Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
-Colossians 4:12

Do you have an Epaphras in your life? We all could use the kind of devotion and fealty in a friend such as Epaphras. The word says that "he is always wrestling in prayer for you". Isn't that great?

When someone tells you that they will pray for you, one of two things will happen; they either will pray for you or they will not. You might never know if they do or not, but I want to assure you that it is a matter of some import.

When someone tells someone else they will pray for them, a sacred trust is formed that tests the integrity of the promiser. It is a covenant that ought to receive the highest priority. We have told someone that we will talk to God for them...and if need be...wrestle.

Perhaps their situation is grave. It could be medical or relational. To them, it could be the darkest time they've ever faced. We assure them that we will pray for them. We have given them hope; reasonable expectation that we will spend time on their situation. Yet, there is a spiritual connection that now demands attention and time. We made a promise. How important is that promise and do we give it the gravity it deserves?

Perhaps we could learn from Paul, who spoke highly of Epaphras. Perhaps it is the simple fact that it is Paul speaking of his friend, rather than Epaphras speaking of himself.

In fact, I would go as far to say that Epaphras likely told very few people at all that he would pray for them. I imagine that he simply prayed without ceremony or hype. He probably prayed right on the spot and then continued to pray at other times as well. I believe he prayed when he was sick, well, happy, sad, indifferent or, otherwise, indisposed. He wrestled on his friends' behalf. He wrestled. Amen?

I want to encourage all of you, today, to consider what praying like Epaphras really means. It means that we pray with people on the spot, if necessary. It means that we take prayer seriously and that we hold reverence for its function and faith in its promise. It means that we pray for people as if our lives depended on it. It means that our time is spent praying for others, instead of just telling people we will do it.

Does that mean that we should not tell people we will pray for them? No. It does mean, however, that we do so with sincerity of heart and a genuine sense of urgency.