Ver. 6. Let your speech be alway with grace.—There is no excuse for a Christian’s conversation becoming rude and churlish. It may be necessary to speak plainly and boldly at times—the way of doing even that graciously ought to characterise Christians. Seasoned with salt.—The pungent flavour of wit and facetiousness was called salt by the Greeks, often with a spice of indecency. “Salt” in the New Testament is the opposite of corruption.
Ver. 11. A comfort to me.—The word for “comfort” is only found in this place in the New Testament. It is a medical term, and points to relief given in suffering—then, by way of ministering to a mind diseased or in trouble, is used of the speech which soothes and calms.
Ver. 12. Always labouring fervently for you.—R.V. “always striving.” Lit. “agonising.” Like the mighty wrestler who held the Angel till daybreak, Epaphras intercedes for His Colossian brethren. Complete in all the will of God.—R.V. “fully assured.” “From the tenor of the letter it appears that the Colossians needed a deeper Christian insight and more intelligent and well-grounded convictions respecting the truth ‘as in Jesus’ ” (Findlay).
Ver. 13. Zeal . . . for them that are in Laodicea.—Here then is one who differs from the Laodicean spirit of St. John’s time.
Ver. 17. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry.—He is again closely connected with Colossæ in the epistle to Philemon. A monition perhaps needed by Archippus. In the Lord.—The element in which every work of the Christian, and especially the Christian minister, is to be done.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 2–4.
The Efficacy of Prayer.
Prayer is a supreme necessity of the soul. It is the cry of conscious want, an outlet for the pent-up feelings, and a mighty engine of power in all spiritual enterprises. It is the holiest exercise of the believer, his solace in trouble, his support in weakness, the solver of his doubts and perplexities, his safety in peril, his unfailing resource in adversity, his balance in prosperity, his weapon in every conflict. It is the key which opens the door of the heavenly treasury, and places at his disposal the boundless wealth of the Divine beneficence. The efficacy of prayer does not terminate in the individual petitioner but extends to others on whose behalf supplication is made. God hears the cry of the believing suppliant, and in some way, not always explicable to us, but in harmony with His Divine perfections and the fitness of things, answers and blesses. The apostle knew the value and power of prayer when earnestly and humbly exercised, and, after giving directions concerning the discharge of certain specific relative duties, he returns, in concluding this epistle, to some general admonitions in which this important duty holds a foremost place. Prayer, says Thomas Aquinas, should have three qualities: it should be assiduous, watchful, and grateful. The perseverance with which prayer uninterruptedly draws itself through all events, internal and external, like a thread, or encircles them like a chain, is its vital power; the watchfulness, the lively circumspection, the gratitude, are the quiet tone or firm basis of the same.
I. That prayer to be efficacious must be earnest and unceasing.—“Continue in prayer” (ver. 2). The heart must be in the duty and all the best powers of the man put forth. That in which we have no interest will stir no feeling, will challenge no effort. To repeat a verbal formulary is not prayer. Alas! how many thousand prayers go no farther than the sound they make and are as useless! Genuine prayer involves thought, diligent inquiry, passionate entreaty, unwearied perseverance. The highest blessings of the Christian life, the brightest visions of God, the deepest insight into truth, the most enravishing ecstasies of the soul, are obtained only by fervent and persistent wrestling. Prayer must be offered with close-cleaving constancy, as the word “continue” implies, and with daily frequency. Let prayer be the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.
II. That prayer to be efficacious must be joined with vigilance.—“And watch in the same” (ver. 2). Long, prosy, spiritless prayers lull the soul into a dangerous slumber; and without incessant watchfulness all prayers are apt to become long, prosy, and spiritless. It is not necessary we should rob ourselves of needful sleep in order to spend so many hours in formal devotion. The vigilance refers to the spirit and manner in which all prayer is to be offered. There may be times when, under the pressures of some great solicitude, the soul is drawn out in prayer so as to preclude sleep; but at these times the quality of watchfulness is often in most vigorous operation. Watch, as a sentinel suspecting the approach of an enemy; as a physician attending to all the symptoms of a disease; as the keeper of a prison watching an insidious and treacherous criminal. We have need to watch against the temptations arising from worldly associations, from the sinfulness of our own hearts, and from the vile insinuations of the enemy, all which mar the efficacy of our prayers. Chrysostom says, “The devil knoweth how great a good prayer is.” No wonder he should seek to distract the mind of the earnest suppliant. “Prayer,” said Bernard, “is a virtue that prevaileth against all temptations;” but this is so only when a sleepless vigilance is exercised.