Colossians 1:9-12 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”
One of the signs of a maturing Christian is when a person begins to get outside of their self and starts focussing on others.
We live in a generation of takers and those who are preoccupied with their own needs. In many cases, even those who claim to follow Jesus are still very self-centered. You can test yourself in this area by noticing who or what is the object of your prayer life.
Do you find yourself praying for your own needs most often? Are the problems, trials, and triumphs of your day the constant thought and objects of your focus?
The maturing Christian realizes that they have needs, but they remember that Jesus said that He already knows what your needs are even before you ask. He also promised to supply all of your needs according to His riches, not yours.
Matthew 6:8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.“
Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.“
A small child does not need to constantly run back to his mother or father and ask them: “Are you going to feed me today?” “Are you going to provide me a place to live tomorrow”? They don’t need to continually ask because they already know that their parents love them and they have confidence that all their needs will be provided for when they need them.
Ask the Lord to supply all that you need, and then leave Him to take care of it. When it seems as if they are not being supplied, it is just because you are a little impatient. When you need it He will supply it.
As Paul prayed for the Colossians, that they would be “Filled with a knowledge of His will, walk worth of the Lord and seek to please Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father…”
Notice the Lord’s focus for our life: Develop inner character and concentrate on others, instead of a life that totally centered on self.
When your daily prayers are directed to God for other people’s needs and hurts instead of your own, you have arrived at a place of maturity. When you have needs, but you go out and give to meet the needs of others, you are a mature Christian. When you are hurting and you don’t want to go to church, but you go anyway to see who at church is hurting so that you can encourage them, you are a mature man or woman of God.
In forgetting about ourselves and going out to minster to other people’s needs, we find that all of our needs and hurts are taken care of by the Lord.
In your walk with Jesus today, find someone who has a need, a hurt, or a problem, and try to encourage them. You will find that in forgetting about yourself and taking care of others, you will discover that true happiness in life comes from giving, more than from receiving.
Rob Robinson
