Aleethia!

This post is part of a teaching series on the book of Colossians. All of the lessons in this series can be found here. In the first lesson we outlined the book. In each subsequent lesson we look at one small section of the outline and seek to answer five questions concerning the text.

This section of Colossians is defined on our outline as “Paul’s ministry of intercessory prayer.” Looking at Colossians 2:1-5, this week and next, we’re going to discover, how Paul prays, what he prays, and why he prays.

This week, we’re just going to focus on verse one.

Colossians 2:1

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,

Verse 1 tells us how Paul prays. He says that he struggles in prayer for them. This word “struggle” is agona in the Greek. It is the root of our word agonize. It was used in Greek literature when speaking of the combative nature of the olympic games. It is more often translated “fight” (1 Tim 6:12) than it is “struggle.”

We know from our survey of Colossians that some false teachers had infiltrated the church there, attempting to lead the Christians astray. Paul cannot confront them in person due to his captivity in Rome at the time of this writing (Colossians 4:3, 10). Therefore his prayer is his weapon, along with this letter, in this spiritual fight. He tells us in Colossians 4:12 that Epaphras also struggles for them in his prayers. What Paul is suggesting here is that he is engaging in a spiritual wrestling match.

To wrestle though, you must have an opponent. When we go to our knees in prayer, who, or what, is our opponent. What/Who are we struggling/wrestling with?

We might struggle with unrepentant sin when praying. - Psalm 66:18

We might struggle with doubt and unbelief. - Mark 9:24

We might struggle with distractions. - 1 Peter 4:7

We might struggle in spiritual warfare. - Ephesians 6:12

Satan is often depicted as our opponent. To be sure, prayer is an offensive weapon in the spiritual war against Satan.

We might also wrestle with God in prayer. God is not an opponent though. This is more like wrestling with God in the sense that we cling to him as our only hope, and refuse to let go without his blessing.

This attitude of wrestling with God in prayer is demonstrated by Jesus in Luke 22:39-46. This scene is just before his arrest. Jesus is praying in the garden.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

This is a compound form of the same Greek root word, here translated as “agony.” Jesus was wrestling with the Father in prayer, not against God, but to seek God’s will, and implore him to action.

When we seek God in prayer, in this way, on behalf of others, it is called Intercession. It’s not the casual sort of prayer that most Christians engage in before they eat dinner. This is serious spiritual wrestling for the benefit of others, many of whom you may never have met.

Paul says it is a struggle. Here’s what Charles Spurgeon says about intercessory prayer.

Oh, when you plead for a fellow sinner do not do it in a cold-hearted manner; plead as for your own soul and your own life. That man will prevail with God as an intercessor who solemnly bears the matter upon his own heart and makes it his own, and with tears entreats an answer of peace. ¹

Prayer is the real world application of the Gospel in our lives. If we believe the truth about Jesus, we will pray. Spurgeon put it this way.

Secret prayer is one of the best tests of sincere religion…for he who prays in private is a real Christian. The mere reading of a book of daily devotion will not prove you a child of God; if you pray in private, then you have a sincere religion; a little religion, if sincere, is better than mountains of pretense…Praying will make you leave off sinning, or sinning will make you leave off praying. Prayer in the heart proves the reality of conversion. ²

Ms. Rebecca's whiteboard

One of the primary prayer warriors here in our church is Ms. Rebecca, Pastor Rusty’s wife. I asked her to speak for a few minutes about intercessory prayer. To the right you’ll see an image of the whiteboard with her notes written on it. Click the image to view it at a larger, more readable size.

Here are the notes I took while she was speaking. 

Just do it. Just pray. There is no other secret to it, just do it.

Jesus is interceding, we just come alongside him in prayer. It’s not you, it’s Jesus who does the interceding with God the Father.

† > I <

“Jesus is greater than I am, I’m less than nothing” or “Jesus increase, I decrease”

Just explain to God that you can’t fix a situation, He can. Just tell him you don’t know what to do, He does. It’s not about you, it’s about God and His Glory.

Pray that there would be less of us and more of Jesus in any situation.

Realize that God is sovereign and I’m not. Stop trying to be in control, and let Him be God.

Pray Scripture. Find verses that apply to the situation. Find promises that God has made. Pray those verses and promises back to God. Ask him to keep his Word in this situation.

Keep a prayer journal, or notebook, include pictures of people or situations you’re praying for. Write down what you’ve prayed and when. Then when God answers your prayers, write that down too. This will encourage you!

Sometimes prayer won’t be an emotional experience. That’s OK. Don’t give up. If your emotions aren’t stirred, just be obedient and pray anyway. God honors obedience.

If you don’t know what to pray, pray “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.” That is a powerful prayer.

Now that we’ve learned something about how Paul prayed, next week we’ll look at Colossians 2:1-5 to learn what Paul prayed, and why.

1. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeion’s Sermons (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2007) Vol 10, p.378
2. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeion’s Sermons (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2007) Vol 1, p.183