Struggling on Your Behalf

Of late, I’ve been particularly convicted over how weak my prayer life is. One thing I’ve learned from my pastor, Freddy T. Wyatt, since moving to New York is that we don’t need to bring wimpy prayers to God. Freddy reminds our staff team of this often as we meet together to pray, and every time—it’s like hearing it for the first time all over again. “Don’t pray wimpy prayers, Liz. He’s a big God; He can handle whatever you ask. He knows your needs, and He knows best.”

This struggle isn’t anything new; and if you’ve ever been in a Bible Study or small group with me, you’re probably thinking “seriously, Liz . . . you’re still working on that?!” Perhaps this realization is due to the fact that I feel the need for prayer more than ever in my own life, as well as the need to depend on God’s wisdom in profound ways these days. I’m grateful for this, and the way that it humbles me to seek the wisdom of God, the encouragement of others and even admit my own weaknesses to those around me. Admitting weakness is not altogether a bad thing, I’m slowly realizing.

Colossians 4:12 reads:

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.

Here’s what struck me: Epaphras:

1. Struggled on behalf of the saints for the purpose that
2. They would stand mature and fully assured

So often my prayers for those I love are centered upon how their life may be easier or less stressful (much like what I tend to pray for myself). However, I’m wondering how often I really struggle in prayer for friends and family. “Struggling” in prayer provides the image of laboring, toiling . . . desperate for God to move.

My true desire for a consistent prayer life is not that (1) my conscience would be eased by doing “what I’m supposed to” or (2) being a “good Christian.” My desire for a fervent, dependant prayer life is that it would be reflective of a need for God that runs deep – both for my sanctification and yours.

I want to stand mature and fully assured of my place in Christ and His will. I want you to stand mature and fully assured of [your] place in Christ and His will. And I want to pray for this like a woman in labor, struggling on your behalf, following the example of Epaphras.

Advertisement