What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?

    Is the will of God only about us?  Does it only concern our job, our family, and what kind of house we buy?  We often seem to make the will of God all about us when it really centers on God Himself.

   Last week I started reading the Life-Study of Colossians, and in Chapter 3 Witness Lee shares on the apostle's prayer in Colossians 1:9-11 which opens with a verse on God's will. 

Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease  praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

    As I read through this chapter, I was reminded again what God's will is centered on:  

 The will of God is profound in relation to our knowing, experiencing, and living the all-inclusive Christ.  In verse 9 Paul was not praying that the Colossians would know whom to marry, where they live or what kind of job they should have.  His heart was not occupied with such trivial things.  In this verse God's will refers to Christ....God's will for the Colossians was to know Christ, to experience Christ, to live Christ and to have Christ become their life and their person.  God's will for us is exactly the same (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Colossians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry,  1979, Print).

      As we pray and open up all the major decisions of our lives to God, He can impress us with His desire and direction for us.  A few years ago I heard a message about God's will that touched me, and I wrote down a prayer this brother encouraged his listeners to pray--"Lord, do whatever You want.  Lord, do whatever is in Your heart and according to Your will concerning me."  

You can listen to excerpts from the Life-Study of Colossians given in 1979 on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  Program #3 is on the apostle's prayer in Colossians 1.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Colossians:

What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?
What is the Stewardship of God in Colossians 1:25?
What is the Hope of Glory in Colossians 1:27?
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Difference Between the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2 & the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
What is God's Intention for Your Life?
From the Life-Study of Colossians - What Happens When We Pray?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?
What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth? (Part 1)
What is the Goal of Spiritual Growth in Colossians 2:19?  (Part 2)
What is Christ Doing at the Right Hand of God in Colossians 3:2?