What to pray for, when you've already got it all

 This week's verses are Colossians 1:9-12:

For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 

 In case you want to know what to get for the man or woman who has everything, these verses are a good start. And we do have everything, thanks to God, even if we don't have it all at once. We have eternity and the power of God on our side. As Christians, what do we need most, once we're assured of our salvation and God's favor? Money? Likes? Career opportunities? That special someone? Not quite.

At first we need "knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding," so that we can live the way we're supposed to live. We're saved from assured destruction thanks to a supernatural being who designed the universe we live in. What could be more important than learning how his world works and what he likes? 

We want to live in a way that bears fruit in the form of good deeds. Is there a goodness to your lifestyle? Do you naturally bless others and provide value, serving them where they have needs? Do you act fairly, manage your darker impulses, and cause as little damage as possible to the world around you? What is this knowledge and wisdom producing in your life?

We need to grow in the knowledge of God. Read the Bible. Hear about what has been happening in the lives of those around you. Explore and get some experience, hear some stories and gain some stories of your own. Christianity is for the living, not the dead.

That knowledge and experience is meant to strengthen us and give us patience and endurance. Not only does our knowledge and experience naturally equip us for living, but God himself gives us his power to manage things. Do we take that into account when things get difficult?

Finally, we should joyfully give thanks to God who has changed the world in such a way that we can enjoy eternal life with him. But that thanks shouldn't just be a one time thing. I'm not talking about the part of church when the singing is over and they want you to clap for the band, but they don't want to make it seem like a concert so they tell you to clap for Jesus instead. I'm talking about joyful thanks as a lifestyle, the same as with the knowledge and deeds and experience and power to endure. These are lifestyle choices.

So now you know what to ask for and what to do when you get it. Pray for wisdom and understanding, and use that to gain experience and grow closer to God, so that your lifestyle can be fruitful and full of joyful gratitude.