Passionate Prayer
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 04:59PM In Colossians 4:12, Paul is closing out his letter to the Colossians and he writes these incredibly profound words about a man named Epaphras: "He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."
“He is always WRESTLING in prayer for you…”
…struggling in prayer, competing in prayer, contending in prayer, fighting in prayer.
Why? What is so important that he is wrestling in prayer?
He is praying that the Colossian Christians “may STAND FIRM in all the will of God, MATURE and FULLY ASSURED.”
…lacking nothing necessary to completeness, completely convinced, fully persuaded.
This verse is an amazing picture of what prayer is—a wrestling match in which we contend with an enemy while asking God to intervene. I don’t know about you but I want to pray like Epaphras—wrestling, striving and contending for my wife, my boys, my friends, our church and even myself.
This verse also reveals one of the most powerful things we can pray for people—that God would help us to stand firm in our faith, complete in Christ and 100% confident in His will for ourselves, our friends, our families and our world.
Imagine what our faith would look like if we made a commitment to wrestle in prayer for this! We would be a community of faith that would consistently reflect the glory, beauty, holiness and love of God. That’s the kind of Christ-follower I want to be and that’s the kind of community I want to be a part of!
Father, empower us by Your Spirit that we may stand firm, unmoved by the trials, struggles and temptations of life. Make us complete in Your Son and help us to be completely convinced in all of Your will.