Friday November 12, 2010

Read Colossians 4:8-13

We first met Epaphras at the beginning of this letter to Colossae. He was the man who founded the church there (Col. 1:7–8). He had been led to Christ through Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, and had returned home to share the Good News of salvation. It seems likely that Epaphras also founded the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col. 4:13). In our modern terms, Epaphras became a “home missionary.”

What motivated Epaphras to share the Gospel? He was “a servant of Christ” (Col. 4:12). Paul called him “our dear fellow servant... a faithful minister of Christ” (Col. 1:7). Epaphras loved Jesus Christ and wanted to serve Him and share His message of salvation. But he did not do it alone. Epaphras also believed in the ministry of the local church, and in working with other saints. He was not just a “servant”; he was a “fellow servant.”

One of the secrets of the ministry of Epaphras was his prayer life. Paul knew about this because Epaphras and Paul shared the same room, and when Epaphras prayed, Paul knew about it. What were the characteristics of this man’s prayer life?

He prayed constantly (vs 12—“always”). He was a good example of Paul’s admonition: “Continue in prayer” (Col. 4:2). Epaphras did not pray only when he felt like it, as do many Christians today. Nor did he pray when he was told to pray, or when the other believers prayed. He was constantly in prayer, seeking God’s blessing.

He prayed fervently (vs 12—“labouring fervently”). The word used here means “agonizing.” It is the same word used for our Lord’s praying in the Garden (Luke 22:44). We get the impression that prayer was serious business with Epaphras! This Greek word was used to describe the athletes as they gave themselves fully to their sports. If church members today put as much concern and enthusiasm into their praying as they did into their baseball games or bowling, we would have revival!

He prayed personally (vs 12—“for you”). Epaphras did not pray around the world for everybody in general and nobody in particular. He centered his intercession on the saints in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. No doubt he mentioned some of them by name. Prayer for Epaphras was not an impersonal religious exercise, for he carried these people in his heart and prayed for them personally.

He prayed definitely. If you had asked Epaphras, “What are you praying for?, he could have told you. His great desire was that the believers in those three assemblies might mature in their Christian faith. Paul used four significant words to summarize the prayer of Epaphras, and these four words also summarize the message of the Book of Colossians: “perfect—complete—all—will.”

Epaphras was concerned that these Christians know and do the will of God. But he wanted them to be involved in all of the will of God, not just in part of it. (All is a key word in Colossians, used over thirty times.) He also wanted them to stand perfect and complete in God’s will. The gnostic teachers offered these Christians “perfection and maturity,” but they could not deliver the goods. Only in Jesus Christ can we have these blessings. “And ye are complete in Him,” for only in Christ does the fullness of God dwell (Col. 2:9–10).

This request carries the thought of being mature and perfectly assured in the will of God, and parallels Paul’s prayer burden (Col. 2:2). “Full assurance in the will of God” is a tremendous blessing! It is not necessary for the believer to drift in life. He can know God’s will and enjoy it. As he learns God’s will and lives it, he matures in the faith and experiences God’s fullness.

He prayed sacrificially (vs 13—“great zeal” or “much distress”). Real prayer is difficult. When Jesus prayed in the Garden, He sweat great drops of blood. Paul had “great conflict” (agony) as he prayed for the Colossians (2:1), and Epaphras also experienced “much distress.” This does not mean that we must wrestle with God in order to get Him to answer. But it does mean that we must throw ourselves into our praying with zeal and concern. If there is no burden, there can be no blessing. To rephrase what John H. Jowett said about preaching: “Praying that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.”

All of the men with Paul were named and commended in one way or another, but Epaphras was the only one commended for his prayer ministry. This does not mean that the other men did not pray; but it does suggest that prayer was his major interest and ministry. Epaphras was

Paul’s fellow prisoner (Phile. 23)—but even confinement could not keep him from entering the courts of heaven and praying for his brothers and sisters in the churches.

E.M. Bounds was a prayer-warrior of the last generation. He would often rise early in the morning and pray for many hours before he began the work of the day. His many books on prayer testify to the fact that Bounds, like Epaphras, knew how to agonize in prayer before God. If you have never read Power in Prayer [Baker] by E.M. Bounds, by all means do so.

Open up your church phone directory and start praying for the people there.