Colossians 1:9–14 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Yesterday I shared some thoughts about submitting our lives to God’s will. Then last might I was reading Colossians and came across the passage above. Paul’s prayer was that the believers in Colossae would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, something that would come from spiritual wisdom and understanding. Why? So that they could live lives pleasing to God. If you are going to do God’s Will, you have to know what it is. That is the knowledge we need, and should pray for each other to have it.

I especially like how Paul reminds the Colossians and us of the reason we should make every effort to know and do God’s will. God has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The reason I want to do God’s will is because I know what Jesus did for me. He saved me. He took my sin on Himself and paid the penalty I owed. He was my substitute, and made it possible for me to be forgiven and assured of life with God now and life with Him always.

Knowing that makes it possible for me to say “Thy will be done” and actually mean it.