Epaphras Prays Podcast

We complicate things we enjoy. The longer we do a thing, the more sophisticated we get with it — and somewhere along the way, we can lose the fundamentals that got us started. Take fishing. I love it, but it’s not just a rod, a reel, and a hook. Oh, no. You can chase all the sophistication you want — different reels, lines, lures, or flies for different fish and different waters. Mastering the gea...

In this special edition, we pause to celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation. We explore the unique history of God’s divine creation in America, from the pioneers and settlers who crossed “sea to shining sea” to the inventions that shaped the world. While acknowledging the rebellions and immature mistakes of our past—likened to the prodigal son returning to the Father’s house—we affirm that 250...

Jesus teaches us that God, like a loving father, will give good gifts to those who ask with childlike faith Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11 Childlike Faith...

Do you sing hymns in church? Many grew up this way and still do. But have you thought about reading these hymns as a prayer? We sing them on a Sunday morning in service, not always giving thought to the meaning behind the words. So many are Scripture based and sung to the Lord. One of my favorites is Have Thine Own Wa y. If you’re familiar with it, or even if you’ve never sung this hymn before, le...

I don’t just read the Word, study the Word, or memorize it. I pray it. And it’s a main way I’ve learned prayer and intercession. One best way is by praying directly from the Psalms. They are an excellent place for this. If they were important enough to be preserved for our reading today, they are certainly good enough as our prayer guide! Try to pray one each day, just read through it as if you we...

Last Thursday, I got more praying done than I had the entire previous week — but it wasn’t because I spent an entire three-hour block in prayer. It wasn’t because I prayed once in the morning, once at noon, and once at night. It was simply because I prayed in the gaps. Most often, Christians refer to “standing in the gap” as a reference to Ezekiel 22:30, where the Lord searched for a man among the...

In the archived article A Wise Man Prays , we looked at King Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple he had constructed. It takes about seven minutes to simply read the prayer, and we I hope you take some time to read through it right now. Did you note how vast, how comprehending, how intricate, how detailed it is? Or how solemn, how contrite, and how full of faith it also is? It really is an...

When we come ask heavenly Father in Jesus name, there is a promise He will give it. The promise is John 16:23— And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you . When we ask the Father in the name of His Son, it will be given. Whatever we need has been promised, whenever we ask. Not only is the promise that He will give...

Note : There is more in the Article voiceover than what is written here. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1 This Godly wisdom is a divine attribute and a gift from God. We can access the knowledge of the holy by earnestly seeking it in faith, in the Bible, in prayer. This isn’t wordly wisdom, —n...

Could we number the birds of the sky, or fish in the sea? What’s the number of types of trees? How many are the raindrops in spring? Our God is an infinite God and His creativity is unlimited. We could sooner count sand on the shore as the endless numbers of anything He has made. How many kinds of prayer are there, do you think? Is it two, or nine? 101? I like what Spurgeon says, As many as are th...

Have you ever felt like your spiritual life not very fruitful? Like you’re trying hard to be patient, loving, or faithful, but struggling instead? I sure have, and I don’t think I’m alone! Today we’re shifting focus from trying to asking . Based on Galatians 5 and the story of the vine and the branches, I invite you to pray specifically for the Holy Spirit to cultivate His character and nature in...

One of the best ways to learn to pray is by reading and praying from the Scriptures directly. Another is to read or hear others pray, especially those great intercessors of the past, like the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon. His prayers were transcribed for us to read, but listen along as we pray from Pulpit Prayers Prayer 8 — We adore Thee because Thou art holy and we love Thee for Thine in...

Epaphras was a devoted early Christian minister and fellow servant of the Apostle Paul, known for his deep commitment to prayer and spiritual care for the church in Colossae. Today we learn about praying for others as he did, and be encouraged to do likewise. He is mentioned only three times in the New Testament — twice in Colossians and once in Philemon — and is described by Paul as a “faithful m...

On the matter of time spent praying, there are two questions: how often should we pray, and, how long should we pray? The first has to do with the frequency of praying, and the other with the amount of time spent praying. And the answer is: as often and as long as is needed . Says Spurgeon: I always feel that there is something wrong of I go without prayer for even half an hour in the day We can a...

Most of us have been there. We’ve brought the same request before God again and again, wondering if He hears, wondering if we’ve done something wrong, wondering if we should just stop asking. But Scripture and church history are full of stories of people who waited — and found that the waiting itself was part of the answer. A woman once came to a pastor in tears. She’d been praying for her prodiga...

We are surrounded by the lost. If they don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, they are lost, unsaved, in the domain of darkness, aka. pagans. And they may well be family, neighbors, co-workers; our family doctor, the girl at the grocery checkout, a client; a person sitting next to us, or someone we consider voting for. We pray today for unsaved people among us, as did Paul: Brothers, my heart’s desi...

We are connected in communities, aren’t we? Family people, church people, work people, and neighbors, friends, and on and on. We are social creatures, spending much of our time in proximity to other people. These are people God put in our lives—to relate to, work with, share life with—and pray for. The Lord wants you and I to come to Him and ask for blessings on their behalf. And you may be the on...

Back in the early days when I first began to seek the Lord in prayer, I really knew very, very little about praying at all. After all, it was not something that I naturally knew or had learned automatically. But the church I started attending, it was a big part of their day. They had several in-church prayer meetings each day for one hour at 6 and noon and 6 p.m. seven days a week. I started going...

Introduction: In The Four Essentials of Prevailing Prayer , C.H. Spurgeon unpacks a single verse — Mark 11:24 — with profound depth, revealing that effective prayer is not about repetition or religious formality, but about faith in action . He challenges believers to move beyond vague petitions and half-hearted requests, calling instead for prayer that is focused, fervent, confident, and expectant...

The term “Bride of Christ” is a beautiful metaphor that describes Christians, the collective body of believers we call the Church, and our intimate relationship with Jesus. Throughout the New Testament, this imagery paints a picture of Jesus as the devoted Groom and the Church as His cherished Bride. Jesus as the Groom In Scripture, Jesus is portrayed as a loving Groom preparing for His wedding da...

From Mark 11 starting in verse 12. The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs. Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement. As they...

We often reach for the phone, the checkbook, the casserole when someone is in need, because doing something feels like being useful. Something practical, tangible, material. Helping is the right thing to do, but we often rush past prayer to get there. Our culture prizes accomplishing, and prayer rarely makes the to-do list. That gap between what we offer and what we actually do has a name. Which i...

What if every blessing you’ve ever needed was already waiting — held back not by your circumstances, but by your silence? In this episode, we explore from a Spurgeon sermon (The Result of Prayer) about how prayer isn’t just a spiritual habit — it’s the doorway that mercy walks through. Tracing the pattern from Scripture and lived experience, we look at why great blessings are almost always precede...

Getting a group together for a prayer meeting can be a challenge. Many people don't like to pray aloud with others, so they prefer to sit quietly. Others might come to a prayer meeting but don't really know much about prayer at all, so starting one can feel daunting. One of the things I like to utilize with new prayer groups — groups filled with people who like the idea of praying but haven't spen...

These prayers come from the scriptures in 1 and 2 Peter, and they reveal to us God’s own will for his people. After all, this is what Peter was writing to his letters recipients and said, do this, have this, know this. Then we also know and understand that this is what God has for us, that is, his people today. As then, also now. And because there are scriptural prayers, we can count on these pray...