“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 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is providing his final greetings in his letter to the Colossians and is commending Epaphras who has been serving as Paul’s representative in Colosse for his continuous and persevering prayer.   

There is something about the words “wrestling in prayer” that portray a continuous, dogged, and persevering effort to pray.  Jesus uses the story of a widow who continued to seek her rights from an unjust judge as an example to encourage us to be persistent in our prayer.

My wife and I have experienced numerous examples of how our persistent prayers over many years have brought about positive results.  The most recent example was in connection with our oldest grandson’s wedding on top of Granby Mountain in Ganby, Colorado a couple of weeks ago.  

Except for two sets of grandparents and some small children, all 130 guests had to use a ski lift to get to the location of the wedding ceremony.  There was no shelter at the top of the mountain.  An afternoon rain shower would have been disastrous.  We prayed continuously that God would give us good weather.  We learned that both sets of parents of the bride and groom and the other grandparents were also praying for good weather for the ceremony and reception. 

Thank you, Lord for answered prayer!!!    

Do you “wrestle in prayer” for the circumstances and people in your life?

Wedding Picture of Andrew and Tara’s Wedding and our family