I agree with Charles Stanley who said, "the model quarterback is Joe Montana" and the "model evangelist is Billy Graham" -- so he must be right when he talks about the model prayer warrior as Epaphras. That's right, Epaphras. The man of few words but ardent prayers. He is Paul's coworker described in just two verses of his letter to the Colossians (4:12-13). Epaphras was a Colossian whom Paul described as a servant of Christ who prayed fervently for his people -- that they would stand firm in God's will. Epaphras wanted the Colossian people and church to be mature and fully assured in their faith. This fits the overall theme of Paul's letter.
As an intercessor, Epapras persevered and allowed the Lord to work through him. Praying for others is hard work because we are called to be diligent in these prayers until God's will is done. As Jesus modeled in his prayer, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." I think the takeaway here is that the most effective prayers are those that are the least self-centered and most focused on God's glory. In thinking about this passage, I was reminded of two other great prayer warriors in the Bible: Hannah in 1 Samuel and Anna in Luke 2. Both of these women had God's glory in focus. Hannah's prayers were answered with the birth of Samuel and his dedication to God. And, Anna prayed without ceasing (more than 60 years) and was rewarded by seeing the Messiah and being one of the two first witnesses for Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment