Col. 4:2 ... "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving."
Praying, watching and giving thanks are three fundamental activities of Christian living. The first incorporates the other two, for a person watches and gives thanks in the context of prayer. Prayer must not be erratic and spasmodic; it must be maintained as a regular, integral part of daily life. Christians are instructed in I Ths. 5:17 to "pray without ceasing." The same instruction is given in I Tim. 2:8, "I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands." In Lk. 18:1 it is said that Jesus once "was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart." Prayer is as necessary to our spiritual health as eating and breathing are to our physical well-being. We do not fail to do the latter for our bodies, so neither should we fail to pray for our spiritual welfare.
Christians are taught in I Pet. 4:7 to "be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." Over and over again throughout the New Testament in various ways we are taught to be a vigilant, watchful people through prayer. But what is it that we are to be so keen to watch for? What is out there in the world that God is so concerned for us to see that He keeps urging us in Scripture to watch for it with fervent prayer. One thing we can identify is the opportunity to do good. The Lord has given us the ability and resources to perform deeds of service in His name and unto His glory. He expects us to watch for the occasion where we can do these deeds. Too often such opportunities pass us by before we are aware of their existence, and we have wasted what God has entrusted to us. If we persistently pray for the vision to recognize such occasions, that ability will gradually be developed within us. A second thing we must watch for is the temptation to sin. An army in the field maintains regular, alert watches lest it be surprised and overwhelmed by the enemy. As Christians, we are also soldiers in the spiritual army of Christ, which is arrayed against the forces of evil. In Eph. 6:10-17 we are told about the nature of this warfare and given a description of the implements in the spiritual armor that we must wear. Our common enemy is sin, which continually probes our defenses to discover where we might be off-guard and asleep. Then sin launches a deadly attack and inflicts damage upon our souls. Therefore, in v.18 we are urged to "pray at all times in the Spirit ... and be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (fellow Christians)." In other words, vigilance in prayer is necessary for our survival as the children of God.
Our lead text tells us that we are to watch "with thanksgiving." There is a German proverb that goes, "Wer dinkt, dankt." It means, "He who thinks will give thanks." A thankful person is a thinking person, and a thinking person is most apt to be aware of conditions about him. Everyone is blessed by God, as Jesus tells us in Mat. 5:45, "For [God] causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." But before all people, Christians have more for which to be thankful than they have the capacity with which to express it. Nevertheless,we must always try harder to offer back to God sincere thanks for what He gives us and does for our good. In I Ths. 5:18 we are told, "in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It is vital to our wholesome relation with our heavenly Father to express to Him gratitude from the heart constantly, with an ever deepening sense of appreciation for His goodness. So long as we do not get tired of accepting and enjoying His daily blessings,we should also never get tired of thanking Him for His wonderful grace filling our lives.
