Wrestling Shoes

" He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." (Colossians 4:12b)

Wrestling shoes have been the chosen footwear recently. As disciples of Jesus, wrestling shoes should always be worn because we are in a spiritual battle, wrestling against the powers of this dark world. Yet, the wrestling shoes that I have been wearing are for prayer. I have been wrestling in prayer, seeking God's direction for a specific area of my life.

The shoes in the picture are my son's. He used them to wrestle while on his high school team. I watched him wrestle in amazement, struck with his discipline and determination. Each bout that he wrestled lasted for only six minutes - three two minute periods. Sometimes the bout would end early, sometime there would be an overtime period. The short periods seemed like an eternity as my son worked to hold his opponent or escape an opponent's hold. The bouts always ended - sometimes with a victory, sometimes a loss. Nevertheless, the wrestling ended for a time.

Wrestling in prayer also requires discipline. Prayer is work! In fact, the Greek word translated "wrestling" from the Colossians passage literally means "agonize". To voluntarily "agonize" requires determination. As we wrestle in prayer it may feel like an eternity....like we will never know the answer. For God it is only a 6 minute bout. There will be direction. There will be an answer. Whether the answer is the one we wanted or not, the end of the bout will leave us standing firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured.