I don’t often put the two together—wrestling and praying. When I watch collegiate wrestling, prayer never springs to mind. But consider Paul’s metaphor (Paul seemed quite a fan of sports—he mentioned wrestling, running and boxing in his letters), and the exertion required to win a wrestling match overwhelms my feeble efforts at prayer.

Paul commended one of his colleagues as a champion of prayer: Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

To wrestle in prayer like a champion on the mat takes dedication. A good wrestler knows his opponent and exerts all his energy to overcome and win. You don’t want to get into a fight with a wrestler. They know ways of making you bend until you scream. Which is an odd thought when it comes to prayer.

But if our battle is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual forms of evil in the heavenly realms, then it’s appropriate to make them scream. The match is to the death. Wrestle in prayer so that those followers of Jesus around you stand firm, mature and confident. Our enemy hopes to pin us to the ground. Prayer allows us to slip his grasp.

This week I’m in Italy with a group of professors and fellow ministers. Before, during and after our conversations with students, we wrestle in prayer. The need to pray is more obvious when I’m in the midst of such a trip. But the necessity never goes away.

If you would, go to the mat for those of us in Italy this week. As Epaphras grappled for the followers of Jesus in Colossae, let us struggle for those who consider following Jesus. May they understand the mystery of Christ in new and compelling ways, and may we help them get there with our prayers.

Colossians 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Nathan Dumlao