FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
When Paul Didn’t Ask for A Way Out
This week at Forge, we spent time in Epistle to the Colossians 1:1-12. Around our table, one observation quietly settled on us with surprising weight: in these opening verses, Paul the Apostle never asks for his circumstances to change.
That’s striking.
This is Paul. The man who was beaten, imprisoned, opposed, slandered, and constantly under pressure. If anyone had reason to begin a letter with, “Pray that this gets easier,” it was him.
But he doesn’t.
Instead, he overflows with thanksgiving.
He thanks God for their faith in Christ Jesus.
He thanks God for their love for all God’s people.
He thanks God for the hope stored up in heaven.
He rejoices that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing.
Paul’s instinct is gratitude, not grievance.
And when he does move from thanksgiving to request, what does he ask for?
Not relief.
Not protection.
Not escape.
He asks that they be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. He asks that they live lives worthy of the Lord. He prays for fruitfulness, deeper knowledge of God, strengthened character, endurance, patience, and joyful gratitude.
In other words, he prays for transformation, not transportation.
How often are our prayers the opposite? We tend to pray…
“Change this situation.”
“Fix this problem.”
“Remove this difficulty.”
“Make this easier.”
There’s nothing wrong with bringing our needs to God. Scripture invites that. But Paul’s priorities challenge us. His greatest concern is not the comfort of the believer but the maturity of the believer.
He assumes hardship. He aims for holiness.
That’s the part our table couldn’t shake.
Paul understands something we often forget. Circumstances are temporary, but character is eternal. The trial will pass. The difficulty will fade. The opposition will eventually end. But the fruit formed in us through those pressures – patience, endurance, wisdom, gratitude – that is lasting treasure.
Even more, Paul’s prayers are God-centered before they are circumstance-centered. He wants believers rooted in truth, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way. His focus is vertical before it is horizontal.
It makes me ask uncomfortable questions.
What if the primary purpose of my current struggle is not that it would be removed, but that I would be refined?
What if the greater miracle isn’t deliverance from difficulty, but endurance within it?
Paul doesn’t ignore reality. He simply interprets it through a different lens. The gospel is advancing. God is at work. Fruit is growing. Therefore, give thanks. Ask for wisdom. Pray for strength. Trust the process.
That’s a perspective that Pastor Pete has said we desperately need to take to heart.
Because when our prayers are dominated by “change my situation,” we may miss the deeper work God is doing in us. But when we begin with thanksgiving and ask for patience, wisdom, and spiritual strength, we align ourselves with something far more lasting.
Paul’s example gently but firmly redirects us.
Not: “Lord, get me out of this.”
But: “Lord, grow me through this.”
And maybe that shift changes everything.
Joe Bouch
