Ohana Prayer 406 – Colossians 2
1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:
23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence
Praise the merciful and gracious Lord, our Father in Heaven who is slow to anger, abounding in love. Because of your great love we can come into your house; we can worship in your holy Temple and bow down to you in reverence. May the greatness of Your compassion wipe out our wrongdoings. Have mercy upon people who live in places that are hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Rescue those who live each day in fear. Hear their cry for help those who have sunk into the desolate pit, the miry clay. Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over them or the deep swallow them up; don’t let the pit close its mouth over them. Lord, Your lovingkindness is good. May You answer the prayers of all believers to help these people. Enlighten them so they may know that You are the only True God whom they can depend on. May you forgive us for not taking care of this planet, for not setting our minds on things that are above, not wholeheartedly showing Your love to others, and proclaiming the gospel.
We praise our Savior, Lord Jesus. The entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in You. After Your death and resurrection, You declared that all authority has been given to you in heaven or on earth and that You are the head over every ruler and authority. Since we have accepted You, Christ Jesus as Lord, we are to live in union with You, plant our roots in You and let You be the foundation for our lives. Be strong in our faith, just as we were taught, and be grateful.
Lord Jesus, forgive us that our faith is not firmly established. We know that our old beings have been put to death with You on Your cross, we still long for worldly pleasures. Forgive us that we allow people to take us captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition. We fell prey to their tricks. We forget to have fellowship with You before serving You; we could not love Your work unless we first love You. Forgive us for professing to be Christians, but fail to abide in Your word, love one another, and think like Christ.
Thank you, Holy Spirit that You will never leave us. Thank you for constantly reminding us that since our old self was crucified with Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which we were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, we ought to give up our old way of life. We should clothe ourselves with Christ. As we are part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body, He gives the body its strength, and He uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God.
Holy Spirit, be our traffic light to give us signals to march forward by the power of the cross. Guide us so we can be effective in preaching gospel and populating God’s kingdom. Don’t let our minds be filled with selfish desires, impulsively go against the red light, causing chaos for everyone and not accomplishing what we are called to do. Help us to fix our eyes on Christ so we can do this one thing, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to the goal You have set for us.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.