The Hard Work of Struggling in Prayer

A friend sent me these verses in April and asked, “What do you think of these verses?  Does it sound like a lot of the work the early church did was pray?”:

The verses and the questions stuck with me. I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life that share verses and questions that help me press into knowing our Father in Heaven.

This week, last week, the week before and honestly for months I’ve been struggling in prayer, so many prayers. Often prayer feels like “travailing,” laboring to give birth. Prayer often sounds like sighs and groaning (Romans 8:26).

This week as I was wrestling in prayer I remembered the verse my friend shared and wondered, “Is prayer supposed to be this hard? What did that verse mean? What in the world am I wrestling against? Why is this so hard?” I felt like a wimp. Prayer felt like pushing a boulder up a mountain. I feared it might roll backwards and squish me at any moment. I wanted to know if I was doing something wrong and if there was an easier way.

So I took my questions to the Lord in prayer and to the verses in context and I looked up the word “struggle” in the Greek:

agónizomai

Definition: to contend for a prize, struggle

Usage: I am struggling, striving (as in an athletic contest or warfare); I contend, as with an adversary.

Strong’s Concordance

“Agónizomai” sounds a little like our English word “agonize” because it is its root.

I immediately thought of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and how He said His soul was “sorrowful unto death” (Matthew 26:38). And how:

Being in an agony (agōnia) He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

Luke 22:44

And I thought of how:

During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…

Hebrews 5:7-9

Then I remembered

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. …Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons.  …Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Hebrews 12:1-4, 7, 12-13

Finding an easy way out of agonizing prayer was not looking good. I so need to be reminded of the gospel daily. We are not home yet. We live in the frontlines of a battlefield. Jesus also agonized/struggled/fought/wrestled in prayer.

The verb agónizomai is used in our New Testament 7 other places. I read and meditated on each one for more context:

Strive to enter in through the narrow door; for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. – Luke 13:24

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.” – John 18:36

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. 25 Everyone who competes [striving] in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. 26 Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. 27 No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

1 Timothy 4:10 To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

By this point, the answers to my questions, “Is prayer supposed to be this hard? What did that verse mean? What in the world am I wrestling against? Why is this so hard?” were starting to crystallize, but something inside me needed to hear, be encouraged and exhorted audibly. I found an excellent sermon by John Piper on the text called “How Do I ‘Wrestle’ in Prayer?” I hope you’ll go listen. I am writing this post thinking I’ll need to return to this topic and be encouraged again and again.

My notes:
“…the answer that Epaphras is after in his prayers for the Colossian believers would be that they stand, and that they stand mature and be fully assured of God’s favor and God’s will as they live their Christian life.”

Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

Teaching, warning, ministry, prayer – wrestling work
Requires rigorous exertion and effort against hindrances or barriers

“Paul does not think of his ministry wrestling as something he does in his own strength, even though there’s enormous effort and toil. It’s not being done in his own strength to try to get Christ to be active for him. It’s just the other way around.

He says Christ is super active prior to his effort and in his effort, enabling his effort to toil with wrestling. And I think that’s the idea with prayer. You don’t pray — even though it may be hard; there may be work in it — in your own strength.”

Fight the good fight of faith. – 1 Timothy 6:12

“So, even though the word ‘wrestle’ sounds demanding, what it demands above all is faith.

…that is, seeking to rely on the strength of another and do everything we do, easy or hard, by faith, by relying on the one who is at work in me enabling me to do what I’m striving to do.”

Faith that Christ is the one who wrestles in, through, and for us.

“Prayer is embattled, and we are called to get on the frequency of the heavenly headquarters and send in for fire cover here. “I’ve got to have the air force quick, Father, because I’m in trouble.” But never forget that even our call for help is an act of help from the Lord who is for us.” – John Piper, How Do I ‘Wrestle’ in Prayer?

I am so thankful for John Piper and others who are so diligent and faithful to help us study the scriptures. Towards the end of his sermon, John Piper mentions the struggle (palē) in Ephesians 6.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. 

Ephesians 6:10-18

This morning I was thinking how soft my thinking often is, how I struggle with struggling. Why did I think prayer should have been easier? Did I think Jesus said, “Watch and pray” for no reason? And how often I forget it is Him working in me. I am not alone.

Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Matthew 26:40-41

Prayer is such a gift. It can be sweet, beautiful, refreshing, calming, rewarding, transformative, and “embattled.” The Christian life is one of intentional remembering, of setting our mind on the unseen eternal things above (Colossians 3:2), of prayer, of persevering and wrestling through God’s enabling power while believing that God will be faithful to complete His good work in us, He will give us the power and will to do His good pleasure. I know these things. I forget them so easily.

Lord, I believe, help me to remember, believe, rest, press in, struggle and wrestle in a way that brings You glory.

When I get to Heaven I want to hear my Savior say, 

You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials.

Luke 22:28 

In His Love,

Jenny Coleman

“You show me the path to life;   
Your presence fills me with joy,       
everlasting delight is at Your right hand.”
– Psalms 16:11