Text:<\/strong> Colossians 4:2-6<\/p>\n Christians should be devoted to talking with God through prayer and always watchful for opportunities to pray (Ephesians 6:18; Romans 12:12; I Thessalonians 5:17). Paul’s statement also carries the connotation that we are not to be careless in our prayers but instead to be like a guard who is on alert regarding what he can do (Mark 13:33).<\/p>\n Behind all our prayers should be an attitude of thankfulness (I Thessalonians 5:18). We don’t want to be like the Israelites who approached God to complain (Psalms 116:12-13,16; Philippians 4:6). Paul is returning to the same topic he mentioned in Colossians 3:15-17.<\/p>\n In particular, Paul asks for their prayers regarding his work (Romans 15:30; I Thessalonians 5:25). Even though he is currently in prison, he desires opportunities to teach the gospel (II Thessalonians 3:1; I Corinthians 16:9). He also desires to teach in a clear fashion when those opportunities do arise (Ephesians 6:19-20).<\/p>\n We live in the world and so we must deal with those who do not live the Christian life. We must use wisdom in dealing with such people because our interactions with them are opportunities to spread the gospel (I Thessalonians 4:12). Thus, we need to consider whether the opinions we express will interest people in the gospel or drive them away (Proverbs 18:2; 20:3; 29:11).<\/p>\n Each of us has a limited amount of time, so how are we making use of opportunities when they arise (John 9:4)?<\/p>\n Our words need to be seasoned with politeness to make the things we must say more acceptable (II Timothy 2:23-26). As Jesus said, “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Different people will require different approaches (Jude 22-23). It takes wisdom to know which approach might work best with which type of person.<\/p>\n Conversations Text: Colossians 4:2-6 With God – Colossians 4:2-4 Christians should be devoted to talking with God through prayer and always watchful for opportunities to pray (Ephesians 6:18; Romans 12:12; I Thessalonians 5:17). Paul’s statement also carries the connotation that we are not to be careless in our prayers but instead to be like a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":55641,"menu_order":13,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-58760","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/letter-to-the-hebrews\/final-words-of-encouragement\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":0},"title":"Final Words of Encouragement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Final Words of Encouragement Text: Hebrews 13:18-25 This last section of Hebrews hold items that are common to Paul\u2019s letters, which leads to the conclusion that Paul is the unnamed author. Pray for Us (Hebrews 13:18-19) Paul often asked for the prayers of the brethren (Romans 15:30; Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/pauls-letter-to-the-romans\/service-to-brethren-devotion\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":1},"title":"Service to Brethren: Devotion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Service to Brethren: Devotion Proper attitude\u00a0(Romans 12:3) Proving what the will of God is demonstrated in how we treat the people around us. It is a natural result of our service to God. \"If someone says, \"I love God,\" and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64586,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/pauls-letter-to-the-romans\/salutation\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":2},"title":"Salutation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Salutation Who Paul represents\u00a0(Romans 1:1-6) Paul begins by introducing himself. He calls himself a slave or servant of Jesus Christ. By this, Paul indicates that he does not act on his own will but that of his master (Galatians 1:10; I Corinthians 9:16-17). Such a designation has been common in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56236,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/christ-in-you-a-study-of-colossians\/pauls-service-to-christ-and-the-brethren\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":3},"title":"Paul\u2019s Service to Christ and the Brethren","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul's Service to Christ and the Brethren Text: Colossians 1:24-2:7 Rejoicing in Suffering - Colossians 1:24 Being a prisoner is not fun, but Paul found reasons to rejoice. He knows that his hardships are benefiting the church (II Corinthians 4:8-12; Philippians 1:12-14; 2:17-18; II Timothy 2:10). Paul wanted to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34214,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/fundamentals-of-christianity\/how-we-ought-to-pray\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":4},"title":"How We Ought to Pray (Fundamentals)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"How We Ought to Pray Text: Luke 11:1-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being creatures of habit, we often fall into a pattern of doing certain things in certain ways. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is nothing wrong with a habit, so long as it is a good habit. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In fact, we ought to cultivate good habits to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65239,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/fundamentals-of-christianity\/praying\/","url_meta":{"origin":58760,"position":5},"title":"Praying","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Praying p>Text: Luke 11:1-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being creatures of habit, we often fall into a pattern of doing certain things in certain ways. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is nothing wrong with a habit, so long as it is a good habit. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In fact, we ought to cultivate good habits to carry us over our\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58760\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}With God – Colossians 4:2-4<\/h2>\n
With Men – Colossians 4:5-6<\/h2>\n
For discussion:<\/h3>\n
\n