The Greatest Temptation: Colossians 4:2-4
The Greatest Temptation: Colossians 4:2-4
What Did Jesus Tell Us
When you think of a list of temptations, what rises to the top of the list? Is it greed? Is it sexual temptations? Is it jealousy? Is it revenge? Is it slander? Is it violence? Is it stealing?
Friday 5:30pm (CT) | October 2, 2020
Be devoted to prayer. Stay awake, alert, ready, dedicated to it. From dieting, to golf, to gardening, to gaming, to music, we all have something that is our obsession, our hobby. Imagine prayer in the same way and what beings to happen?
When Jesus spoke about the greatest temptation, he did not mention any of these. In fact, he did not list sins or which ones had a higher ranking priority over another. Rather, he touched on a quality that would help us escape all of these and a remedy for all temptations.
I QUIT – The Greatest Temptation
That’s right. In Luke 18:1 Jesus gave a teaching to his students that there would be this temptation in life to quit. I give up! I have had it! No More! That’s it!
We might feel this way about many things in life – marriage, the job, kids, parents, Jesus, the faith or the integrity that we have spent a lifetime building. The remedy to this greatest temptation, according to Jesus was to pray.
PRAYER – The Remedy
Be devoted to prayer, Colossians 4:2 tells us …
First, devotion to anything is like an obsession. If you are devoted to golf, then you belong to a golf club. You pay the annual membership fee. You pay the course fees each time you golf. You own a golf cart. You own a good set of clubs. You own golfing clothes. You endure the scorn of a wife who does not appreciate your love and devotion to the sport, so that you might enjoy and better your game. Being devoted to prayer means much the same.
Second, the word “You” is plural. This means this is a request by Paul that all the people devote themselves to meeting together and praying together. You may excel at individual prayer, but have you learned the lifestyle of setting aside time with others to seek God, to ask from God, to worship God?
Third, devotion is not an end goal that we reach and rest. It is an ongoing pursuit to better oneself at the skill of prayer and to make it as much of a part of our day as eating a meal, bathing, going to work, etc.
Listen to The Teaching
Click the link and watch the teaching on Colossians 4:2-4 on Facebook. I want this to bless you, not scold you. This is not an area where most of us succeed and this is evident in the small numbers of people that attend prayer meetings. Join me in this pursuit of being devoted to prayer.
Blessings
Rich
