Transcript

One author wrote the following: “Some of you pray like a Concorde jet—smooth, sleek, high, and mighty. Your words reverberate in the clouds and send sonic booms throughout the heavens. If you pray like a Concorde, I salute you.

“If you don’t, I understand. Maybe you are like me, more a crop duster than a Concorde. You aren’t flashy, you fly low, you seem to cover the same ground a lot, and some mornings it’s tough to get the old engine cranked up.

“Most of us are like that. Most of our prayer lives could use a tune-up.

“Some prayer lives lack consistency. They’re either a desert or an oasis. Long, arid, dry spells interrupted by brief plunges into the water of communion.

“We go days or weeks without consistent prayer, but then something happens—we hear a sermon, read a book, experience a tragedy—something leads us to pray, so we dive in. We submerge ourselves in prayer and leave refreshed and renewed. But as the journey resumes, our prayers don’t.

“Others of us need sincerity. Our prayers are a bit hollow, memorized, and rigid. More liturgy than life. And though they are daily, they are dull.

“Still others lack honesty. We honestly wonder if prayer makes a difference. Why on earth would God in heaven want me to talk to Him? If God knows all, who am I to tell Him anything?

“We are tempted to wait to pray until we know how to pray. We’ve heard the prayers of the spiritually mature. And we are convinced we’ve a long way to traverse. And since we’d rather not pray than pray poorly, we don’t pray. Or we pray infrequently.

“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.”

Prayer is vital to the spiritual growth, strength, and vitality of the Church as a whole, as well as for our lives individually. And the Church needs prayer warriors.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

“That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Up to this point in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul had expressed thanksgiving to God for their growing faith and abounding love. He affirmed them for their perseverance and faith in the midst of their persecutions.

He then reassured them of God’s righteous retribution and vengeance toward the wicked and those who persecuted believers.

In the last two verses of this chapter, the apostle interceded for this faithful church in prayer. Prayer was Paul’s practical response to their present suffering and tribulations that they were enduring.

The Thessalonians were “always” on Paul’s heart and mind. Thus he was “always” lifting them up in prayer. And not only Paul, as he wrote, “WE pray always for you.”

The “we” according to verse 1 of this letter was Paul, Silas, and Timothy. All 3 were prayer warriors.

And as these men prayed for this church, they made a 3-fold petition on their behalf: (1) “that our God would count you worthy of this calling,” (2) “that our God would fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power,” and (3) “That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him.”

Paul’s first request goes back to verse 5 of this chapter: “that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.”

His prayer here was that they would grow and remain faithful through their suffering and live up to their high calling as subjects of Christ’s heavenly kingdom, of whom each believer is given the privilege and called “not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake,” as Philippians 1:29 says.

Paul’s second request was for God to fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness through them. This prayer was that the Church would be willing and available vessels through whom God could always work and display His goodness.

The “good pleasure” in this verse reminds us of Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His GOOD PLEASURE.”

And the work that God would do through them Paul prayed would be by faith and empowered by the Spirit, so that their service would be a “work of faith with power.”

Finally, Paul prayed that Christ’s name would be glorified in and through their lives and service to God.

So what do we find with this prayer warrior example by Paul, Silas, and Timothy? We learn that prayer warriors “pray ALWAYS.”

As we’re taught here by Paul’s example to “pray always,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 also teaches us to “Pray without ceasing.” Colossians 4:2 says to “continue in prayer.” In Romans 12:12, we are told be “instant in prayer.”

Setting aside time to pray and to spend with the Lord is important. But to “pray always” means that our prayer life is to be a way of living, a habit of life, something that goes on all the time.

It’s about a deeper level of comprehension that goes on all the time within you and your heart; it is an unceasing communion with the living God. Prayer is to be a total way of life, an open and constant communication with God.

To pray all the time is to be aware of God’s presence in our lives all the time, to live in continual God consciousness, to relate every experience in life to Him. And in prayer we center our minds and hearts on our personal relationship with Him.

In one sense, prayer is the simplest thing in the world, it’s just a conversation with God. Yet it is also one the deepest and most profound experiences of our lives.

Prayer puts us in closest connection with the true and the living God. Prayer is the channel through which the finite has access and communication with the Infinite.

Satan loves it when people of think of prayer as a pointless exercise, and he hates it when God’s people discover that prayer is direct access to the One who is eternal, the living, all-wise, all-powerful God, who formed the earth and spoke the planets into being and hurled the stars through space.

As the Lord told Israel in Jeremiah 33:3: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

Paul prayed persistently, and as we learn from these verses, he prayed specifically. His prayers were pointed and direct. They were not vague, generic or general. They were detailed and definite.

In Paul’s prayer warrior example, we learn that the heart of a prayer warrior is one that is selfless, and one that is close to that of God.

Being close to God, we know that God is concerned about spiritual needs, and so Paul selflessly prayed for the spiritual maturity, growth, and development of God’s people.

This is what you see in this passage. Paul didn’t pray for the persecution and the trials that the Thessalonians were enduring to just go away and end soon.

Though that would be a loving prayer request, instead he prayed deeper that “God would count you worthy of this calling,” or that they would grow and be driven to God and would live in a manner worthy of Him, in a way that would glorify Christ through their perseverance in their persecution, remaining steadfast in their faith under pressure.

Paul did not pray shortsighted prayers. He prayed with depth, in light of what is best for God’s people in the long run and what was best for the Church spiritually.

As prayer warriors it is important to join our hearts to God’s heart, and to pray with His mindset, understanding what God wants, what God longs for. And He longs for the Church to be more like Christ. He longs for the lost to be saved.

Prayer warriors are people who prioritize God’s will above their own and use prayer as a means of bringing His will about in this world.

It is not that God can’t work without our prayers, but that He has established prayer as part of His plan for accomplishing His will in this world.

And prayer is about aligning ourselves with the purposes of God. Prayer is an essential link to God’s active involvement in the world today.

Thus, Paul prayed for God to “fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power” in and through the Church.

Paul’s prayer could be summed up as “Lord, work through my brothers and sisters in Christ, count them worthy, and make them a living proof of your grace and goodness with power, so that all will know what you can do through believers who, by faith, take the heat of persecution and don’t give up and grow through their trials to be more like Christ.”

In joining his mind with God’s, Paul told the Thessalonians that the reason he prayed all of this and wanted all of this for them, was in order that the Lord Jesus Christ may be honored, exalted, and lifted up. Because in the end, the bottom line is that it is all about His glory, in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified.

2 Thessalonians 3:1: “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.”

The story is told about a certain man of prayer who had a dream of an army coming from a great center of light, bringing light with it wherever it moved.

It was arrayed against dense darkness, but as the army advanced the darkness gave way before it. Insignificant in size compared with the force against which it turned, it conquered wherever it moved.

“Invincible” seemed written all over this little host. As the captivated man looked again, he saw that this army was advancing on its knees.

If the church is to be a strong witness and bright light in this world, and advance the cause of Christ, we must find our power through God on our knees in prayer. D. L. Moody: “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.”

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians in 1:11-12, and then in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 he asked this small army of people to “pray for us.” The “us” again is Paul, Silas, and Timothy. And again, Paul had a very specific prayer request.

Prayer not only strengthens our relationship with God, but when we pray for and with other believers, prayer also strengthens the bonds between fellow believers.

Praying for one another is an expression of love. Prayer draws you closer to the ones for whom you are praying.

And prayer is a responsibility between family in Christ. Paul asked his “brethren” in Christ to “pray for us.”

The basis of his prayer request is founded on brotherhood, because we’re united together as family in Christ, and as a family has mutual concern and care for one another, Paul asked them to pray for him.

The word “pray” is in the present tense in the original Greek. Paul’s request was for a constant, continuous prayer. Paul, Silas and Timothy had prayed “always” for the Thessalonians and now he was asking that they would do the same for them.

The word “for” in “pray for us” is translated from the Greek word “peri.” You see “peri” in words like periphery, peripheral. And it means “around.” Paul is asking the Thessalonians to pray around us, in other words, to surround us with prayer.

Paul, like us, needed the prayers of God’s people. He wasn’t invincible. Paul had many strengths and was gifted in many areas, but he had weaknesses, struggles and needs too.

Prayer warriors are people who choose to fight personal and spiritual battles through prayer instead of in their own strength.

Paul was just a man, and he was dependent on the prayers of God’s people, and deeply conscious of his dependence on the power of God which was gained in his behalf by the prayers of his friends.

Paul told the Corinthians that they would be “helping together by prayer for us.” Praying for one another, we help one another.

Paul humbly asked for this local church to pray for him. And as we follow Paul as he followed Christ, this teaches us also that it is good and right for us to ask fellow believers to pray for us when we have a need. Because we, too, are dependent on prayer.

In Paul’s request for prayer, in verse 1, he had two specific requests. First, “that the word of the Lord may have free course.”

In joining his heart and will with God’s, Paul asked for the Thessalonians to pray that when God’s Word was made known that it would have free course and would spread rapidly. His passion was for the Word to touch many hearts and lives.

The words “may have free course” is the Greek word for “run.” He asked for prayer that the Word of the Lord would run, sprint from place to place, spread rapidly, and make rapid progress.

And if ever there was a time in the history of the world when the Word of God could run far and wide, it’s today. Through the internet, email, and social media, with videos, podcasts, MP3 audio messages all available worldwide, we can and should pray this prayer for the Word rightly divided.

We should pray for it spread widely, move swiftly, keep moving, without obstruction or hindrance, sweeping powerfully through the hearts of people, going as far and wide as it could go.

This leads to the second part of Paul’s prayer in verse 1, “that the word of the Lord may be glorified, even as it is with you.”

Paul prayed that the Word would be honored by those who hear it. The way the Word of the Lord is glorified and honored, is when it is received, accepted, and believed.

Thus Paul prayed that as the Word was made known that it would run swiftly, and then as it ran, that it would gain the victory and be glorified as it was trusted and believed by those who heard it.

He wanted the Word to run and win, to win souls for Christ. And he wanted it to run and triumph over hearts and lead to changed hearts and lives through Christ, like it had done with the Thessalonians.

Like Paul’s prayer request, prayer warriors should pray that “the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be GLORIFIED.”

Colossians 4:12: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

Epaphras was a prayer warrior. Epaphras holds the unique distinction among all the coworkers of Paul of being the only one whom Paul explicitly commended for his prayer ministry. The example of Epaphras is a challenge to the Body of Christ today to engage and take part in this vital ministry in the Church.

Epaphras “is one of you” Paul wrote, that is a Colossian believer in Christ. From Colossians 1:5-7, we learn that it was by Epaphras that they had heard the gospel, believed and were saved. And he was one of, if not the founder of their church.

Paul wrote Colossians from prison in Rome. And Epaphras was currently in Rome with him. In Paul’s letter to Philemon we also learn that Epaphras was in prison with Paul in Rome: “There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus” (1:23).

Thus, Paul bore witness to the Colossians and assured them that Epaphras was “always laboring fervently for you in prayers.”

A few verses earlier (4:2), Paul taught the Colossians to “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” And Epaphras was a living example of that instruction.

It’s been said that “Epaphras prayed well because he cared well.” After leading them to Christ and founding their church, Epaphras had a deep care for the spiritual well-being of the Colossians. This led him to pray “always” for them.

The words “laboring fervently” shows the heart and earnestness he put into his prayers. Epaphras did not simply “say prayers”; “he labored fervently in prayer.”

The words “laboring fervently” picture a runner straining every muscle to the uttermost towards the goal and finish line. It pictures the intensity, effort and strength put in by a wrestler in a wrestling match as he tried to pin his opponent.

“Laboring fervently” is the Greek word agonizomai. This same word is used in 1 Timothy 6:12 where Paul told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith.” “Fight” is translated from the same Greek word and describes a soldier fighting strenuously, battling for his life.

Agonizomai is the verb form of the Greek word translated as “agony” used by Luke to describe Christ’s praying in the Garden: “And being in an AGONY He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

The Lord prayed that night out of an intense anguish, a spiritual agony in light of the sufferings He was to endure as He was to take upon Himself the sins of the world.

All of this gives us a picture of how Epaphras prayed. He toiled, strained, struggled, anguished, fought, fervently labored, and prayed with spiritual intensity.

This reminds us that prayer is a battle, a battle against unseen forces. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “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.”

A. W. Tozer portrayed a praying believer as a constant threat to the stability of Satan’s government writing that:

“The Christian is a holy rebel loose in the world with access to the throne of God. Since prayer is detrimental to the evil one’s purposes, Satan and his minions do their utmost to interfere when we pray, especially opposing us when we try to take time for prayer, because the enemy knows better than most Christians, the power of persistent prayer!”

Prayer warriors are needed in the spiritual BATTLE. In that battle, God would have us, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:18).

Epaphras labored fervently in his prayers, because he was aware of the spiritual dangers that threatened them in the spiritual battle, and their spiritual welfare was his predominant concern, thus he prayed for them as a whole and individually.

A story is told about an old pastor who every Saturday afternoon could be seen leaving his study and entering the church building by the back door, and about sundown he would be seen going home.

Someone’s curiosity was aroused enough to follow one day and watch through a window.

The old pastor was seen kneeling at each pew, and since everyone normally sits in the same pew every Sunday, he would pray for every person that would occupy that pew.

He called out each member by name as he poured out his heart to God for his flock. His was a ministry of power, and his people reflected the grace of God.

The need in the church is great today for people like this, and for prayer warriors like Epaphras, whose passionate and compassionate prayers are focused on the needs of others, and that believers “may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

Colossians 1:9: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

Paul in his epistles and teachings about prayer gives us a balance. We are taught to bring all our requests to Him, including all physical and material needs. And Paul also teaches about the importance of praying for spiritual needs in the Church.

Here his prayer is focused on spiritual knowledge needed by the Colossians. Paul prayed for them to be “filled” or filled up completely with “the knowledge of His will.” The word “knowledge” is the Greek word epignosis, which means full knowledge.

Paul prayed for them to be filled with full knowledge, complete with complete knowledge. This full knowledge of God’s will comes by means of “all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

In Paul’s epistles, the revelation of the mystery is often connected with the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 2:7 reads, “But we speak the WISDOM of God in a mystery, even the hidden WISDOM, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”

Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9 is tied to the mystery. He desired for the Church to come to a complete knowledge of the will of God, and this comes about through the knowledge and understanding of the mystery, the body of truth that Christ revealed to Paul for the Church, the Body of Christ in this current age of grace.

It is by this revealed wisdom that the Holy Spirit fills us with a full knowledge of God’s will. We learn by it what God’s will is for us in the Church today.

Paul further prayed that the Church “that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

The term “understanding” means “to put together.” Dispensationalists are often accused of cutting up and taking apart the Bible.

However, when we rightly divide God’s Word, we come to a true spiritual understanding and we can put it all together, as we see the plans and purposes of God for Israel on the earth and the Body of Christ in the heavenlies.

This is an important thing to pray for as we pray for fellow believers. Like Paul, prayer warriors should pray for believers to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

Because it is love to pray for others to see the truth of God’s Word.

And like Paul prayed for the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, this is what Epaphras prayed for the Colossians as well, that they would “stand perfect [or mature] and complete in all the will of God.”

Understanding the message of grace committed to Paul for this current dispensation is what establishes believers today and enables them to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, and to mature in their faith under grace.

Oswald Chambers once said: Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work. May each of us get involved in this greater work and be prayer warriors.