For similar injunctions to be persistent in prayer see Rom 12.12, Eph 6.18, Phil 4.6, 1 Thes 5.17. Be persistent in prayer may be rendered as “continue to pray,” but more often than not a more satisfactory equivalent is “do not stop praying.”

Besides being persistent, they are to keep alert. It is difficult to know precisely what this means; it does not seem probable that it is meant literally, “keep awake” (Jerusalem Bible), but rather metaphorically, “with mind awake” as New English Bible puts it, or else, as Beare suggests, “being watchful against temptation.” Keep alert as you pray may possibly be expressed as “pay attention to what you are saying to God.”

Once more giving thanks to God is stressed as an integral part of all Christian prayer.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .