To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse…We give thanks to God…praying always for you, since we heard of…the love which ye have to all the saints.
—Colossians 1:2-4
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withall praying also for us.
—Colossians 4:2-3
Prayer for all believers—it will take much time, thought, and love to see all that is included in this simple expression. Think of your own neighborhood and the believers you know. Think of your whole country, and praise God for all who are His children. Think of all the Christian nations of the world, and the believers to be found in each of these. Think of all the unsaved nations and the children of God to be found among them in ever increasing numbers.
Think of all the different circumstances and conditions in which these are to be found, and all the varying needs that call for God’s grace and help. Think of many—oh, so many—who are God’s children, and yet through ignorance or sloth, through worldly‑mindedness or an evil heart of unbelief, are walking in the dark and are bringing no honor to God. Think of so many who are in earnest and yet are conscious of a life of failure, with little or no power to please God or to bless man. Then think again of those who are to be found everywhere, in solitary places or among company, whose one aim is to serve the Lord who bought them and to be the light of those around them. Think of them especially as joining, often unaware of their relationship to the whole body of Christ, in pleading for the great promise of the Holy Spirit and the love and oneness of heart that He alone can give.
This is not the work of one day or one night. It needs a heart that will set itself to do serious thinking in regard to the condition of the body of Christ to which we belong. But once we begin, we will find what abundant reason there is for our persevering and yielding to God’s Spirit, so that He may prepare us for the great and blessed work of daily praying the twofold prayer: for the love of God and Christ to fill the hearts of His people, and for the power of the Holy Spirit to come down and accomplish God’s work in this sinful world.