Romans 1:10: Always In My Prayers

Romans 1:10
[10] always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (ESV)

Have you ever had that situation where you talk to someone and they begin to tell you their current list of troubles? You patiently listen and then you tell them, "I'll be praying for you." A few weeks go by and you run into that same person. They begin to share how God worked in their life and answered all their troubles. They are so thankful and say, "Thank you for praying!"

There's only one problem. You never prayed for them. Oh, you meant to. In fact, you had the greatest intentions of praying for them. You were deeply moved by their situation. You pictured yourself in their shoes and you knew that you would not have handled their struggles well. You meant to pray. But you forgot.

The Apostle Paul does not seem to suffer from the problem of forgetting to pray. I hope you don't feel bad if you identified too well with my "story." We have all been there. Paul has these believers in the church at Rome always in his prayers. We know that he was thankful for their faith. As a skilled teacher he wanted to meet them face to face and share more of God's truth with them.

Paul seeks God's will in his trip to Rome. This is such an important point. Paul knows that God is ultimately in charge of where he goes and when he goes there. While Paul waits for God's go-ahead to go to Rome he is content to send this masterpiece of a letter. Paul eventually made it to Rome. He went as a prisoner. He was martyred there. It's interesting how God answers prayers.

Paul was faithful in prayer. He is a great example to us. One of the ways for us to remember specific prayers is to be "always in prayer." Begin talking to the Lord in the morning. Don't stop until you rest your eyes at night. Ask him to help direct your scattered thoughts. He will help you.

Comments

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co

James 2:18: I Will Show You My Faith By My Works

James 2:18 [18] But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (ESV) There are certain things in life that go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Double stuff Oreo cookies and milk. Faith and works. James raises the point that someone might argue that faith and works can be separated. "One will say, "You have faith and I have works." Is it ok for works to be separated from faith? James is making the argument that faith and works are not to be separated. James is saying to the one who has faith only, with no works, that he wants them to see his faith by his works. In other words, if you are going to claim to have faith, but have no works, you have no evidence of faith. If I am to believe that a person has genuine faith I can only see that by their works. Faith brings action. There are so many people to claim to have some kind of faith, yet when it comes down to it, their

Every Day Devotion

Search This Blog