Monday, May 22, 2017

Paul's Prayer in Romans 1:8-12



This summer, the elders have decided that we as a church at Grace Community work through the prayers of Paul found in his various letters in the NT. 



This week, we look at his short prayer found in Romans 1:8-12:


First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you - that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

Here are but a couple of thoughts/suggestions to ponder as we gather to pray corporately:

1. WHAT is the first thing Paul does in this prayer? Does this characterize our prayers (both corporate and private)? Cf. 1 Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:18.

What are some things we can thank God for today?

2. WHY does Paul say that he thanks the Father "through Jesus Christ"? Is this part of Jesus' role as our Mediator and Advocate? Often we think only lifting our prayers to the Father through Jesus; we must also remember that even our (sin-tarnished) thanks must be "delivered" to the Father by Christ. Let us praise the Savior for this often overlooked aspect of His ministry for His people!!

3. For WHAT does Paul give thanks to God for? Remember that Paul has never personally met these believers in Rome. This ought to remind us that we must prayer for and give thanks for our brothers around the world who are "proclaiming the faith" around the world. 

HOW can we turn this into a prayer for our own local church? Perhaps we can pray that we would have this kind of infectious, passionate evangelical faith as well.

4. The verb "to give thanks" is in the present tense, which means that it is an ongoing action. It is great to pray like this every Wednesday. But perhaps we can pray that God would help us to pray like this consistently throughout the week (note the "always" in verse 10).

5. WHY is Paul so eager to see these believers in Rome? Let us pray that God would enable us to use the gifts He has entrusted us to "strengthen" and "encourage" one another in the faith (cf. Ephesians 4:11-16). Let us pray that God would give us a "longing" to see our brothers and sisters built up and sanctified in and through and for Christ (cf. Phil. 2:1-4).

6. Finally, note that although Paul eagerly desires to see the Roman believers, he nevertheless reminds himself that he will do so only if it is God's will. HOW ought this realization temper and inform our own prayers tonight? Cf. 1 John 5:14-15

No comments:

Post a Comment