Colossians 4:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I know a holy man who prayed in such a way that he said nothing before these words, but immediately cried out: “We thank Thee for all Thy benefactions shown to us unworthy ones from the first day of our life until now.

“We thank Thee for all things that we know and do not know, for all things manifest and hidden, revealed in deed and word, done according to our will and against our will.

“We thank Thee for everything that has happened to us unworthy ones, for affliction and the lessening of affliction, for Gehenna, for torment, and for the kingdom of heaven.

“We beseech Thee to keep our soul holy, pure, conscientious, and wholly worthy of Thy love for mankind.

“Thou Who hast loved us so much that Thou gavest Thy Only-begotten for us, make us worthy to be worthy of Thy love.

“Grant us wisdom in Thy word and in Thy fear, O Only-begotten Christ. Breathe into us the power that proceeds from Thee.

“Thou Who gavest the Only-begotten for us and sent Thy Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of our sins, forgive us and do not condemn us if we have sinned in anything, willingly or unwillingly.

“Remember all who call upon Thy name in truth. Remember all who wish us good and those who do not, for we are all men.”

Then, after adding the prayer of the faithful and offering up the supplication as a kind of summary and common voice of all, he fell silent.

Indeed, God works many good things for us against our will, and many more He performs beyond our understanding. When we ask Him for something and He does the opposite, then clearly He is doing good beyond our understanding.

St. John Chrysostom says, “Since patience in prayers often brings weariness and sloth, he says, ‘watching,’ that is, keeping sober and not being tossed about.

“‘Watching in it with thanksgiving.’ Let it be your work, he says, to give thanks for manifest and hidden benefactions, for what He has done for our good, for the kingdom and Gehenna, for afflictions and consolation.”

“Blessed Theophylact says that he asks them to pray for himself not only out of humility, but also to show the power of brotherly prayer. He too had need of help from above, which the prayer of the brethren would bring him in greater measure.

“By this word the Apostle also wished to bring them into the labor of prayer. For if prayer is needed for him, much more is it needed for themselves.”

“Let us add,” writes Bishop Theophan, “that if he felt the need to have recourse to the common brotherly prayer of the faithful, who would dare be so self-confident as to dream of doing without brotherly prayer and remaining with his own alone?

“Here the Apostle expressed by deed the duty of Christians both to pray for one another and to ask one another to pray.

“What mystery of Christ does the Apostle have in mind? Not only the mystery of salvation in general, but especially the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles into the Church of God (cf. 1:26; Eph 3:6). For this mystery above all St. Paul is bound.”

When perseverance weakens, laziness, drowsiness, or sleepiness attacks on one side. On the other side, the alertness of the spirit departs, attention is scattered, and thoughts wander. The Apostle writes: be watchful. Keep both the spirit alert and the body undrowsy. Let both body and spirit remain in constant tension throughout the whole time of prayer.

Relax the members of the body and relax the thoughts, and prayer is already gone. You will stand like a pillar and nod your head like a puppet. Watchfulness indicates the living movement of prayer, the strong and warm striving of mind and heart toward God.

It would not be surprising if by this word the Apostle points to all-night vigils, which began in the Church from apostolic times. Saint Paul himself gave an example of this, spending the whole night with the faithful in instruction and prayer at Troas.

“With thanksgiving,” εν ευχαριστια. Ευχαριστια means satisfaction and delight, and it also means thanksgiving. Its original meaning is the first. Therefore one may suppose that the Apostle had this in view in the present place. In the flow of the discourse it fits very well here.

The Apostle drove away the feeling of weariness by perseverance, and the impulse toward slackening and laziness by watchfulness and tension. Yet one can persevere and keep oneself in tension, while at the same time being dissatisfied with such labor and enduring it with some murmuring.

A thought or feeling of this kind takes away before God the whole value of perseverance and watchfulness in prayer. As in almsgiving God loves a cheerful giver, so in prayer He loves only the one who patiently watches in it with heartfelt delight. Such a person is glad to stand in prayer, however long it may last.

This understanding is offered as an opinion, for all interpreters, both ours and others, understand ευχαριστια as thanksgiving. Thanksgiving must adorn every prayer. Without it one should not even approach the Lord, for insensitivity to benefits already received blocks the path to receiving new ones and shortens the Lord’s beneficent right hand.

Therefore thanksgiving necessarily has its place in the composition of our prayers. Basil the Great teaches us to begin every prayer with it. Because of this significance of thanksgiving in prayer, it is fitting to suppose that in the present place also, when speaking of prayer, the Apostle means it by ευχαριστια.

Let us cite what our interpreters have said. Blessed Theophylact writes: “The devil knows how great a good prayer is, and in every way he attempts to make us leap away from it. Therefore Saint Paul says, ‘persevere in prayer,’ προσκαρτερειτε, sit by it and toil over it.

Since one who sits by prayer is often subjected to attack from laziness and relaxation, he added, ‘watching in it,’ that is, being sober, always remaining tense in the work of prayer. But he also teaches that it should be done in thanksgiving, that is, with thanksgiving.

For that prayer is true which contains thanksgiving for all benefits, known and unknown to us, both for what brought us well-being and joy, and for what was accompanied by sorrow. It gives thanks for all benefits in general.”

Chrysostom says: “Since perseverance in prayers often brings boredom and laziness, he says, ‘watching,’ that is, being sober and not being dragged by thoughts here and there. For the devil knows, he knows how great a good prayer is, and therefore he weighs heavily upon the one praying.

Paul also knows how many become bored and lazy during prayer, and therefore he says, ‘persevere in prayer,’ as in something laborious. ‘Watching in it with thanksgiving.’ Let it be your work, he says, to give thanks for manifest and hidden benefits, for what He has done for our good both according to our desire and contrary to it.

Give thanks for the Kingdom and for Gehenna, for sorrow and for consolation. It is customary for the saints to pray in this way, thanking God in prayer for all benefits. I know one holy man who prayed thus. Before saying anything else, he began directly:

‘We thank Thee for all Thy benefits shown to us, the unworthy, from the first day until the present, known and unknown, manifest and hidden, done in deed and in word, according to our will and against it. We thank Thee for everything that has happened to us, the unworthy, for sorrows, for consolations, for Gehenna, for torments, for the Kingdom of Heaven.

We beseech Thee: preserve our soul holy, having a pure conscience, and grant us an end worthy of Thy love for mankind. Thou Who hast loved us so as to give Thine Only-begotten Son for us, make us worthy of Thy love. Grant us wisdom in Thy word and in Thy fear, O Only-begotten Christ. Breathe Thy power into us.

Thou Who gavest Thy Only-begotten Son for us and sent down Thy Holy Spirit for the remission of our sins, if we have sinned in anything willingly or unwillingly, forgive and do not impute it. Remember all who call upon Thy name in truth. Remember all who wish us good and those who wish us harm, for we are all human beings.’

Then, adding the prayer of the faithful, he ended in this way, having made prayer for all as a kind of crown and summary of everything.

God does much for our good even though we do not seek it. He does much of which we do not even know that it is good for us, and this is far more. For when we ask one thing and He does the opposite, and this is for our good, it is clear that He benefits us though we do not know what is good for us.”