Day 13: The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength, Part 2: Colossians 1:11

Welcome to the second day of looking at how we can make the joy of our Lord our strength for this next year.

Let’s look at this passage of Colossians 1:3-14. Verse 11 is the key verse, but we need to look at the context of the verse so we can understand it fully. Let’s read this now and prayer journal about it.

Colossians 1:3-14 HCSB

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. 7 You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, 8 and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. 14 We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS OF COLOSSIANS 1:3-14

1 Prayer journal any thoughts and questions which come to mind at this time. Be thorough.

2 What can we apply in our lives to the next year? In other words, how can we live these verses? Be specific. List as many actions as you find.

3 Find three from #2 you would like to apply to your life the most and list those. Then, make an action plan on how to accomplish the feat.

4 Verses 11-12 are the key verses here. What did you learn through them specifically?

5 What did you say to god about these verses?

6 How can you apply verses 11-12 in your life? Be specific and thorough. Then, make an action plan on how you want to apply these verses to your life over the next year.

7 What did God say to you about these verses?

COLOSSIANS 1:9-12 NASB

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

-- NASB: Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

This passage of Scripture teaches us a great deal of what we should do for our fellow believers in prayer and how to pray for them.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS REGARDING COLOSSIANS 1:9-12

1 Write whatever jumped out at you most. List several things and be specific and thorough.

2 When was the last time you prayed for all of the believers in your life?

3 When was the last time you prayed these verses over them?

4 When was the last time you prayed these verses for yourself?

5 What do you learn about joy and strength in these verses?

6 How can you apply these verses to your life so they will make the next year in your life great?

A Little Reminder…

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them.