Praying for others

Colossians 1:9-12
9 ¶ For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

I was looking at these verses today for my devotions.  I've moved on from Philippians to Colossians now and I'm enjoying this book as well.  We are memorizing some verses from Colossians 3 as a school.  There is so much here.  I am so thankful for the living Word that we can grow from.  We can read a man's book once and maybe two times, but not much more before we know the story by heart and it's old hat to us.  But it's never the case with the word of God.  He's always growing and teaching us so that each time we open His Book, it comes alive in a way that's totally new or refreshing some truth already grasped once but lost in the daily living. 
 
As I was assigned to read these verses, Kay Arthur challenged us to make some notes about what is Paul is saying about prayer, and then to pray these verses for someone.  As I listed the things that I saw, it seemed a pattern came to light, but I could be wrong. 
 
Paul is telling the Colossians that he doesn't stop praying for them about certain things:
 
The first one I saw was that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Is there anyone you can think of that wouldn't need this prayer prayed for them?  I can think of noone who would not need to know what God's will is for them.  Reading these words today made me long to know His will for me.
 
The next thing I found was that he prayed for them to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  There again, I can't imagine anyone not needing that prayed for on their behalf.  Oh, yes, I am sure that many are walking in a manner worthy, but still praying that on their behalf doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.  I'd sure like to know someone was praying that for me.  And it seems to connect to the first thing I saw.  I think that we can more easily walk worthily when we know His will for us.  Not that that is a pre-requisite necessarily to our walking worthy, but it helps A LOT.
 
Third, I found that he prayed that they would please Him (God) in all respects.  There again if we are walking worthily, I think this goes hand in hand with that as well.
 
Fourth, bearing fruit. 
 
Increasing in the knowledge of God
 
Strengthened with all power
 
Joyously giving thanks to the Father
 
 All are connected as I see it to knowing His will and walking worthy.
 
The part that really touched my heart today was "who qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."  Beautiful.  Really loved the picture that we don't qualify ourselves, He does it for us, because we have no way of qualifying ourselves at all.
 
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
Steph