Join the Wrestling Team

You don’t have to weigh 300 pounds, be strong as an ox, or even wear a red or blue onesie to be a valuable member of the wrestling team. If it's the right team. I believe Epaphras might be the captain of the team. I love Paul's description of him in Colossians 4:12. Paul says Epaphras was “always wrestling in prayer for you” (NIV). 

Intercessory prayer is a privilege, and it is one way we can live out Paul’s instructions to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). There are messages all over social media asking for prayers, with responses (either in words or emojis) of “praying.” There are all sorts of occasions when we need our wrestling team to have our backs.

Oftentimes, I have received requests to be in prayer at a specific, appointed time over a certain event in someone’s life. I am happy to do this and had never considered that timed prayer might not be seen as a viable practice until I overheard a recent conversation. Several individuals near me were discussing whether or not it was really necessary or even beneficial to set an alarm and pray for a specific event at a pre-ordained time. Their conversation prompted me to consider their comments. Does it really matter when we pray, just as long as we pray sometime? 

Perhaps the logic behind their thinking was that we should always be in prayer, rather than reserving our prayer time for a particular time or day. Paul often mentions his own constant attitude of prayer (Phil 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3; Phlm 1:4), and he instructs us to “pray continually” (1 Thess 5:17). Even so, are there any biblical examples of prayers and answers happening together, at the same time, which would prompt us to schedule certain prayers, as requested …to set specific, purposeful times for a wrestling match?

I thought about the prophet Daniel. He reported that “while I was speaking and praying...and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill” an angel came to him “in swift flight” and gave him an answer to his prayer (Dan. 9:20-23). Now that is an example of a powerful, timely answer to prayer and a victorious wrestling match.

You may remember on one occasion the prophet Elijah “bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees” in prayer (1 Kings 18:42). Occasionally, he would take a break from praying in order to send his servant out to look for evidence of an immediate answer. No answer yet? Elijah bowed again and continued praying. It took seven times, but finally, his servant was able to report a visible, immediate answer to Elijah’s prayer. What an example of persistence in prayer at the moment an answer was needed.

Matthew recorded for us several instances when individuals asked Jesus for healing and he answered by healing their loved one “at that moment” (Matt. 8:13; 9:22; 15:28; 17:18). I’m sure there are more examples, but these are the ones that came to my mind.

If you think about it, we can only pray about needs or situations in the present or in the future. Even though God is eternal and has no limits of time, we are mortal and (at least while we are alive here) are bound by time. We can’t pray that history will be changed. We can’t pray that a past decision won’t be made or that a past tragedy or illness won’t occur. We can only pray about what is happening now.

This doesn't mean that God will always answer our prayers at the very moment we pray them, as He did for Daniel and Elijah. He might delay, but He always invites us to come to Him for help, for grace, and for mercy in our time of need (Heb 4:12). Might we flood the throne room with many friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, all seeking grace and mercy for a specific “time of need”?

Remember that we are in a spiritual battle, and we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12 ESV). Since our enemies are of another realm, it is a good thing our weapons “are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:3-4). We should be ready and willing to use these weapons (to pray) at the very moment of our brothers’ and sisters’ time of need.

Soldiers who are headed into battle need protection while they are in the midst of the battle. They have no need to be fully suited up for battle before it’s time for the battle to begin, or to suit up after the battle has ended and they are already wounded. They need to armor and protection during the fight, in the thick of the enemy’s attacks.

It is easy to get worn down in battle, but Jesus tells us that we “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Remember that we are not alone in our battles and we have a great army in battle with us that we can call upon to pray for us, not only when they happen to think about it, but at specific times on specific occasions when we know we need that extra measure of protection, direction, strength, mercy, discernment, or wisdom in the midst of a battle.

So while we may “pray continually” on some level, I am going to continue to set my alarm and wrestle in prayer, interceding at specific times during a fellow brother or sister's time of need. Let's show up en masse at the wrestling match in the throne room and follow Epaphras' lead. Join the wrestling team.