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Continue in Strength
Colossians 1:9-14

Martin B. Copenhaver

When we think of people who need our prayers, our thoughts most naturally turn to those who are experiencing some kind of challenge or hardship. But here Paul is offering prayers for those whose faith is already strong and whose lives are already bearing fruit. These are prayers of thanksgiving, to be sure, but also prayers that they may continue in strength. After all, a strong person is no less dependent on God's grace than is the person who is weak. The difference is that the strong person's need is less evident and may seem less urgent. But all of us rely on God's grace in every hour. God did not create us like a clockmaker creates a clock. Rather, God creates more like a musician creates music. If God did not continue to breathe through us, we would cease to breath, as surely as a cello would cease to make music if the cellist walked out of the room. If God did not give the continual gift of faith, we would descend into despair. The strong have no claim on any strength independent of God--it is a continual gift only from God's hands. So when we pray, our prayers may go first to those in obvious need, but then they are to encompass all those who stand in need of God's gifts, and that is each of us, both the weak and the strong.

Prayer: Dear God, be with me when I am weak, so that I might draw on your power, and be with me when I feel empowered, so that I might always remember that you are the source of all power. Amen.