What if the most important question you could ever ask isn’t “what should I do?” but “why am I doing it?” Pastor Josh White opens Colossians 1:9–11 and unpacks Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers — a prayer that cuts through the noise of modern life and gets straight to the heart of what it means to know God’s will. Paul’s framework is simple but profound: God’s will answers three questions — What, How, and Why. And when all three come together, your life doesn’t just change. It bears fruit.
The Gospel Does Seven Things
Before diving into the prayer, Pastor Josh briefly recaps the first section of Colossians 1. Paul has been laying out what the gospel is and what it does. So far, we’ve seen four marks of the gospel: it is received by faith alone, it rests in love, it rests in hope, and it reaches the world. But there are three more that appear in the section we’re studying today:
- Number 5: The gospel produces fruit — it is a living gospel that changes lives.
- Number 6: The gospel is rooted in grace.
- Number 7: The gospel is reported by people — if you’ve received it, you’re called to share it.
These three themes — fruit, grace, and sharing — are exactly what Paul unpacks in his prayer for the Colossians in verses 9–11.
Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians
Paul doesn’t pray for the Colossians to have an easy life, a trouble-free existence, or material success. He doesn’t even pray for them to be happy or healthy. His prayer is more strategic — and more demanding:
“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 in 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.”
— Colossians 1:9–10
Paul’s one-sentence prayer contains a cascade of “so thats” — each one building on the last. But at the center of it all is one ask: that they would know God’s will. Not vaguely. Not superficially. Completely.
The Three Questions God’s Will Answers
As Pastor Josh walked through this passage, he noticed something striking: knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are all answers to life’s most important questions. And God’s will addresses all three:
- Knowledge (the Greek gnosis, intensified by the preposition epi for extra emphasis) answers the question: What? What is God’s will? What does He want me to know?
- Wisdom answers the question: How? How do I apply what God says in my life, in my relationships, in my decisions?
- Understanding answers the question: Why? Why does God want this? Why does it matter? What’s the big picture?
Paul doesn’t just pray that they’d have a little head knowledge. He prays they’d be filled (pleroo) — completely filled, controlled by, under the influence of the knowledge of God’s will. And the same word appears in his other letters:
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”
— Ephesians 1:17
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”
— Philippians 1:9
This is a repeated, urgent prayer from Paul. Why? Because knowing — truly knowing — God’s will is foundational to everything else.
Why This Matters: A World Without Absolutes
Look around today and you’ll see a world that denies absolute truth, especially in the area of morality. Without a source of authority, anything goes. But the Bible paints a very different picture:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me.”
— Hosea 4:6
Without knowledge of God’s revealed will, individuals and nations alike spiral. That’s why Pastor Josh put it plainly: the Bible views knowledge of doctrinal absolutes as foundational for godly living.
“Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.”
— Proverbs 19:2
How many people are chasing after desires, trends, and pleasures without stopping to ask whether it aligns with God’s will? The result is always the same — missed paths, broken lives, regret.
The What, How, and Why in Everyday Life
Pastor Josh illustrated this framework with a workplace example. At your job, you might know what your responsibilities are (knowledge). You might know how to do your work (wisdom). But if you don’t understand why your role matters — how it fits into the bigger picture — you’ll never be truly motivated. All three working together produces excellence. Any fewer, and you’re either uninspired or heading for failure.
The same is true with speed limits. You know what the speed limit is (knowledge). You know how to drive at that speed (wisdom). But why does it matter? Because it’s about everyone’s safety. Without the “why,” the rules feel arbitrary — and we chafe against them.
This applies directly to the family, too — a topic Paul tackles in Colossians 3. God designed the family to function in a specific way. Wives, submit to your husbands. Husbands, love your wives. Children, obey your parents. But unless we understand why God designed the family this way, those commands feel oppressive rather than protective.
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”
— Colossians 3:18–20
The “what” and “how” are incomplete without the “why.” That’s where the real transformation happens.
How to Be Filled with the Knowledge of God’s Will
So how do you actually get this knowledge inside you? Three ways:
1. Desire It
“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”
— John 7:17
Most people don’t actually want to know God’s will — they just want to do what feels right in the moment. But real knowledge starts with a humble, reverent desire for truth. Ask yourself: If what I believed about something was wrong — really wrong — would I want to know?
Pastor Josh posed that question at three levels: the trivial (speed limits), the practical (flight times), and the eternal (how to be saved). Only one of those truly matters — and yet many people resist examining it most of all.
2. Depend on the Holy Spirit
“The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:10–11
This is one of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling: to help you understand God’s Word. You can’t comprehend God’s mind on your own — you need divine assistance. That’s exactly what the Spirit provides for every believer.
3. Dig into Scripture
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
— 2 Timothy 3:16–17
God didn’t just give humanity good ideas. He gave truth — absolute, eternal truth. And because it’s true, it’s useful. It corrects, trains, and equips. The more you fill your mind with Scripture, the more you’re controlled by it.
Two Challenges
Based on this passage, Pastor Josh left everyone with two practical challenges:
- Pray this prayer — for yourself and for others. How often do you genuinely ask God to fill your mind with the complete knowledge of His will? Not just a casual “God guide me,” but a committed, daily prayer: “Lord, fill me with Your truth. Help me know what, how, and why.”
- Change how you read the Bible. The next time you open Scripture — or sit under a sermon — come with three questions: What does this teach me about God? How am I supposed to apply this? And why does it matter? Don’t settle for only one or two. Press for all three.
When someone genuinely seeks the what, the how, and the why, the result is exactly what Paul describes: a life that walks worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work.
Scripture References
- Colossians 1:9–11 — Paul’s prayer for knowledge of God’s will
- Ephesians 1:16–17 — The same prayer for the Ephesians
- Philippians 1:9 — Love abounding in knowledge and discernment
- John 7:16–17 — Desiring to do God’s will leads to knowing His truth
- 1 Corinthians 2:10–13 — The Holy Spirit reveals God’s depths
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17 — Scripture is profitable for teaching and training
- Proverbs 19:2 — Desire without knowledge is dangerous
- Hosea 4:6 — God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
- Colossians 3:18–20 — The family design in Colossians
- Galatians 2:16 — Justified by faith, not by works of the law