Pray Like People Whose Life Is in Heaven
Have you ever been separated from someone you love? Perhaps they are away for work or studies. Perhaps you simply cannot get hold of them. Their phone is off. You try again. And again. It’s very difficult when you cannot speak to someone you love. Being able to speak with someone who is absent keeps the connection alive. It brings joy.
As we wait for the appearance of Christ, we have the wonderful privilege of an open channel to heaven—prayer. In Colossians 4:2–6, Paul reminds us of this privilege and how to make the most of it.
In Colossians 3, Paul tells us that if we have been raised with Christ, we must set our minds on things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Our life is now hidden with Christ in God.
So what does a mind set on heaven look like? It’s a heavenward gaze that transforms relationships in the church, in marriages, between parents and children, and between servants and their masters.
In chapter 4, Paul turns our eyes to another way in which having such a mind transforms a Christian’s life – prayer.
A mind set on heaven is devoted to prayer.
Prayer is a discipline. The Bible commands us to pray. But if prayer is only something you think, “I must do”, you are missing the best part. Christ has bought access to the Father with his own blood. Prayer is the joyful connection through which we enjoy the union Christ has established for us.
When your heart is heavy, the answer is not simply, “I must pray because I am commanded to.” It is: “Because of the cross, I can go to my Father. He loves me.”
Second, a mind set on heaven is watchful in prayer.
The Christian life is filled with dangers.
There are temptations. False teaching. Spiritual opposition. Our own sinful desires. We can be caught completely unprepared because we have stopped watching.
We are like people sleeping in a flimsy tent while a lion is moving around the camp. We are no match for these dangers in our own strength. But we have a great Saviour.
“The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
That promise should drive us to watchful prayer.
Third, a mind set on heaven is thankful in prayer.
Thankfulness turns our eyes away from ourselves.
One of our defaults as fallen human beings is self-centredness. We so easily start thinking that we are entitled to everything. There’s a strange thing that I’m sure you’ve noticed: the more we receive, the more entitled we seem to feel, and the more we focus on ourselves, the more miserable we are.
But there is an antidote to this poison. It’s called gratitude or thankfulness.
Thankfulness in prayer turns a Christian’s eyes from self and focuses on the Father of lights who consistently showers good and perfect gifts on his people because of the finished work of his Son. It has the power to transform whining into worship, and pouting into praise.
Paul exhorts us, in another of his letters, to present our requests with thanksgiving. The reason? Dwelling on God’s past grace gives us confidence in his future grace. Thankfulness lets you look back at the kindness and grace of God, and lets you look with hope and assurance into the future.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
Johnson Oatman Jr.’s famous hymn gives excellent practical advice:
Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
And finally, a mind set on heaven is focused on the glory of Christ.
Paul was in prison. Yet his prayer request was not primarily about his circumstances.
He asked the Colossians to pray for two things: opportunity and clarity.
He wanted God to open a door for the gospel—an opportunity to declare the mystery of Christ. And he wanted prayer that he would speak clearly, making that mystery understandable to those who heard him.
Why?
So that people would hear the gospel.
And why does that matter? So that Christ would receive the glory that is due to him.
This is what prayer looks like when your mind is set on heaven.
Steadfast. Watchful. Thankful. Gospel-focused.
So let’s pray like people whose life is in heaven with Christ. Let’s pray like people who serve the pre-eminent Christ.