Verse of the Day 6/3

Through the Bible - 2 Chronicles 13-15, John 15:1-17

Good morning,
The other day I read two different devotionals that dealt with the topic of prayer. The first was from Ephesians 6:18 which mentioned that we should be "praying always" in the Spirit for "all the saints".
It should be easy to pray for loved ones such as our family and friends. But how encompassing is "all the saints"? We pray for loved ones going through spiritual and physical battles whether here or in a foreign land in missions or in military service.
Today's verse comes from Colossians 1 where Paul prays for the people of the church because of their faith and love for "all the saints". I'm sure that part of this love for all the saints includes prayer for them.
Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; NKJV
Regarding prayer, J. I. Packer writes, "Praying is not like carpentry or cookery; it is the active exercise of a personal relationship; a kind of friendship with the living God and His Son Jesus Christ, and the way it goes is more under divine control than under ours. Books on praying, like marriage manuals, are not to be treated with slavish superstition, as if the perfection of technique is the answer to all difficulties; their purpose rather, is to suggest things to try. But as in other close relationships, in prayer you have to find out by trial and error what is right for you, and you learn to pray by praying."
Sometimes we can become "stuck in a rut" in the ways and the times that we pray.
I would encourage you today to try something different. Pray for "all the saints" that come into your mind throughout the day. It's one way we can be praying always for all the saints.
If someone is going through a difficult time, take a minute, send an e-mail, make a phone call, encourage them by letting them know that you are praying for them.
Read the passage below. Wouldn't it help you if you knew that someone was praying for you in the way Paul does in verses 9-14? It is my prayer for you today.
In Christ,
Mike
Col 1:1-14
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their Faith in Christ
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
Preeminence of Christ
9 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; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
NKJV