In the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Saints at Colossae (or modern-day Turkey), the Apostle Paul gave snippets of counsel to believers. He wrote of being good employers (V:1), appropriate in one's speech (V:6), true to one's vocation or assignments in the Church (V:17), etc. In V:2 of this chapter, Paul gave some counsel as to how to make our prayers more effective and, perhaps, more in alignment with what God would want from us by way of prayer.

The Apostle certainly emphasized the need to have a "devoted" prayer-life, where prayer was something you "continued in" (as the Greek says) or engaged in regularly. However, Paul also indicated that it isn't simply good enough to pray frequently; one should also add to those "continuous" prayer two things. First, be "alert" as you pray. Alert? Alert to what? Well, certainly the promptings which come (through the Holy Spirit) as you seek guidance; but also, to how blessed you are. Thus, Paul gave his second bit of counsel that our "continuous" prayers should be filled with "thankfulness" or "gratitude" (more than then are about requests for "wants" or "needs"). In other words, Paul counseled Christians to be the type of people who pray regularly, who give thanks constantly, and who are attentive to how very blessed their lives are. As the promptings of the Spirit come (through or prayers, or in other circumstances), those should fill us with thanksgiving that God speaks to us personally and also blesses us daily.