Perhaps it’s a Sabbath prayer and you’re on your knees, enduring, struggling to grasp for something… anything… to say in your prayer.

[checks watch] They still haven’t ended it yet??

Or maybe you’re looking at the church’s schedule for spiritual meeting or a theological seminar, and the sheer length of the prayer session jumps out at you.

Huh, so long for what?

If this has ever been you, let me share: these are inspired by real moments from my life. (Haha.)

That’s why I especially like this depiction of prayer in Colossians 4:

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you …” (Col 4:12-13)

Epaphras didn’t find prayer a burden. Instead, prayer was to him a form of holy work through which he pastored others.

Many of us don’t naturally find prayers easy. It certainly wasn’t easy for Epaphras, either. He laboured fervently in prayers. To pray was an effortful, heartfelt, perhaps even strenuous endeavour.

What fuelled Epaphras was the purpose of his prayer. His prayers weren’t difficult because they were burdensome, but because he was single-minded on his goal: to bring his fellow believers to be mature in faith before God.

Without God’s Spirit touching our hearts and turning each of us toward God, our efforts to share His word will be futile (2 Cor 4:6; Ps 127:1). When God works, even the stubborn and the weak can become faithful workers of God—just take a look at the transformed ministries of Paul and Peter.

We who serve our fellow believers may find ourselves fretting over imperfect Bible studies or lesson plans. Diligent preparation is important, but shouldn’t cloud our priorities: in all this busyness, have I turned to God and laboured in prayer for those I serve?

When we know why we pray and how powerfully God can work, we’ll find strength to pray for that long.

These are the questions I ask myself today, and I invite you to reflect with me:
Who can I labour for in prayer today?
Is there a prayer session at church I can join to labour more in prayer?