He Is Able
He Is Able
Preacher: Dr. Shaun Miles | Passage: Colossians 4:2-18 | Series: All to Jesus (final message)
Paul does not end his letter to the Colossians with one more command. He ends it with a call to prayer and a gallery of living proof. After chapters spent lifting up the supremacy of Christ and pressing a young church to put the old self to death, he lands on something deeply practical: the transformed life he has described is only possible through utter dependence on God. As Dr. Shaun Miles put it, the big idea of the whole passage is simple and searching. A life devoted to prayer produces visible proof.
He opened by reminding us that even our nation was birthed in prayer. Before the Declaration of Independence was ever debated, the delegates called the people together for fasting, weeping, and prayer, and May 17 became a day of national prayer. If God can birth a nation through prayer and guide it with prayer, He is able to sustain His people the same way. That is exactly the note Paul strikes as he closes his letter to a church being pressed in from every side.
Pray: Utter Dependence
The first word Paul gives is devote yourselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2). Prayer is a falling reliance upon the Lord, an admission that we cannot do this on our own and do not even want to try. Christianity is not a natural religion you improve at like a golf swing. It is a supernatural life, and prayer is its lifeline. Paul even asks the church to pray for him, not for release from prison, but that in the middle of his chains a door would open for the gospel. That is maturity: instead of praying only for the situation to change, we ask God to change us within it so He is glorified.
Watch: Alert and Aware
The second word is watch. Paul tells us to keep alert with thanksgiving. Prayer is not meant to be a mindless routine of highs, lows, and goodbyes. We are to be spiritually awake, sensitive to how God is leading us to pray, and mindful that we have a real enemy. Paul echoes this in Ephesians 6:18, calling us to pray at all times in the Spirit and stay on the alert, and Peter warns that our adversary prowls like a roaring lion. Watchful prayer aligns our hearts with His will and stands guard against the tactics of the enemy.
Walk: Wisdom Toward Outsiders
The third word is walk. Paul calls the church to conduct themselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity, with speech always seasoned with grace. When you know what God wants, that all people would come to know Him, you cannot help but want to live it out. Your one goal in this life is for Christ to be seen in you and through you.
The Living Proof
Paul does not leave the church with commands alone. He leaves them with real people who prove that God is able:
- Epaphras, who always wrestled for them in prayer, showing what devoted, agonizing intercession looks like.
- Onesimus, once a useless runaway slave, now a faithful and beloved brother. His very name means useful, and God made him so.
- John Mark, who once walked away when he was needed most, now restored and commended as a faithful servant. Failure was not the end of his story.
- Paul himself, in chains yet fruitful, writing letter after letter from prison as God used him in the hardest place.
Each life says the same thing: what God did for them, He will do for you. He is able.
All to Jesus
Jesus has already accomplished so much on our behalf. He rescued us, redeemed us, forgave us, and now lives in us. So the right response to everything we are is to give it all to Him. He is able to take every situation and make His name glorified in it, and He is able to use you. That is where this series has been headed all along: all to Jesus.
Small-Group Discussion Questions
- Have you truly given it all to Jesus, or have you settled for praying a prayer or going through baptism without surrendering your life? What would full surrender look like this week?
- Honestly, how is your prayer life? Where do you sense the Lord inviting you into deeper daily dependence rather than a weekend-only habit?
- Paul asked the church to pray that God would be glorified in his imprisonment rather than that he be released. Where do you tend to pray for the situation to change instead of asking God to change you within it?
- Which of the four examples (Epaphras, Onesimus, John Mark, or Paul) most encourages you right now, and why?
- Walking in wisdom toward outsiders means Christ is seen in you. Who is one person in your life right now who needs to see that what He has done for you, He can do for them?