How to pray like Paul did

Feb 15, 2026

Prayer for Spiritual Growth (Part 1)

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For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:9-10 (NET)

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I tried to tackle this one by itself, but they’re too linked.

Let’s start with verse 9.

Paul keeps praying for the Church in Colossae.

We see in other letters he mentions praying for believers without ceasing.

Obviously he does other things throughout the day than just spending all his time in prayer.

This word is more like a cough you can’t shake. For example, if you were sick you might say, “I’ve been coughing all day.” We know that’s not literally true, and yet we understand the truth in that phrase.

This is what Paul means when he says he has not ceased to pray.

What does Paul pray for?

* asking God to fill them with knowledge of His will

* all spiritual wisdom & understanding

This is significant and it gives us targets to aim our prayers at.

Rather than praying for health, or outcomes, or other actions, he prays for wisdom.

Our actions don’t come out of nowhere. The things we do grow the things we think about.

First we think, then we feel, then we take action.

Paul is wise to steer his prayers toward aligning the Church with God’s wisdom. It’s the best way to ensure that everything else about our walks with God goes well.

If you want to pray for spiritual growth, start by asking for God’s wisdom.

— Ricky Ketchum

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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