Devoted to Prayer

Jesus often taught in parables. On one occasion He used a parable to show His followers “that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Here was the parable: “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” (Luke 18:2-5). Jesus then makes application of this story to the lives of those who are God’s people, by observing that God, who is infinitely better than this unrighteous judge, will surely be quick about answering the prayers of His people (Luke 18:6-8a). However, this isn’t the only point that Jesus makes here to His audience. Notice the question He ends with: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b). The point that the Lord is trying to drive home here is not so much that God will answer the prayers of those who are seeking Him (though this is indeed a true statement), but Jesus is more interested in helping His disciples examine themselves to see whether or not they have enough faith to be seeking God through prayer in the first place.

Paul told the Colossian brethren to “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2a). Some of the older translations have “continue in prayer” (KJV), or “continue steadfastly in prayer” (ASV). The word, here translated in the NASB as “devote,” carries with it the idea of “continuance,” “persistence,” “perseverance,” or “steadfastness,” and thus these translations are accurate. But because the word in the original language (Greek) was not one dimensional, it can sometimes be difficult to fully capture the depth of its meaning in another language, and thus the variation in our translations. The English word “devote,” however, does a good job here, in that it carries with it, not only the aforementioned concepts, but also the idea of “committing to something,” or “giving oneself over to something” (Merriam-Webster). Synonyms to this word are “dedicate” and “consecrate.” Paul’s point here to the Colossians is that prayer is something that they needed to be given to, committed to, and dedicated to performing.

To the Thessalonian brethren Paul gave the following instruction: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Obviously, he didn’t mean by this that they were never allowed to stop praying, or that a prayer must always, continually be coming off their lips. Paul used the same word twice already in this letter (1:3 & 2:13 – both times translated as “constantly”) to describe his own prayers regarding the Thessalonian brethren. Paul would often use this kind of terminology to describe his habitual practice of praying for his brethren (cf. Philippians 1:3-4; Ephesians 1:15-16; Romans 1:9-10). To those who are familiar with the life and work of the apostle Paul it is very clear that he was no monk, tucked away in a monastery, spending every waking second of his day in the act of uninterrupted prayer. Paul was a busy man. He was always preaching, teaching, traveling, working, worshipping. But yes, throughout his busy days and nights, he was certainly a man who spent a lot of his time in prayer. It was something that he engaged in regularly. We might say that he was “devoted” to prayer.

As we have already seen, the word translated as “devote” in Col. 4:2 (NASB) can have some slight variation in meaning. We find this same word translated differently in Mark 3:9, where it is rendered by the two English words “stand ready.” As we examine this usage, I believe it may help us to gain a fuller picture of what Paul meant when he instructed the Colossians to “devote yourselves to prayer”. In the Mark passage, Jesus is not getting into the boat when He gives the instruction for it to “stand ready”, but He does want it to be readily and easily available to Him on this occasion in case He needed it. We might say that the boat was on “standby,” “ready at a moment’s notice” and, should he need to use it, there would be no need for delay, as it was “standing ready.”

If we apply this rendering of the word to Paul’s instruction about prayer, it makes me think of the way Nehemiah prayed. When we are first introduced to this man, we find out that he was a Jew living in captivity in Susa, the capitol of the Persian Empire, and he had just received news that things were not going so well back in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-3). He is distraught, heartbroken at this news. And so, he spends his days “fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). The subject of his prayer is that God will grant him favor as he seeks permission from the king of Persia to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of his city (1:5-11). This was something that went on from the month Chislev to the month Nisan (1:1; cf. 2:1); four months Nehemiah spent in prayer about this matter! And then, when he finally had an opportunity to present his petition before the king, before he says a word, while standing in the presence of the Persian monarch, he prayed to the God of heaven, and then presented his petition (2:1-5). Long and short, scheduled and spontaneous, Nehemiah was a man who was “devoted to” and had prayer “standing ready” by his side. He was a man who took advantage of any and every opportunity to pray to his God!

Similarly, Paul told the Ephesians to “pray at all times” (Eph. 6:18a). The idea in this context appears to be that Paul is urging them to pray earnestly and fervently. Prayer is something that should receive serious attention and be an integral part of the disciple’s life. The apostles set an example when they “devoted” themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14; 6:4). Paul admonished the Romans likewise to be “devoted to prayer” (Rom. 12:12). And, as we have already seen here, he tells the Colossians to “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2).

And let me suggest to you that this admonition is just as applicable to us today. We need to be devot­ed to prayer. And if we aren’t, we need to get serious about devoting ourselves to it! It may be something we are going to have to be diligent and intention­al about making time for in our busy schedules. We can look to the example of Jesus in this regard. He was a man who was incredibly busy. And yet, He would rise “in the early morning, while it was still dark” to pray (Mark 1:35). He would take time out of His busy schedule for prayer. He “would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:16). We need to follow our Savior’s example. We need to pray at all times and on all occasions: when we rise up and when we lie down; when we set out on a journey and when we arrive home; before we begin work and after we accomplish the task. Before we make a decision, we should consult God in prayer. We need to pray by ourselves and we need to pray in public. We need to pray with our physical family and we need to pray with our spiritual family. We need be praying with and for one another regularly. We need to be a people who are devoted to prayer!