In his book, “Boys in the Boat,” Daniel James Brown chronicles the victory of the American right-oar crew team that rowed their way to an Olympic Gold Medal. Brown contends that you need a variety of participants on the boat to create a winning team. In his litany of necessary personalities, he lists, “someone to start a fight.” A provocateur can come in handy on an athletic team. Sometimes the instigator agitates others to find a winning attitude.
Paul’s fellow prisoner, Epaphras started fights and fought his battle on his knees. There, in prayer, he agonized, struggled for his fellow believers, crying out to God on their behalf. In this prayer, he was working hard to help the Colossians, his home church. Why did he pray so hard? He wanted them to grow to full maturity and full assurance in Christ.
What if the best thing we can do for a struggling friend is to struggle in prayer for them? This does not sound like the classic old song, “I’ll say a little prayer for you.” In a way, prayer is starting a fight for what is right. We bring our present reality with its dangers, toils, and snares into the Presence of the only One who can do anything about it. We don’t fight against each other in the church, but we do fight for each other. Our struggle is against the prevailing winds and forces of evil in our world.
Ask the Lord today how we can get better at prayer. This one dimension of our spiritual lives can improve and must improve for us to grow up spiritually.
