“Striving For You In His Prayers” (Col 4:12)

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.” (vs12)

God hears the prayer of His people.  We have been born of God by Christ’s death for us at the cross.  He lives evermore, and we live in His power now.  We are of God, His elect, His choice, and thus He hears our prayer.  We have the privilege, power, pleasure, and appeal of prayer in this verse.

1. The privilege of prayer is the access unto God.  We are sinful, and He has died for us in Christ, so that the sins are gone, and we are able to call Him Beloved, Father, King of kings.  We are sons of God, and He hasn’t made all men this way.  We are loved and blessed, and He delights in our prayers, exhorting us continually.

2.  The power of prayer is that God works by our words and does good to others.

Let those who use election to deny prayer still your tongue.  Let God rule in His word, and let us obey the bible.  He says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).  He says here that Epaphras is commended by, “striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God“ (vs12).  He says “pray” because He answers prayers and uses them.  He saves people by the Spirit who works in you, and He keeps people by the same means.  He exhorts us to pray, so we can involve ourselves in His passion, His Spirit, and His will for us, for He meets us here with power.

3.  The pleasure of prayer is the enjoyment of God’s will.  There is no higher pleasure than obedience… when the Spirit subdues the sin, the flesh is made subject to the inner man, and we labor for God’s glory in His business.  We humble and present ourselves as slaves and willful servants of Christ (Rom 12:1).  This joy of doing something for God’s glory and my neighbor’s good is the safe joy of Jesus Christ, the thrill that’s from God. It is the wealth of obedience, not the bickering, fault finding, and self-glorification of the flesh.  The glory is God‘s, and the praise is man‘s.  

4.  The appeal of prayer is before us.  Epaphras, a human, actually obtained power to pray for people fervently, and it actually encouraged a church and changed others by his example.  This is our job; exemplify Christ.  Be a fall-ower, that falling makes you resilient to surrender more, but never to pull back from obedience because of sin.