“…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints…For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may 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 joyfully giving thanks to the Father” (Colossians 1:4,9-12, NIV)…

From our previous studies on different passages on prayer we know that prayer is not only personal, but also communal. It also ought not to be focused on our own will, but on God’s will instead. In the letter to the Colossians you will find the verses quoted above, which teach us even more about praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus… or in other words – how to pray for one another.

The first important lesson comes from verse 4. Apostle Paul and Timothy do pray for the believers from Colossae, but not because they are best friends or have some other type of a special relationship. As a matter of fact, Paul isn’t even the founder of this church. They two pray for these believers simply because they are their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today the case seems to be different. In a time when there is more Christians than ever before, and communications are made easier by the hour, it seems that more and more people are in need of something extra in order to pray for their fellow-believers – whether we admit this or not, it is a fact that we can easily do much better. And God’s word teaches us precisely this! Do you pray continually for believers who are not from your vicinity? If not – what is preventing you from doing so, and what can you do to overcome it? (more…)

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This paper has been written by me in the course of my theological studies at European Nazarene College (www.eunc.edu). You may use this text as a part of your work provided that you give credits to its author - Petar Neychev. If you have questions - please, leave a comment or contact me through the Contact Us page.

The implications of Jesus’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection are the ultimate central point in Christianity. One can elaborate on various topics concerning the biblical text, its context, today’s translations, etc. ,etc. but if the question “So what?” is omitted, then Christianity would become a mere scientific and religious exercise – something Christians are obligated to avoid. This is also what Paul is trying to communicate to the first century church in Colossae – Christ has died, you have been saved, live like it! A message no less valid for the church of God today. The New International Version of the Bible entitles the bigger passage of Colossians 3:1-17 “Rules for Holy Living”. However, I would dare to re-caption this as “Living Out the God Who Lives In.” In the following pages I will attempt to discuss the passage of Colossians 3:15-17 and its meaning within God’s call for all people. (more…)

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