Fight Our Battles With Prayer

WHAT DOES EACH SLOGAN
MEANS TO YOU?
Colossians 4:12-13
12Epaphras, who is one of your number, a

bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his
greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in
prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully
assured in all the will of God. 13For I testify
for him that he has a deep concern for you and
for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
FIGHT OUR BATTLES
WITH PRAYER
Colossians 4:12-13 FIGHT OUR BATTLES WITH PRAYER
Why does Epaphras cared so much for
the church in Colosse?
12Epaphras, who is one of your number, a
bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his
greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in
prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully
assured in all the will of God. 13For I testify
for him that he has a deep concern for you and
for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Answer: Because he was the founder of
the church in Colosse! Col. 1:5-7
“Because of the hope which is laid up for you in
heaven, of which you heard before in the Word of the
truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has
also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is
also among you since the day you heard and knew
the grace of God in truth, as you also learned from
Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful
minister of Christ on your behalf.”
Answer: Because he was the founder of
the church in Colosse! Col. 1:5-7
As a founder, he does not want the church
to be polluted by heresies and wrong
doctrines.
12Epaphras, . . . always laboring earnestly for
you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and
fully assured in all the will of God.
Heresies, is it dangerous?
Yes! Because it corrupts our faith about
God. And misconception about God leads
to wrong way of life.
What are the heresies and wrong
doctrines that Epaphras worries about?
Those that contained elements of Jewish
legalism, pagan mysticism and Gnosticism
Should we also be concern to the
welfare of the church and our families?
How did Epaphras assured that the
Collosians stands in the right path?
Epaphras banked on prayers…
What can we learn from Epaphras who is

known in the Bible as a man devoted to
prayer?
1- PRAY STEADFASTLY
Steadfast mean always, consistent and
persistent.
Steadfast praying is meant to be a lifestyle
for every follower of Christ.
1- PRAY STEADFASTLY
Luke 18:1-5 reminds us that we should
keep praying like a helpless widow.
Having nothing to prove, it allows us to be
humble to ask for help.
In the spiritual realm, being close to the
JUDGE means VICTORY.
JESUS IS OUR JUDGE
BEING CLOSE TO JESUS MEANS
VICTORY
1- PRAY STEADFASTLY
We should keep on praying because of
who God is. If the judge who does not fear
God nor respect man, would give in to the
widow because she was persistent, how
much more our God would answer our
prayers.
1- PRAY STEADFASTLY
Mark 10:46 tells us about Bartimaeus who
persistently cried out to Jesus for mercy to
heal him.
He kept crying out all the more when
people yelled at him to keep quiet.
Wherever we are in our lives, learn
from the stories in the Bible so that we
can pray steadfastly.
2- PRAY STRENUOUSLY
Strenuous prayer is praying away from our
comfort and seek to bring delight to God.
It is an effort to deny ourselves with bodily
pleasures, so as to gain spiritual gifts
instead.
2- PRAY STRENUOUSLY
Strenuous prayer is a more subtle and an
intimate moments with God.
“Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
is a perfect model of perseverance in seeking
God’s will.” John Mac Arthur
Strenuous prayer speaks of our humanity
and desperate dependency on God.
IT IS NOT IMPOSING OUR WILL ON GOD,
INSTEAD IT IS SURRENDERING OUR WILL TO
GOD.
3- PRAY SELFLESSLY
you in prayers,... 13For I testify for him that he
has a deep concern for you and for those who
are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Selfless prayers are focused not on us, but to
our brethren.
If everybody is praying for one another, we
may not need to pray for ourselves because
we are sure that others are praying for us.
3- PRAY SELFLESSLY
In John 17, Jesus prayed for Himself, to His
disciples and to all believers. 21/26 verses
Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus’ prayer pattern
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your
Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our
daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also
have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil one.”
3- PRAY SELFLESSLY
PRAYER IS THE CHEAPEST BUT THE MOST
POWERFUL GIFT WE CAN GIVE TO OTHERS.
POWERFUL BECAUSE IT IS GOD WHO
WORK ON OUR BEHALF WHENEVER WE
PRAY.
SINCE IT IS THE MOST POWERFUL, IT THE
MOST VALUABLE TREASURE WE CAN KEEP.
KEEP ON PRAYING
4- PRAY STRATEGICALLY
Epaphras prayed for his fellow believers that
they may stand perfect and fully assured in
all the will of God – being mature,
understanding, discerning and submitting to
the sovereign loving will of God.
Epaphras prayer is aligned to John 15:16
“bearing fruit that will last”.
Some may find that God’s will is a mystery,
but the fundamental will of God is so
clearly written in the pages of the Bible,
we just have to read/listen it.
Praying for the will of God for anyone is
the best prayer we could ever pray for
other people even for ourselves.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your
Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil one.” Matthew 6:9-13
Seeking God’s will means seeking His
pleasure, those that are important to Him
and those the honors and glorifies Him!
Whenever we pray strategically, we should
desire to bless Him.
When Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness…” He meant
being with us first. And our effort of
seeking Him will never be in vain.
Praying is willingly allowing God to reveal
and lead us to His will which is always
superior to what we want for an answer.
1John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we
have in approaching God; that if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us – whatever
we ask – we know that we have what we
asked of Him.”
To pray strategically is to know God’s Word
and the more we know of His Word, the
more we know the will of His heart.
CONCLUSION
What then is the will God for the Church?
John 6:39 “And this is the Father’s will which
hath sent me, that of all which He hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day.”
John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him that
sent me that every one which seeth the Son,
and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
CONCLUSION
What then is the will of God for His people?
BLESS THE LORD IN PRAYER!
WATCH AND PRAY, SO THAT YOU MAY NOT
FALL INTO TEMPTATION… Matthew 26:40
CONCLUSION
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. Resist him, standing
firm in the faith, because you know that your
brothers throughout the world are
undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1Peter 5:8-9
CONCLUSION
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless His holy name.”
Psalm 103:1 KJV
TO BLESS THE LORD AND PRAY IS TO FIGHT
THE BATTLE OF THE LORD THROUGH US!
HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY TO ALL

Fight Our Battles With Prayer

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WHAT DOES EACH SLOGAN

12Epaphras, who is one of your number, a

What can we learn from Epaphras who is

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