That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].
Colossians 1:10 AMPC
My son is a competitive runner. When he first started his running career,
he dabbled in all the things. Sprints. Mid-distance. Long-distance. He finally settled into the mid-distance races, like the 800 meter and the 1600 meter, but when he was in college, he also ran the long-distance 8 kilometer races during cross country season.
There’s a huge difference between sprinting and distance running. Sprinters unload from the gun. They are full-on, full-blast, give-it-all-you’ve-got from the start. No patience is required for sprinting.
Distance runners, on the other hand, need a more balanced and steady approach to the race. Anyone can start strong. Anyone can start full speed ahead, but it takes steady endurance to make it to the end and finish well.
In our Christian walk, we don’t want to just have a good start only to fizzle out before we reach the finish line, and Paul knew the possibility of that is strong. That’s why he prayed this for the church. Walking in a manner pleasing to the Lord and bearing fruit takes time. Steady growth in knowing Him resulting in bearing fruit is the ultimate goal.
A huge component in us finishing strong is prayer. Pray this for yourself. Pray this for your people. Pray this for the church.
Let’s pray together.
Father, we pray that today You would strengthen Your Church in the city of Warren to walk worthy of You. We pray You will work in us the desire to please You and give us the wisdom and endurance to walk it out. We pray that we would steadily grow in knowing You and that we would continue to bear fruit so others can taste and see that You are good through our lives. In Jesus’ Name, amen!
