Agonizing

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” Colossians 4:12

When was the last time you sat down with a pen and paper and wrote to a friend, updating them on your life and asking about theirs in return? I bet it has been a while! In this age of digital communication, our correspondence has become a series of short phrases, abbreviations and emoticons. In the old days of letter writing, it was common to include greetings from mutual friends. The apostle Paul did it frequently in his letters to the churches (Romans 16:21-23).

His letter to the Colossians was no exception. The final twelve verses of chapter 4 are full of these greetings and comments. One stands out to me–verse 12, as quoted above. Paul refers to Epaphras, a co-laborer for Christ. Epaphras had spent some time in Colossae teaching at some point in the past (Colossians 1:7). While no longer there, he was praying for these brothers and sisters in Christ, but not just praying–he was “struggling” in prayer for them. This Greek word is the root of our English word agonize and it means to strive, or fight for victory. Notice the goal of his fervent prayers–their maturity and their follow-through in God’s will.

What should this look like in our lives? We should be fervently, passionately praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ–that they would be growing, maturing and following through in God’s will for their lives. For whom are you “struggling in prayer”? Whose maturity are you “fighting for” before God’s throne?

-Pastor Mike