The Pun
The Prayer
Grateful for the brotherly love growing among the Colossians, Paul and Timothy commend one man in particular for his work among them. Epaphras is described as “our dearly loved fellow servant” (1:6), a “faithful minister of Christ on your behalf” (1:7), a “servant of Christ Jesus” (4:12), and someone who “works hard for you” (4:13).
He was one of the Colossians. He shared the good news with them and brought them more than information- he strove to bring them to a heart changing appreciation of the grace of God (1:6). Most emphasized of all though is his concern expressed in laborious prayer. After seeing them come to faith, he daily followed through with his swing in the prayer closet:
"He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills. (1:12)
There are fights the young in faith cannot easily win alone and in prayer we might wrestle for them in prayer. Epaphras was deeply concerned that the Colossians would proceed from the starting place of appreciating God’s grace to a mature and active love for one another and he realized both his powerlessness and theirs to bring about that growth. Acknowledging that God alone can provide the growth, he committed his full energies to the work of prayer.
And how did he pray? Paul and Timothy follow up their commendation of Epaphras with a prayer that may exemplify the sort he engaged in and we may do well to follow this template:
For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light.” (Colossians 1:3-12 CSB)