Urged

6.3.2011

Romans 15:30-33 30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Twice in Romans, Paul urged them – Romans 12.1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. And now at the close of his letter (see above), he urges them again, to pray.

Paul was on his way to Jerusalem to offer relief to the impoverished saints and would subsequently find himself embroiled in a death-match with the Jews who so vehemently opposed his preaching of the Gospel. In the passage above he expressed a great desire to be with the Roman believers but I don’t think he thought it would be the way it happened (Cf, Acts 21ff.)

For many, we need to be urged pray because we just don’t have the urge to pray. We kinda think that stuff will just happen and everything will be okay if God does what He does and we don’t mess up too badly. Specifically Paul’s request was for protection from the unbelievers in Judea and although he nearly lost his life in the process, he didn’t and he was, in fact, rescued. He also prayed that God’s will be accomplished in his coming to be with them and after several years of imprisonment – and a subsequent shipwreck – he made it. But he also had a visit with the Emperor of Rome to share the Gospel with him! Hmmm, go figure!

What happens when we pray? What happens when we don’t? Both are huge questions with dramatically different answers. Often when we pray all hell breaks loose; usually when we don’t things just drift along quietly and people go to hell. These days, we need hell to break loose of its grip on people, circumstances, and its incessant opposition to the truth. We are a moral mess as a nation and our kids, friends, and family members are casualties in the chaos – we need to pray. And we need to urge one another to pray.

Father in Heaven,
Lord, find a praying heart within me. May I pray for others who are so oppressed by such devilish activity in their lives; and may I pray for Your truth to prevail. Paul’s prayers were answered – just not in the way he expected so may I pray with anticipation of Your answers regardless of how they come – amen.