For I can testify that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. (NET)
Epaphras is distinct because of his labor in prayer for the saints in Colossi, Laodicea and Hierapolis Christians.
No one does this kind of labor—done away from the public glare—without a sense of call, some sort of unnatural hunger, divine prompting. Some people might call him a fool for not having some other priorities. But God’s call does that to you.
Prayer is so valuable that it is pictured in the book of Revelation as having a place in the very presence of God, depicted as incense before the throne.
Revelation 5:8: Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Epaphras prayed for those saints’ spiritual development. That is not what we see a lot of effort being devoted to in our days. This is not something you do because someone demands it, rather there is a the perfect combination of love for God, love for people, and sharing Christ’s heart for the people.
We see a lot of efforts devoted to praying for souls to be saved. But after that, people are wont to go on to try to focus on getting more and more people saved, because the numbers makes us feel good.
It is an immediate measure of what we call success in ministry. But I don’t see people (specifically) praying for souls to be saved in the bible. I am not saying it did not happen, but the only thing I see are prayers for Christians to develop spiritually. That is inverted in our days.
This prayer therefore needs another look: so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
The word “**stand”** communicates something. It is the opposite of falling.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 10:12: So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.
Epaphras’s prayer in the previous verse is about bridging the gap between the will of God and man’s understanding and reality.
There are several places where Paul mentioned the will of God in his letters., and can be divided into five groups.
1. Apostolic calling
Paul said he is an apostle by the will of God (**1 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 1:1**, Ephesians 1:1). That is his spiritual calling. It was not something he chose, it was not something someone chose for him and if you have an argument, he said the works of an apostles was worked through him.
2 Corinthians 12:12: Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds.
So that is a sense in which we identify our spiritual calling and walk in it.
Ephesians 2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so we may do them.
God has a plan for your life is the point here. And discovering and walking in it, is a priority. It does not mean it is not going to be a struggle, but the struggle itself, may be the will of God.
Paul prayed that God would take away certain difficulty (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God said no! Even Jesus prayed for the cup to pass over him, but the cross was the will of God (Matthew 26:39-44).
In 2 Timothy 1:1, Paul explains the purpose of his apostle-ness. he said it is to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:1: From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
The will of God for Paul to be an apostle was to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus; to make it less of a promise but a reality.
Similarly for you, whatever your calling is, whatever the direction of life that God would put in front of you, either in a special way like Paul or in other formats, even for the slaves mentioned in the book of Colossians, it is to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus.
2. Travel plans/providence
Paul is always wanting to move from places to place (**Romans 1:10, Romans 15:32**, 1 Corinthians 4:19). The previous point is about a whole life direction, but this one we are going into life segments.
Traveling in that time was a major move. James spoke to this:
James 4:13-17: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”
The point is: we should have an orientation of doing what the will of God is when we make major moves.
Examples:
Paul wanted to move to certain places but the Holy Spirit will not allow him.
Acts 16:6-7: They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
God rebuked Israel when they executed a plan without asking His spirit.
Isaiah 30:1-2: **“The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord,**
“those who make plans without consulting me,
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit,
and thereby compound their sin.
They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will,
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.
Paul's travel subject to God's will:
1.
Divine purposes/sovereignty (Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:9 -11, 2 Corinthians 8:5)
Number one was about a whole-of-life self conception, the second one is time-segmented.
This third one is this: whatever happens in action and inaction is the will of God as He is Sovereign.
That covers the fact that God's eternal purpose is what we are seeing playing out, and in that class of God’s eternal will is the death of Jesus on the cross.
Also, God invested the execution of His will in Christ. What God accomplished in the cross, was not accidental, it was not an afterthought. This understanding is important for us to put the needed weight on the Christ event.
4. Moral guidance/Sanctification/Motivation (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 5:17, Ephesians 6:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
The law laid down for the children of Israel is in this class. God said be holy as the Lord your God is holy (Leviticus 19:2).
This fourth class of the will of God is personal, how God wants you to behave. To put it simply, it is to show a contrast to this world, with pleasing God as motivation, and for us to always give thanks.
5. Spiritual knowledge/maturity (Colossians 1:9, Colossians 4:12)
This brings together the four kinds of wills and taking them to the max. That is what Epaphras was praying for the churches.