Colossians 4:12-13 KJV Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. [13] For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.
I. INTRODUCTION -- PRAYER IS HARD WORK
-God gives us authority in prayer but there are many necessities of life that we allow to hinder what we do with prayer.
• Laziness hinders prayer.
• Unspiritual attitudes hinder prayer.
• Carnal lifestyles hinder prayer.
• Spiritual warfare hinders prayer.
-But in the grand scheme of things, we must pray to be effective in the Kingdom of God.
• Because spiritual warfare is unrelenting, we must pray.
• Because the days are evil, we must pray.
• Because revival demands it, we must pray.
• Because our families are protected by it, we must pray.
• Because spiritual authority comes through it, we must pray.
• Because it is a powerful weapon, we must pray.
-Prayer is hard work! We cannot simply decide to pray. . . . we have to pray! We must labor in our praying.
Andrew Murray -- The Ministry of Intercession -- We have far too little conception of the place of that intercession, as distinguished from prayer for ourselves, ought to have in the Church and in Christian life. In intercession our king upon the throne finds His highest glory too. Through it He continues His saving work and can do nothing without it. Through it alone we can do our work, and nothing avails without it. . . where. . . we work more than we pray, the presence and the power of God are not seen in our work as we wish.
Arthur Mathews -- Born For Battle -- Prayer was never meant to be incidental to the work of God. It is the work of God. . . in all work for God, prayer is the working power of all that God could do through His people.
-A great need of our world is to prevail in prayer!
-Note in Acts 6:4. . .
Acts 6:4 KJV But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
-Then notice the results of their efforts in prayer. . .
Acts 6:7 KJV And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
-This was Epaphas. . . He was always wrestling in prayer for his congregation.
II. EPAPHRAS
-We are introduced to a man in Colossians that is frankly very obscure in the New Testament writings. In fact he is mentioned only three times. Twice in Colossians and once in Philemon. His name never enters the account of the Acts of the Apostles.
-His character was minor league. . . . His role was major league. He was a man who was willing to forgo the identity factor and was willing to be lost in the task of praying for the church. He was willing to be forgotten for the cause of the Cross. Little known in the earth but well known in Heaven.
-He spent his hours and his days prevailing in prayer. He was a comrade of Paul’s. He was an Ephesian convert but his native land was Colosse. So when the call of heightened ministry came to him, he became the pastor of the church there.
-He was a praying pastor and because of his concern for the church at Colosse he spent much time wrestling in prayer.
-What little in Scripture is said of this man is potent and powerful.
• One of you.
• A servant of Christ.
• Always labouring fervently in prayer for you.
• He has great zeal for you.
• He has great zeal for the churches in Laodecia and Hierapolis.
A. A Servant
-There is a noble title given to Epaphras. . . A servant of Christ. He was a bond-slave of the Kingdom.
-Servants have no rights and they have no choices in the direction of their life. One might ask what a servant looks like.
-There are no mistaken thoughts when one comes into the presence of a true servant of the Lord.
• They will look like a humble Joshua or Elisha who served their mentors.
• They will bear the fragrance of the myrrh, aloes, and frankincense that has come with much suffering.
• They will bear the aroma of the incense that comes from the altars of prayer.
• They will have scars from the pruning processes of life that have made them more productive.
• They will have to pour out the pure olive oil that came from the crushing of the will.
• They will have to spend time in caves running from the mad kings that are intent on destroying them.
• They will have to spend time humbling “self” under the hand of God.
• They will have to endure much in the process of God adding things to their lives.
-However, the focus of this particular message is not so much as be a servant as it is being a wrestler and labourer.
B. A Labourer
-Another description is also given to Epaphras. He was always labouring fervently in his praying.
-The word, labouring, opens up volumes about who Epaphras really was. It comes from the Greek word, agonizomai. When Paul entered this description of Epaphras, it was like dropping a huge diamond against a backdrop of black velvet.
• It means to struggle, to fight, to strive.
• Literally it gives the connotation of competing for a prize.
• Figuratively it means to contend with an adversary.
-This word is derived from another Greek word, agon. This word indicates that there is a location, a place, a setting where a battle is going to take place.
• It was a place of contention that contorted the spirit.
• It was a place where conflict overwhelmed its participants.
• It was a place of anxious effort that pulled at the mind.
-Great wrestling in prayer will require expenditures of time, of strength, and of commitment. The man who will wrestle in prayer will alternate between wrestling and weeping. . . . . and weeping and wrestling.
• Wrestling in prayer will cost you sleep.
• Wrestling in prayer will consume some tears.
• Wrestling in prayer will demand that you change.
• Wrestling in prayer will leave you in great loneliness (for much is accomplished in private prayer).
• Wrestling in prayer will set you apart from the world, from your friends, and from your creature comforts.
-Epaphras was willing to have his mind, his spirit, his soul stretched in prayer. Every fiber in his soul was injured but he found much fruit in this kind of wrestling in prayer. He has had much labor in prayer. He was worried over Laodecia, he was concerned for Heirapolis, and he was sacrificing in prayer for Colosse.
-But there is one more Greek word that is attached to labouring fervently, it is ago. This word gives one more aspect that further defined who Epaphras was and what he was about.
-It is a verb and it gives the indication that one is lead, pushed, driven, forced, induced, or carried to. There is that impelling pull of the force of prayer that can bring us to that place of wrestling in prayer!
-Our generation wants to be eased of pain—God wants to transform that pain. The pain is what compels us to the place of prayer. Instead of allowing the painful situations of life to control us we must let the pain press us into the place of prayer. There is a depth of ministry of prayer that will be found when we are pushed into the place of prayer.
-The problem is not the pain. . . . it is the prayerlessness. Epaphras determined that he would strive for those in his spiritual care in the place of prayer.
• Some say ‘where are the miracles?’. . . I ask where is the agon.
• Some say ‘where is the power?’ . . . I ask where agony in prayer.
• Some say ‘where are the signs?’ . . . I ask where are the olive presses of sacrifice.
• Some say ‘where is God?’ . . . I answer. . . . . ‘He has been forsaken in the agon of prayer.’
a. The Emotions of Prayer
-The word “prayer” is found 114 times in the Bible, the word “pray” is found 313 times in the Bible. When you look into the context of the times that these two words are mentioned, one finds that much emotion will be poured out in prayer.
• Crying out in prayer.
• Prayer and fear.
• Prayer and pleading.
• Prayer and commitment.
• Prayer and tears.
• Prayer and desire.
• Prayer and hunger.
• Prayer and vision.
• Prayer and grief.
• Prayer and great cause.
• Prayers of repentance.
• Prayers of worship.
• Prayers for glory.
• Praying for power.
• Praying for understanding.
• Praying for wisdom.
• Praying for guidance.
• Prayer and sacrifice.
• Prayer at night.
• Prayer through the night.
• Prayer and watching.
• Praying with thanksgiving.
• Praying in supplication.
• Prayer in the morning.
• Prayer and sacrifice.
• Praying in unity.
• Continually given to prayer.
• Prayer without ceasing.
• Prayer and demonic opposition.
• Instant in prayer.
• Prayer and fasting.
• Effectual and fervent prayer.
-There are many other situations and concerns that we find in association with prayer and praying in the Word. Paul was quite open when he began to tell us that our prayers would be accompanied at times with some very unreasonable things.
• Tears.
• Afflictions.
• Difficulties.
• Spiritual opposition.
• Human obstacles.
• Hindrances within.
• Distractions without.
• Pain.
• Anguish of heart.
• A mind that would be troubled.
-If we are to be effective in prayer, it probably will be ushered in by an emotion that we may not want to embrace.
III. CONCLUSION -- WHERE ARE THE MODERN DAY EPAPHRAS’?
-Our quick-fix generation has become so consumed with self that very little prayer is consumed on the needs of others. We need some leaders who are pray-ers!
-Prevailing apostles produce prayer warriors. Prayerless pulpits will produce prayerless and powerless congregations that will be overrun with carnality and worldliness.
Andrew Murray -- The Ministry of Intercession -- He looks to the thousands of young men and young women in training for the work of ministry and mission, and gazes longingly to see if the Church is teaching them that intercession, power with God must be their care, and in seeking to train the believers of their congregations into those who can “help together” by their prayer, and can “strive with them in their prayers.” As Christ-seeks the lost sheep until He finds it, God seeks intercessors.
• Have all of the great praying men departed from our midst?
• Are all of the great praying men of our generation now gray-headed and stoop-shouldered?
• Are there any young men in ministry that know how to pray?
• Where have all the Epaphas’ gone to?
-These are challenging but necessary questions.
• I am weary of the nifty websites promising revival without much sacrifice in prayer.
• I am tiring of the cool conferences that will show me how to plan for a unique administration.
• I am finding great boredom with the growth gimmicks that cost my wallet but doesn’t cost my soul. . . .
-More than anything in life I am hungering for apostolic power and passion.
• What I want to really know is there someone who can teach me how to pray?
• Are there still some who can help us to navigate these treacherous times and rely on the Gifts of the Spirit and not our own shallow charisma?
-What about some more troubling questions:
• Shall we find that all of our great prayerful leaders are now in the grave?
• Is there a fresh crop of Verbal Bean’s coming in our direction?
• Will there be another T. W. Barnes that will fill the role of prophet in my generation?
• Will there be a man who can go through the valleys of life necessary to shoulder the mantle of a J. T. Pugh?
• Will there be a young man among us that will preach like O. R. Fauss?
E. M. Bounds -- Power Through Prayer -- Where are all the Christian leaders who can teach the modern saints to pray and put them at it? Where are the Apostolic leaders who can put God’s people to praying.
On yesterday (9/11/07), I spent about 2 hours with a cousin of mine, John Padgett. He pastors a church in Enterprise, Alabama, which is only a few miles from Dothan. He begin to tell me some of the stories that his father-in-law, John Adkinson (now 93), had told him over the last several weeks.
Church growth in early 1900’s was born out of much burden, sacrifice, and prayer. There was an old preacher back in the 1940’s who was moved on by God to set up a tent for a meeting in the Andalusia area. The old preacher called a man down in Florida and asked if he could use a tent for the meeting. There was only one difficulty. Earlier in the day another preacher had called for the tent and it had been allocated to him. So the old preacher began to question in his mind if he had really heard from God.
The day dragged on and in the late afternoon, the old preacher received a phone call and the minister on the other end of the line said that the other preacher had called and said that he wouldn’t need the tent. So the preacher loaded up in his Model-T and headed down to the Crestview, Florida area to get the tent.
On the way back, he had a flat tire and with it being war-time, a spare was not available. So he took the tire off and packed it with a tent curtain and drove all the way back to Andalusia.
Once he got there, he set the tent up and began to hold services. But prior to the tent-revival the small group of saints had given themselves to much prayer and fasting. It was not uncommon for them to spend entire nights in prayer or “tarrying” as it was called back in the day. With these efforts prefacing the revival, when it got going, over 100 received the Holy Ghost.
-If we are to see some of these same things in our generation, it will be because we spend much time “wrestling” in prayer.
-Where are those who will “wrestle” in prayer? ? ?
Philip Harrelson -- September 12, 2007
