Christian Life in the Church: Continue in Prayer (Colossians 4:2–4)

The holy Paul does not address everything relating to this, but only the chief matter—namely prayer. The Church is the symbol of prayer. Christians gather chiefly to pray together. They themselves form the body of the Church; and their soul is prayer. Of it alone does the Apostle speak when there was no need to mention other matters.

Col. 4:2. Continue steadfast in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.

Private prayer of each person was already spoken of separately (Col. 3:16). Here corporate prayer must be understood, though what is said here can be applied to the private prayer of each one, just as what was said before about private prayer can be applied to corporate prayer.

When he commands to be steadfast in prayer, at the same time he urges that prayer must be not brief. “Devote yourselves to prayer” means: pray much and long. Brief prayer leaves no room for the exercise and manifestation of steadfastness. Long prayer, on the other hand, creates weariness, and because of weariness comes the desire for it to end quickly, or the desire to leave the church assembly. The Apostle writes: be steadfast to the end and do not give in to idleness.

When steadfastness weakens, on one side idleness and drowsiness or sleepiness attack, on the other side the spirits’ alertness departs, attention scatters, thoughts wander. The Apostle writes: “keeping alert,”—keep both spirit alert and body awake, and let both body and spirit remain in constant tension throughout all the time of prayer. Relax the members of the body, relax your thoughts, and there is no prayer anymore; you will stand like a pillar and nod your head like a doll. Alertness points to prayer’s liveliness—a strong and warm striving of mind and heart toward God. It is unsurprising that by this word the Apostle points to the all-night vigils that began in the Church from apostolic times; an example of which was shown by the holy Paul himself, who spent the whole night with the believers in teaching and prayer in Troas.

“With thanksgiving,” ευχαριστια. This means satisfaction and pleasantness—it also means thanksgiving. Its original meaning is the first. Therefore one can believe that the Apostle in the present place had this in mind. And by the course of the discourse it is very suitable here. The Apostle has driven out the feeling of weariness by steadfastness, the temptation to indulgence and idleness by alertness and strain. But one can both be steadfast and hold oneself in tension—and at the same time be discontented with such labor, sustaining it with some murmuring. Such a thought or feeling takes away all value before God of steadfastness and watchfulness in prayer. As in almsgiving God “loves the cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7); so in prayer He loves only the one who steadfastly watches in it with satisfaction of heart, is glad to stand in prayer however long it may last.

This understanding is offered as an opinion; for all interpreters, both ours and foreign, understand by ευχαριστια thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should adorn every prayer. Without it one should not approach the Lord: for insensibility to benefits received obstructs the way to receiving new ones, cutting short the giving hand of the Lord. Therefore in the composition of our prayers thanksgiving indispensably takes its place. The great Archbishop Basil teaches to begin every prayer with it. Given such significance of thanksgiving in prayer, it is fitting to believe that in the present place the Apostle, in speaking of prayer, means it by ευχαριστια.

Let us adduce what our commentators have said. Blessed Theophylact writes: “the devil knows what great good prayer is, and strives in every way to make us recoil from it. Therefore the holy Apostle says: ‘persist in prayer’ (προσκαρτερειτε — cleave to it, labor over it). Since one who cleaves (to prayer) is often subject to assault from sloth and weakness, he adds: ‘watch in it,’—that is, remaining sober, always striving diligently in the work of prayer. And in thanksgiving, that is, with thanksgiving, he teaches us to perform it. For that prayer is truly genuine which contains thanksgiving for all kindnesses, known to us and unknown, and for that which has brought us well-being and joy, and for that which was accompanied by sorrow—for all benefactions in general.” The holy Chrysostom says: “since persistence in prayers often brings tedium and sloth, he says: ‘watching,’—that is, remaining sober, not letting your thoughts wander here and there. For the devil knows, knows how great a good prayer is, and therefore weighs heavily upon the one who prays. And Paul knows, how many grow weary and slack during prayer, and therefore he says: ‘persist in prayer,’ as in something laborious. ‘Watching in it with thanksgiving.’ Let it be, he says, your practice to give thanks—for manifest and hidden benefactions, for that which He has done for our good and according to our wish, and contrary to our wish, and for the Kingdom, and for hell, and for sorrow, and for comfort. Thus the saints are accustomed to pray, giving thanks (to God in prayer) for all the benefactions. I knew a holy man who prayed thus. Having said nothing beforehand, he began directly: ‘We give thanks for all Your benefactions shown to us, the unworthy, from the first day until now, known and unknown, manifest and hidden, done by deed and by word, according to our will and contrary to it—for all that has come to us, the unworthy, for sorrows, for comforts, for hell, for torments, for the Kingdom of Heaven. We beseech You, keep our soul holy, possessing a pure conscience, and grant us an end (worthy of Your compassion). You who have loved us and given even Your Only-Begotten Son for us, make us worthy to be worthy of Your love. Give us wisdom in Your word, and in Your fear, Only-Begotten Christ, breathe Your power into us. You who gave for us Your Only-Begotten Son and sent down Your Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of our sins, if we have sinned in anything, willingly or unwillingly, forgive and count not against us. Remember all those who call upon Your name in truth. Remember all who wish us well and ill; for we are all men.’ Then, adding the prayer of the faithful, thus he concluded, having made a prayer for all, as it were a crown and a summary of all. God does much for our good, though we do not seek it; much such that we do not even know (that it is good for us), and far more of such kind. For when we ask for one thing, and He does the opposite (and this proves good for us), it is evident that He bestows kindness upon us, not knowing (what is good for us)”.

Col. 4:3. Praying also for us together, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.

“Praying also for us”—together with other objects of prayer, such as: for spiritual enlightenment, for the increase of grace, for steadfastness in good, for peace, prosperity, and so forth, pray “also for us.” For whom—for us? It is supposed that the Apostle meant by this not only himself, but Timothy and even Epaphras; but since he soon begins to speak of his own person only, it is better to hold that, speaking of “us” and “to us,” the Apostle means himself alone. In saying “and for us together,” he does not suggest that prayer for him, the one who had brought them enlightenment by faith, is an accessory to prayer, left to discretion, which on that account one can well omit; but he reminds them of the duty always to pray for him who had begotten them in the word of truth for life according to God. His thought is this: look, do not forget to pray also for us. By this he establishes the duty of spiritual children to pray for their spiritual fathers.

But in inviting them to pray for him, the Apostle does not use a word of mere propriety and does not merely reveal his humility, but expresses confidence that their prayer is powerful before God both as the prayer of believers, and all the more as prayer offered in common. The Lord Himself gave such promises to the prayer of believers: “All things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Mt. 21:22). “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done to you” (Jn. 15:7). “All things, whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive, and it shall be to you” (Mk. 11:24). “‘Truly I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about” any “thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven: for where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them’” (Mt. 18:19, 20). With such a privilege every believer is endowed, and all the more is the society of believers, to which the holy Paul appeals here, clothed with it. By this word he establishes the power of the common prayer of the Church, at the same time providing the Colossians no small comfort, bringing to their remembrance that they are not deprived of this privilege of believers in the Lord. Blessed Theophylact writes: “He asks them to pray for him, not only humbling himself, but also showing the power of fraternal prayer. He also had need of help from on high, which the prayer of the brethren was to provide him in greater measure. By this word the Apostle wished to lead them into the labor of prayer. For if prayer is necessary for him, all the more—for them themselves.”

Let us add that if he felt the need to resort to the common prayer of the faithful brethren, who would dare to be so presumptuous as to suppose he could manage without the help of fraternal prayer, remaining with his own alone? The Apostle thereby expressed in deed the duty of Christians both to pray for one another and to ask one another for prayer. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Apostle showed customary humility; but he also teaches us not to rely on ourselves alone, but to seek mutual help from one another.”

“That God would open to us a door of the word.” The opening of a door for the word signifies the unobstructedness of preaching, so that no one hinders or closes the mouth of the preacher. The Apostle desires that they pray to the Lord for him free entry and freedom of proclamation of the word everywhere. But perhaps he also expressed by this the desire that his word everywhere receive free entry into hearts, that an ear everywhere be opened for hearing and a heart for receiving the word. To such an opening of the door for the word the Apostle points when he speaks of the success of his preaching in Troas. There he presented the gospel “when a door had been opened” (2 Cor. 2:12)—which means: a multitude of people gathered and all eagerly listened to the word. The unbelief of the listeners binds the tongue of the preacher. From this difficulty the Apostle asks prayer to be made. Otherwise, how can he proclaim the mystery of Christ? Is it not for this reason also that in the Church the faithful pray for those being converted to faith: that the Lord may enlighten them with the word of truth and reveal the Gospel of righteousness? Opening here is understood to be for the eyes of the mind and the heart.

“To proclaim the mystery of Christ.” He does not ask for prayer for freedom from bonds (the holy Chrysostom and others), but that the word concerning the mystery of Christ should go forth from him, ever louder and louder, drawing an ever greater number of listeners and eagerly receiving this word; and whether he be bound or free in the meantime, he is not concerned. One care, not departing from his heart,—that the word concerning the mystery of Christ should spread; all else does not occupy his mind. Since the Epistle was written at the beginning of his bonds in Rome, we can confidently suppose that his discourse here concerns the success of the gospel among the Romans.

What “mystery of Christ” does the Apostle have in mind? Not merely the mystery of salvation in general in the incarnate Son of God and God, but rather the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles to the spiritual inheritance of the great patriarchs and the composition of Jews and Gentiles into one Church of God, built upon the Lord Saviour. He had already mentioned it above (Col. 1:26), calling it “‘the mystery hidden” from ages and from generations. For this mystery especially is the holy Paul bound. In Jerusalem they bound him because he destroys the ancestral laws, that is, preaches freedom from the prescriptions of the Law and makes the Gentiles equal with the Jews. Were it not for this, there would not have been such fierce exasperation against him by the Jews, and perhaps there would not have been these bonds. Therefore, in saying “for which I am bound,” he certainly meant that mystery which he speaks of everywhere, that it was entrusted to him, namely: “‘that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise” in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 3:6).

Col. 4:4. That I may reveal it as is fitting for me to speak.

We may read it thus: “bound, that I may make it manifest.” The word concerning that mystery became louder when the holy Paul was bound for it. To the questions: why was he bound? why? — everywhere the answer was spread and heard: because he announces salvation to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. The mystery in this way was made manifest by the very bonds. The Apostle “pointed out the cause of his bonds; for he says: the bonds make the preaching more manifest” (Blessed Theodoret). The holy Chrysostom says: “See how bonds reveal, they do not hide. He was bound, and from all churches they had recourse to him, and he, while bound, edified thousands of Christians. Then was he sooner released from bonds (than bound). He was in bonds; but then his course was all the faster.”

Or thus: pray that God would open to me a door to proclaim the mystery of Christ, that I may make it manifest as is fitting for me to speak. He asks for prayer for the removal of all obstacles to revealing the mystery of Christ as is fitting for him. And it is fitting for him to speak of it as he has been commanded, that is, directing all things toward breaking down the middle wall of partition that divides Jews and Gentiles, and composing the Church from both of them, free from external legal ordinances, but pure and undefiled, serving the Spirit of the Lord. With this view especially it is fitting for him to reveal the mystery of Christ, the mystery of salvation in Him of all humanity. Under “as is fitting” we may also understand the quality of preaching,—that is, “with great boldness, hiding nothing” (the holy Chrysostom), “without pretense or evasion” (Blessed Theophylact), openly, loudly, fearing nothing in speaking of the salvation of the Gentiles equally with the Jews.