ALWAYS LABOURING FERVENTLY FOR YOU IN PRAYERS

Epaphras now sends his own personal greetings to these believers who were obviously near and dear to his heart. His great sphere of service was fervently labouring in prayer for the assembly. His concern went to the point of agonizing and ‘combating earnestly . . . in prayers’, Col. 4. 12, JND, not only for the saints in Colosse, but also for those in the neighbouring assemblies of the Lycus valley, namely Laodicea and Hierapolis.

He prays for them constantly, fervently and specifically. It is a good exercise to follow the noble example of Epaphras, to pray for each saint in the assembly, and those in the surrounding area. The object of his prayer was that they might stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. How important to know and do all the will of God, and to make this a matter of prayer.

Gnosticism would deny the absolute deity and the perfect manhood of Christ, and undermine the sufficiency of the once-for-all sacrifice to perfect for ever those that are sanctified, Heb. 10. 14. Epaphras was concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of the Colossians. The danger and errors mentioned in the second chapter were a real threat. The saints at Colosse would need to make a firm stand. They would also need strength to resist the false teachers and the attack upon the testimony, and so stability and maturity in spiritual things was necessary.

We need to be vigilant; requirements regarding abstinence from foods at certain times, invoking the mediation of the saints, and the practice of Mariology, are all with us today. Some come to our doors claiming that Christ was less that the Son of God. We in our day equally need to pray that we ‘may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God’, v. 12.

If the constancy of our prayer is in some doubt today, there is also much to suggest a lack of fervency in the way we pray. Perhaps we no longer feel deep concerns regarding the Lord’s work so that we pray with passion for its furtherance. Perhaps we have reached a state of unawareness of our own needs, and have become oblivious to the needs of others. Perhaps we feel confident that we can cope with problems without God’s help. Acknowledging our shortcomings, let us pray fervently.