EPAPHRAS, A FAITHFUL PRAYER WARRIOR (COLOSSIANS 4:12-13)

Aug 4, 2023

3–5 minutes

REFLECTION
Epaphras, a faithful prayer warrior is the theme for our reflection. A faithful prayer warrior is a believer who is called into the ministry of committing or devoting his time and energy to intercede for the church and the nation. We shall consider the importance of a faithful prayer warrior.

Beloved in the Lord, a faithful prayer warrior is needed in every church and nation. Paul commended Epaphras, a member of the Colossians Church who was working with Paul. Paul wrote this about him in his letter to the Colossian church, “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. ¹³ I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Colossians 4:12-13) In other words, Epaphras fervently prays for his mother church, Colossae. Every Church needs intercessors like Epaphras who will stand in the gap and pray for the church. We need faithful prayer warriors because not every member of the church is strong spiritually and matured in to understand and do the will of God. Peter cautions us that “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) It is, for this reason, we need faithful Prayer Warriors like Epaphras in the church who will pray without ceasing to strengthen the faith of those who are spiritually vulnerable and could be devoured by the devil. Again, faithful prayer warriors are able to serve as spiritual protection to other believers against calamities such as accidents, sickness and misfortunes. It is for this reason, James 5:16 greatly encourages us that “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. In other words, God listens to those who are faithful to Him and continue to devote their time and energy to intercede on behalf of others. It is important to note that faithful prayer warriors do not have the power to heal or cause miracles to happen themselves but they position themselves to be anointed vessels of God to be used for the redemption of others.

Beloved in the Lord, it takes a faithful, selfless and spiritually matured Christian to be a faithful prayer warrior. Dear friend, how often do we pray for others? Usually, our prayers are full of first-person pronouns “I, my, mine”. A faithful prayer warrior, apart from praying for himself or herself, spends ample time praying for the church and other believers. Again faithful prayer intercessors or warriors pray for the nation and its development. Everyone is invited to be a faithful prayer warrior but there are some people who must necessarily be faithful prayer warriors, they are church leaders, parents and Christians who are leaders in government or other sectors. A leader is a shepherd and every shepherd has a divine duty to continually be a faithful prayer warrior interceding on behalf of His or her sheep. Jesus is our perfect example of a faithful prayer warrior when he prayed for the unity of the disciples in John 17:10-11, “¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” In the same vein, all followers of Christ are greatly encouraged to pray for their leaders and seek their spiritual and physical welfare through the gift and power of prayer.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “Epaphras a faithful prayer warrior” We have underscored the importance of faithful prayer warriors in the church and nation. May we learn to devote our time to prayer for others. Shalom.

PRAYER
1. Let us pray for God to raise more faithful prayer warriors for the church in the twenty-first century.
2. Let us pray to live a life of righteousness for God’s glory so that when we pray as faithful prayer warriors our prayers shall be powerful and effective.

Holy Spirit, strengthen us to live a life of prayer by interceding on behalf of others even as the prayers of others is made powerful and effective in our lives. Amen.