There Was a Man Whose Entire Ministry Was Wrestling in Prayer for People He Loved
Did you know one of Paul's co-workers is remembered almost entirely for how hard he prayed for others?
"…always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." — Colossians 4:12 (KJV)— Colossians 4:12
Epaphras is named only a handful of times, yet Paul gives him one of the most striking descriptions of any intercessor: "always labouring fervently for you in prayers."
The Greek word translated "labouring fervently" is agonizomai — the root of the English word agony. It described the effort of an athlete straining in a contest. Epaphras prayed for the believers in Colossae the way a wrestler grapples for a pin: with everything in him, that they would "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."
He was not the preacher on the platform. He was the partner behind the work, holding people up before God when they could not hold themselves. The mission moved because someone agonized for it in prayer.
Why It Matters
Some of the most important ministry happens off the platform, in prayer. The intercessor and the partner carry the mission as truly as the one who is sent.
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