at Colossians chapter 1 verse 11 specifically. We obviously don't have time to go into all of the the text here that Paul is communicating to the church at Colossae and is communicating to them as he does normally with his opening prayer in a book. And so he is communicating to them his prayer for them and there's an interesting section of scripture that I think is relevant. You know, whenever you're going to speak on prayer or gospel advance, there's hundreds of passages that you can go to and look at. But this one specifically has caught my attention recently. Verse 11 kind of picks right up in the middle of this of this sentence. We can actually begin in verse nine. And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you. asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. And that's the verse I wanna just kind of focus our minds on for just a few minutes. This morning, as we think through this, there's lots of challenges that exist in our world today. I think for those of us that are in the US, we realize that times are changing. And for our brothers and sisters around the world, I think we are going to soon catch up to what they've endured for a number of years. And Paul here is communicating some similar truths that he communicates in Philippians chapter one, when he talks about at the end of chapter one, he talks about walking in a manner worthy of the gospel, they'd be linked arm in arm, striving side by side for the gospel. And so here he's talking in the same vein about praying that they walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him and bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. But then he goes into verse 11, and it's an interesting, a prayer that Paul continues as he encourages these men and women that he's writing to where he says, we're praying that you would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. There's three phrases that actually catch our attention and then there's a qualifying statement that is fascinating for us to look at. He says there that he's praying that they would be strengthened with all power. The word strengthened there is, of course, the Greek word dunamis, which is the power, the ability, the work of really the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts and our lives, enabling us, equipping us, allowing us to be able to accomplish the work that God has called us to do. But Paul says, I want you to know that we are praying that you would be strengthened with all power, but not according to your own ability, not according to your own talents, not according to your own experiences, but rather according to his might. And the word that Paul uses here, the word might is the word kratos, which is the Greek word for where we would get kraton, which means sovereign rule, sovereign authority, sovereign power. It's actually in Genesis 17, one, when God comes to Abraham and he says, I am the, the, I am God almighty walk before me as he's coming to make the covenant with Abraham. He uses the word there in Genesis 17, one, which is translated L should I, which is the almighty all powerful God. It's the all sufficient God. And so God is coming to Abraham and saying, I am all powerful, I am all sufficient, let's move forward with what I've called you to do. Well, here in Colossians 1, verse 11, Paul is communicating a similar truth where he's saying, I'm praying that you would be strengthened with all power or all might according to his glorious power. He's using the word kraton, the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates the word El Shaddai as Ponto Krator. It's the same root as the word that Paul uses here, Kraton. And so Paul is communicating to them that he wants them to be strengthened in the power that God is giving them, but strengthened with a glorious might, the El Shaddai, the all-powerful, all-sufficient God, that Paul is saying, I'm hoping and praying that you will trust in him and rely on him as El Shaddai to encourage you. And then he says that you would have all endurance and that you would have all patience with joy. And Paul does not pray that they are to be delivered from any trials or troubles or persecutions. Paul does not pray that God would give them their best life now. Paul does not pray that they would be able to have an easy life, but Paul prays that they would be through their trials, through their tribulations, through their testing, that they would be strengthened with El Shaddai, and that they would be able to have the endurance, which is the Greek word here, hupomene, which means to remain under. In other words, that they would have the ability through the Holy Spirit to remain under whatever it is that comes their way, and that they would do that with joy and with patience. allowing God to faithfully work as he sees fit so that it works for their good and for his glory. And so it's just a good reminder to us this morning as we think through these things, process through these things. Sometimes we often want to pray for God to remove things. This is where we see Paul talking in 2 Corinthians 12, where he says, three times I asked God to remove this thorn in the flesh from me and God's response was, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness. Very similar concepts that Paul is addressing in 2 Corinthians 12 in his own life. He is now praying for the Church of Colossae to say, I want you to be able to be strengthened in the power of El Shaddai that you would have, through his Holy Spirit, be able to remain under whatever it is that comes your way with endurance and with joy and with patience. And so it's just a great reminder, not only that that is what God's desire is for us, but then also, as we think about praying for others, that we would be praying this same way to be able to say, let's pray for our brothers and sisters to be able to be strengthened by El Shaddai, to be able to have the hupomene, the endurance to remain under whatever it is God is bringing them through, and that they would do it with endurance and they would do it with patience, they would do it with joy. That's the kind of prayer that we should be praying for each other and for our brothers and sisters, that God would get the glory and that he would do good in our hearts and our lives.