and perhaps a few other needs that are sitting at the surface of my consciousness. Paul was so diligent in prayer that he would even pray for a distant church that he had never visited.
He later instructs: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."
Am I watchful in my prayers? Who am I watching for? Do I bring thanksgiving to God in prayer? Am I steadfast? In all of these, I fall short.
The prayers that I should bring to the Lord daily are often hindered by surfing the internet, physical tiredness, the full gambit of distractions my culture offers. I am so easily -almost gladly- distracted; I need to be watchful; I need to be steadfast.
But chiefly, we call to mind the first thing our Lord said of Paul after his conversion: "for, behold, he prayeth" (Acts 9:11, ital. mine). The Lord Christ was, as it were, striking the keynote of Paul’s subsequent life, for he was to be eminently distinguished as a man of prayer.
~ Arthur Pink
