Prayer for a Worthy Walk, XIII of ?

Prayer For A Worthy Walk

Colossians 1:9-10

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"

‘Unto All Pleasing’

‘That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work’ (verse 10). Having already pointed out the relation of this petition and its dependence upon the former one, and having explained what we conceive to be the meaning of ‘walk worthy of the Lord’, we turn now to the next clause. Those added words ‘unto all pleasing’ serve both to define and amplify the previous sentence, informing us how we are to walk worthily and the entirety of that duty and privilege. We are to pray and strive to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, not merely on the Sabbath but every day. We must not simply conduct ourselves reverently in the house of prayer but act becomingly in the outside world.

Our aim and endeavour must be to approve ourselves to Christ, and please Him not only in those things which are esteemed by common consent, nor in those which are agreeable to us, but also in those things which cross our wills and pinch the flesh. Nothing short of universal and uniform obedience is required of us. Christ died to deliver His people from the curse of the law, but not from the duty of practicing its precepts. He died not to free His people from the service of God but rather that they might be enabled to serve Him acceptably and with peace of conscience and joy of the heart.

Two classes of People in the World

There are but two classes of people in the world, namely, those who are offensive to God, and those who are esteemed by Him. The ones are self-pleasers, the others self-deniers. Therein lies the essential difference between sincere souls and hypocrites: the former honestly endeavour to please Christ, and are regarded by Him as the excellent of the earth (Psa. 16:3); the latter seek the approbation of men and live to gratify self, and therefore are they to God as ‘a vessel wherein is no pleasure’ (Hos. 8:8). There is no other alternative possible but either living to please self or living to please the Lord. No matter what may be their pretensions - what name they go under, what is their creed, how highly they are regarded by their fellows - if self is their ‘God’, they are hateful to the Holy One. Those in whom God delights are the ones who are regulated by His will, who live for His glory, whose daily walk honours Him, who are fruitful in good works. How that simple but discriminating classification serves to expose the empty profession all around us! Tens of thousands call themselves by the name of Christ, but they do not wear His yoke, do not take up their cross (the principle of self-abasement and sacrifice), do not follow His example.

Unless we have fully given ourselves up to God and are genuinely seeking to please Him in all that we do, our supposed conversion was merely a delusion. If the gratifying of our natural desires is our chief pleasure, we are yet in our sins. If we are sowing to the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption. Make no mistake, dear reader, whoever you are. The Omniscient One cannot be imposed upon, neither will He accept a divided heart.

No man can serve two masters. If you think you can placate God by acting piously on the Sabbath, while being thoroughly worldly through the week, you are woefully mistaken. God will not be served with any reserve or limitation, but requires us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. In order to please Him we have to shun whatever He hates: mortify the flesh, live separate from the world, resist the devil. The Lord will not be served with that which costs us nothing (2 Sam. 24:24).