Be a Epaphras

You are probably wondering who or what the heck is a Epaphras, and that’s ok, it’s not like he is at the center of Christian movies, sermons or small group bible studies. (if he has been for you please share!). But i think he should be, especially when it comes to how we pray.

If you are wired and passionate about praying for other Christians this is for you.

In Colossians 4:12 Paul writes that Epaphras, a member of their church community, is always praying for others. I am sure we all have one of those people in our lives or church that we know are always interceding on behalf of other Christians, its a serious business and a bit of an adventure when it comes to seeing lives and circumstances impacted because of prayers.

He isn’t just praying

Nope, he is doing much more than that, and we who enjoy praying for other Christians should take note. Two things we can take away from this guys praying for others..

• He prayed Earnestly (with sincere and intense conviction) for others. Other versions say “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers” and the NIV says “he is always wrestling in prayer for you.
• He was asking God to make his fellow believers strong and perfect, fully confident that they are following the whole will of God. The ESV version says “that they may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God.

Now that’s the kind of person i want praying for me! Solid in his faith, understands that others need people to come along side them in prayer and most importantly, knows the power God is needed in the life of a Christian.

A great example for us who like to pray for others, and those who have a desire to but not sure how

So as i continue to ask God to help me pray like this for others, i challenge and encourage you to practice praying for other Christians like Epaphras. The body of Christ is full of people at the moment who don’t just need prayer, they need people who are willing to wrestle and who wont doubt in God’s ability meet peoples needs.

Lord God, we are thankful for people like Epaphras, who clearly knew you and loved others enough to pray hard. We need your help because praying can be challenging and we can be lazy. Open our eyes so that we can see others in our congregations, and teach us how to pray in way that not only helps others, but also changes us.

If you regularly pray for other Christians and would like to share some of your experiences that would be awesome.