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Here is something that always stirs up my feelings when I read it. From Colossians chapter 1:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may 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 might have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

from Colossians 1.9-12

I mean, it sounds great! How would it be if I knew in my heart how God looked at things, if I had spiritual wisdom, if I pleased God in every way, and all that? Wouldn't that be great?

So I wonder why Paul prays that for these Colossians? And what does that mean to me? Here's how I look at it. This being in the Holy Bible, and Paul being an Apostle and all, this prayer of his might represent the kind of stuff God wanted for them. Because it sometimes seems like when God wants to do something, he moves someone to pray for it, then he acts. In response, sort of.

Then, if the above represents God's will for the Colossians, it might represent God's will for you and me, but first I think we need to check out whether there are any important similarities or differences between them and us.

So... what do we know about these folks? Well, you may have noticed that Paul started this off with "For this reason..." For what reason? [B]ecause we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints (Colossians 1.4).

That sure sounds familiar. It's something that -- I was going to say "strive for," but if I said that I'd have it wrong, wouldn't I? It's the direction the Spirit wants to take us, and so we should try not to resist His promptings in that direction.

So to have faith, not doubt, in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to love, not be indifferent toward, our brothers and sisters in Christ. May the Lord help me, and you, to move in that direction.