“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father” (Colossians 1:11-12 NLT).
The apostle Paul prayed that the believers in Colossae would be strengthened by God’s glorious power. For living and depending on the power of God would give them all the endurance and patience they would need to always live to honor and please the Lord. At the same time, he prayed that the Lord would fill them with joy and thankfulness.
Why did he also pray for their joy and thankfulness? Isn’t endurance and patience enough? Isn’t it enough that we hang in there for God? Why the need for joy and thankfulness too?
Perhaps it’s because living for Christ we are called to be “more than conquerers” (Rom. 8:37), not just hanging on and going through the motions, but living victoriously with joy and thanksgiving. Sure, we are called to endure, yet not with gritted teeth and clinched fists, but with shouts of joy and thanksgiving to God! For both our actions and our attitudes come from depending on God’s glorious power.
Hanging in there is good. But enduring with joy and thankfulness is better.
PRAYER: Dear Father, strengthen us to be faithful today, patiently enduring whatever comes our way. Yet not with downcast faces, but with joy and thanksgiving. Strengthen us not only by Your glorious power but also fill us with Your unconquerable joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.