As I sit here reading Colossians, I cannot seem to get past the first chapter due to the heaviness of these words in front of me. I came across a particular section where Paul is speaking to those who live in Colossae, and he is not only honoring them, but he is also praying for them to be strengthened. Why? Because when you are well known for your great love and faith for the Lord, you will soon be well known for the spiritual warfare that comes thereafter. It was not enough for Paul to simply raise them up and to confirm their true devotion for Christ Jesus, but he also made it a point to pray for them to be strengthened. He understood the importance of intercession. He proceeded in building them up spiritually for the days to come.

I cannot stress enough the true depth of wisdom that Colossians 1:9-12 holds. The Holy Spirit has put it on my heart to turn this into a personal prayer and I am excited to share this with you as well. So as I sit here tonight and pray this over my life, I am asking you to stand in agreement and pray this over your life as well. Our first and strongest desire should always be to know the Heart of Jesus more than yesterday, and to grow in knowledge and in Truth of the deeper things of God. Yesterday's "bread" should not satisfy our hunger today, we should instead desire to fulfill our hunger with the revelation we have been given for this hour. When we seek after the Lord with ALL that we have, He shall always allow Himself to be found by us.

I have first provided the original scriptures of Colossians 1:9-12 for you to understand and receive the the very prayer of Paul that is still being fulfilled for you today.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Now, I have taken this prayer and I have written it from my own heart. I invite you to do the same. After reading Paul's prayer, what does it personally mean for you and your life? What areas have you seen come to fruition and what areas have you possibly never thought to pray for? Grab a pen and paper, open the notes app on your phone, and create a prayer from the hunger in your heart as Paul as provided. I will share mine...

"Lord, I pray that You will give me great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things, so that I will live the kind of life that honors and pleases You. Lacking no good thing, I call forth Your perfect will to reign and rule my entire life. Let this be so that I will produce good fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of who You truly are. Strengthen me Lord with Your great power, so that I will not give up when troubles come, but so that I can be patient as You are patient, and I can be kind as You are kind. Through this, my endurance shall be great and through this endurance I will not grow weary in well doing. I thank You, Father for qualifying me through the blood of Jesus to share in the beautiful inheritance found within your Kingdom of Light! I am forever grateful for the justification you have extended and for the righteousness you have given. Your grace has proven that my Sanctification is glorious in your sight. In Jesus precious name I pray in gratitude…Amen."

Amy Basel