A Man Who Valued Prayer

In the conclusion of the letter he sent to the Colossian Christians, Paul says: “Epaphras, who is from among you, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always exerting himself in your behalf in his prayers, that you may finally stand complete and with firm conviction in all the will of God. I indeed bear him witness that he puts himself to great effort in behalf of you and of those at Laodicea and of those at Hierapolis.”—Colossians 4:12, 13.

Yes, even while he was Paul’s “fellow captive” in Rome, Epaphras was thinking about his beloved brothers in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis and praying for them. (Philemon 23) Literally, ‘he struggled’ for them in prayer. According to scholar D. Edmond Hiebert, the Greek term used here denotes “a strenuous and costly activity,” something similar to the mental “agony” experienced by Jesus Christ as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. (Luke 22:44) Epaphras earnestly desired that his spiritual brothers and sisters attain stability and full Christian maturity. What a blessing for the congregations such a spiritually-minded brother must have been!

Praying for others, as Epaphras did, is a form of sacred service that all can perform. Such prayers may include expressions of concern for worshipers of Jehovah who have to face various dangers or difficulties of a spiritual or physical nature. By exerting ourselves vigorously in this way, we can be like Epaphras. Each of us can have the privilege and joy of proving to be a “beloved fellow slave” in the family of Jehovah’s faithful servants.