Colossians 1:11-12 Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
This is the prayer of the apostle Paul, who prayed and petitioned before God without ceasing. For whom? For "you"-- for the church, for all the brothers and sisters in the church. What is he asking for?
He’s asking that we may all see the glory of the Lord and the power of the Lord Christ manifested in glory. Asking the Lord to strengthen those who truly follow the Lord in the church according to His glorious power. In other words, the church needs to be strengthened, encouraged, revived, and to have patience and endurance. Persecution and suffering can make people weak, disappointed, and despair. Weak people lack fighting spirit, disappointed people lose their joy, and desperate people lose their patience and tolerance.
All the apostle can do for the church is to pray, to pray earnestly before the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord, according to His glorious power, grant it to the church, to those who are running around in the Gospel field, and to those who are suffering for the Lord. That you, the Church of Colossians, may be strengthened in every force, from anxiety to joy, from breakdown to patience, from hatred to forbearance. Let the people of God regain their strength, become incomparably powerful in their spirits, and become powerful men in spiritual warfare.
What the apostle asks for is endurance in affliction, and endurance as success. The apostle Paul and his co-workers are great examples of successful endurance. The apostle expressed his wish in prayer. He asked God the Father to enable his coworkers and the saints in the church to share the inheritance in the light. It is the eternal inheritance of the Lord Jesus in heaven for all his children, who become his heirs.
～Rev. Benguang Du都本光牧師～