Colossians 4:12 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.
The Greek word for wrestling that is used in this verse is agōnizomai where we get our English word agonize. It means to struggle, fight, or contend with. My question is, who is Epaphras wrestling with or what is he wrestling against?
Is it our adversary and his demons as in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We are called to stand against the enemy of our soul and resist him.
Is it against himself, a battle within that he is fighting? We are to crucify our flesh, buffet our bodies, and not give in to those earthly desires that lead us astray. “I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.” 1 Corinthians 9:27.
Or is it God that he is wrestling against? Genesis 32:24 “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Exodus 32:11 “Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God”.
Perhaps it is a combination of all three. Who or what do you wrestle against in prayer?
Leave a Reply