By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sermon Text: Colossians 4:12
Sermon Theme
The root word for “wrestle” in the New Testament is the basis for our word “agony.” When Paul says that Epaphras, his faithful co-worker, wrestles in prayer he is saying that he literally is in agony for the sake of those for whom he prays. This is how Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemanae (Luke 22:44). This is more than intense prayer. It is prayer in which we pour out our souls before the Lord. This kind of prayer is a struggle. It is praying against obstacles, both physical and spiritual. Yet it is through this kind of prayer that we grow into spiritual maturity.
Sermon Outline
- Doubt. The first obstacle we face in prayer is our own doubts (Matt. 28:17). The apostle Paul says that we do not know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26). For most of us prayer begins with a sense of our own needs. In one form or another we pray continually for “our daily bread,” that is for the ordinary needs of life. The Lord’s Prayer is our model for prayer. Jesus gives it in response to the disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Yet wrestling in prayer, literally, agonizing in prayer, is struggling against some obstacle, some difficulty that we face. Epaphras was wrestling in prayer for the Colossians because they were being seduced by false teaching (Colossians 2:8). The biggest obstacle we face in prayer, however, is our own doubts. Like the father of the demon possessed child we cry out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24). When Herod attacks the early church and imprisons Peter, the believers pray for him fervently but they have not overcome their own doubts (Acts 12:1-9). Wrestling in prayer requires struggling with our doubts.
- Demons. Prayer is never a neutral activity. To pray to the Lord is always to be in conflict with the reality of evil. Satan will do everything possible to undermine our prayers. To pray at all is to enter into the ongoing spiritual conflict that is at the heart of the Biblical message. Wrestling in prayer goes beyond the simple “deliver us from evil” of the Lord’s Prayer. This kind of prayer confronts the power of the demonic. Jesus gives expression to this when he tells Peter that “Satan has obtained permission to sift all of you like wheat but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31-32). The “all of you” Jesus refers to implies all of us, his disciples through the ages. Daniel prays in what is “a great conflict” (Daniel 10:1). Gabriel tells him that his prayer was heard from the first but Gabriel himself was in a conflict with a demonic figure for three weeks until he was relieved by the archangel Michael. However we understand texts like these, they make it plain that there is opposition and conflict in prayer. We need, therefore, to persevere in prayer and uphold one another continually (Ephesians 6:18).
- Deity. The ultimate wrestling in prayer is wrestling with God. There are three major examples of this in Scripture. The first is Jacob wrestling with the angel which ultimately is God himself. In this striking account Jacob is no doubt motivated by his concern over meeting Esau, the brother whom he betrayed. Jacob struggles all night asking for God’s blessing. God does bless him, but Jacob is not left unscathed. His hip is out of joint (Genesis 32:25). Asking for God’s blessing is no light thing. Jacob is given the name “Israel,” literally, “the one who strives with God.” In this wounded striving Jacob sees the face of God (Genesis 32:30). The second example is the apostle Paul asking to be delivered from his “thorn in the flesh” which comes from Satan no less (II Cor. 12:7). He is not delivered but through this experience he discovers the real meaning of the power of the cross (II Corinthians 12:9-10, 13:4, Colossians 2:13-15). Finally Jesus himself prays in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. His struggle with the Father prepares him for the fulfillment of his role as the Savior of the world (Luke 22:41-44). Epaphras had learned the lesson of struggling in prayer. We need to learn this same lesson in order to come “to maturity, to the full measure of the stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Questions for Us
- How can the promises of Scripture, especially Jesus’ promise that he will pray for us, help us to overcome our doubts?
- How have you experienced conflict and struggle in prayer? Would you describe prayer at times as “agonizing”?
- Why do you think the lesson that God’s power is made perfect in weakness is so important (II Corinthians 12:9)?
