Saturday 31 August 2024

Psalm 56

Background
The threatened, vulnerable Christian community in Colossae has been offered rich resources, wise guidance and warm affirmation in this letter from Paul. Now, these faithful people are being encouraged to pray – to devote themselves to prayer, for themselves and for others engaged in God’s mission. They are also given a little pep talk about their words and their deeds.

Prayer lies at the heart of faith and is a vital means for maintaining and developing a relationship with God. Many people feel that they are not very good at it, they don’t do enough of it, or they don’t do it ‘right’. The notion of being inadequate in prayer can become dispiriting and disabling, causing people to give up even trying to pray.

An important insight into prayer is that it involves listening as well as speaking – resting in the presence of God and waiting to see what comes. This requires patience and commitment, and there will be many distractions along the way, but being open to God is the starting point: "keeping alert in it with thanksgiving" (v. 2) as the Colossians are exhorted.

Prayer will always remain something of a mystery and its impact is not easily measured. There maybe an implied link in this passage, though, between prayer, conduct and speech. Being devoted in prayer, keeping alert and giving thanks, might affect how the faithful Colossians are together and how they behave. By being more open to God, they might be more likely to conduct themselves wisely towards others and use their time more effectively. Possibly prayer could lead them to speak more graciously and respond more effectively to those proclaiming alternative spiritualities and practices.

We will never really know, of course, what effect prayer had on the community, or even if it could be true in the experience of today’s Christians. These things are not measurable and prayer is certainly not a simple matter of cause and effect, but maybe the encouragement to pray in this passage from the letter to the Colossians is worth exploring?

To Ponder:

• What is your experience of prayer? If you do pray, what do you find most helpful, and what are some of the challenges?
• What do you think happens when people pray?
• What experiences do you have of prayer seeming to have an impact on situations, people, issues … or on you?

Prayer
Gracious God, help me to find ways in which I can be more open to you. Help me to listen in prayer as well as speak, and to rest in prayer as well as struggle. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Graham Jones
Graham is a Methodist presbyter serving as a member of the Learning Network and is based in York. He is committed to developing ministry in its broadest sense, enabling both lay and ordained to live out their vocations and to share in God's mission in the most fulfilling and effective ways.