Haere tonu ki te inoi, kia mataara hoki i te taua me te whakawhetai; Ko te inoi mo matou, Ma te Atua e whakatuwhera ki a matou he tatau o te korero, Ki te korero i te mea ngaro a te Karaiti, Ko wai hoki ahau i roto i nga here: Kia kitea ai e ahau, me korero ahau (Kolosa 4:2-4)
Ko te tikanga o Kolosa 4:2-4
I Ngā Hoa Mahi 4:2-4, Paul commanded the saints at Kolosse to continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving and also pray for them.
Giving constant attention to prayer is essential in the lives of Christians. Our lives should be a life of continuous prayer, watchfulness, and thanksgiving.
A neglected prayer life reveals itself in rebellion and Te whakapono ki te Atua and his Word, and apostasy from the faith and the commandments of Jesus Christ, and a life in sin.
Christians ought to follow the example of Jesus Christ, their Savior and Lord of their lives.
Jesus spent much time in prayer with the Father.
Jesus often withdrew Himself in silence and went out into the mountain to pray to the Father, even during the night (Aue. Ruka 6:12; 9:18-36; 21:27; Hone 17)
The life of Jesus was a life of prayer, whereby He could endure the temptation, te whakatoi, the suffering, a mate, and was able to fulfill the commission of the Father.
Kia mataara, ka inoi tonu i nga wa katoa, Kia kiia ai koutou he tikanga kia mawhiti i enei mea katoa ka puta, a ki te tu ki te aroaro o te Tama a te tangata
Ruka 21:36
The apostles and disciples of Jesus continued in prayer
The apostles and disciples of Jesus also knew the necessity and Te Mana o te Pure and spent much time in prayer. I mohio ratou, that without giving attention to prayer, they and their fellow believers were not able to stand in the faith and spiritual battle.
No reira, they urged Christians to continue in prayer, in the daily interaction with the Father, and to spend time with Him and not neglect prayer.
Christians not only need to give daily attention to the interaction with the Father and Jesus Christ, but also to persevere in prayers pertaining things, which are according to the will of God and in alignment with His Word, but are not immediately answered.
Even if Christians don’t see an immediate answer to their prayers, they should not faint and become discouraged and eventually stop praying.
Kia mahara, your faith is in the Almighty God, te Te Kaihanga o te Rangi me te Whenua a kei roto katoa o roto, and not in an answered prayer.
Kei te noho tatou i roto i te hapori ngaruiti, where everything needs to go fast. If Christians pray for something, they expect it to happen immediately. Because if it doesn’t happen immediately or doesn’t happen after praying 10 ki 15 wā, ka tuku ratou.
E mohio ana te rewera ki tenei.
The devil knows that most Christians don’t persevere in prayer but give up
He knows that most Christians don’t persevere in prayer but give up easily. Engari nga Karaitiana, who believe in Jesus Christ and the almighty God shall not give up, but persevere and continue in prayer, regardless of how long it takes. Just like the woman, who went to the unrighteous judge and didn’t give up but persevered until she received what she came for (Ruka 18:1-8).
Some prayers are answered immediately, others not. But regardless the length of time, have faith in God and stand in the victory.
During your time in prayer with the Father, He will show you through His Spirit what to pray and what not to pray.
Kia mahara, prayer is not finishing a wishlist, but it’s the time you spend together with the Father. Prayer is part of your relation in -and with Christ and the Father through the Holy Spirit. (Panuitia hoki: Te inoi ngaro o te whakapono).
Matakitaki
In addition, Christians should watch in the same. They should be and stay watchful and be on their guard of what is happening in the spiritual realm, before it manifests in the physical realm.
Christians should pray preventively, instead of praying when the damage has been done and only pray to God to clean up the mess.
Ko te rewera e haereere ana ano he raiona e hamama ana, e rapu ana, whom he can devour.
The devil constantly deceives. He constantly seeks for openings in the lives of people and which churches he can infiltrate ka whakangaro.
Karaitiana kikokiko, who focus on the natural and the things of this world and have a neglected or no prayer life, won’t notice the devil and his demons and their infiltration.
Na roto i to ratou (wairua) blindness, they shall not recognize them, whereby the devil and his demons can continue their destructive work.
Engari nga Karaitiana, who walk after the Spirit and daily spent time in prayer, are sober and watchful and see the methods and works of the devil, who comes as an angel of light and through worldly humanitarianism and false love, deceives many believers and causes them to fall away from the faith and God’s Word. (Panuitia hoki: Kaore ranei tatou e kuware ki nga taputapu a Hatana?).
The Holy Spirit reveals the truth and exposes the hidden things
No reira, the Holy Spirit and the discernment of spirits are needed in the lives of believers. The Holy Spirit reveals whether something is as good as it seems in the natural and whether someone is truly sincere as it seems in the natural.
Sometimes a situation can look so wonderful and seems like it’s coming from God or a person can seem so religious and genuine, while the Holy Spirit says the opposite and warns.
Then it’s up to the believers, whether they hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and believe and obey His words or reject His words, because they believe what they see with their own natural eyes and what they hear with their own natural ears.
Thanksgiving is part of prayer
In addition to the continuous prayer and watchfulness, Christians should give thanks.
In all things under all circumstances, Christians should give thanks to God the Father and Jesus Christ, te tama.
Be thankful and make it an habit to give thanks to the Lord for Who He is and What He has done and for the things in your life several times a day.
Name them out loud instead of murmuring and complaining about things in the past or things that don’t go the way you wanted to or what’s lacking in your life. But thank the Lord God and give Him the glory!
When you thank the Lord, you will be joyful!
Heoi ano… don’t thank the Lord to become joyful. But thank the Lord, no te mea you love God with your whole heart and you are truly thankful.
Pray for the saints
Pray also for your fellow believing brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember all Christians in your prayers, including the leaders and servants in the Church, that they persevere in the faith and in the truth and stand in the world and that God will open a door for them, so that they can boldly preach the word of God and the mystery of Christ to the people.
Paul made this request to the saints, whereby he indicated how important and necessary it is to pray for fellow believers and to pray for open doors to bring the gospel of Christ to the people.
Kia pau te inoi me te tohe, me inoi i nga wa katoa i roto i te Wairua, Kia pau te manawanui me te tohe mo te hunga tapu katoa; A mo ahau, kia homai he kupu ki ahau, kia maia ai te puaki o toku mangai, hei whakapuaki i te mea ngaro o te rongopai, He karere nei ahau, he mea here: kia maia ai ahau ki te korero i taua mea, me korero ahau
Epeha 6:18-20
Haere tonu ki te inoi, and watch in the same with thanksgiving and pray for fellow believers
Te hunga tapu, who belong to the Church of Christ ought to continue in prayer, kia mataara hoki i te taua me te whakawhetai, and pray for fellow believers that God opens a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ as they ought to speak.
‘Hei tote mo te whenua’
