Good morning people who pray for others to mature in Jesus Christ.

Colossians 4:12 NIV 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.

Earlier in Colossians, Paul asked the church to pray that he would have opportunities to preach the gospel and to proclaim it boldly. His focus was not on himself feeling better, but on God’s kingdom advancing.

Now he tells the church that Epaphras is fervently praying for them, that they too may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

This is my prayer for us, the church, today. This is my prayer for you and I today.

We need God’s strength to stand firm, to persevere, to overcome. Not from a place of defeat or escape, but from a place of God’s power and the right focus on God’s kingdom over our comfort.

These are days of warriors arising! These are days of kingdom advancement!

These are days where God is seen in the lives of His sons and daughters who walk through dark valleys, fiery furnaces, lion’s dens and prison cells, all without casting away their confidence or their confession in God.

May we all be these people.