So, please turn to Romans chapter 15, and I'll read verses 14 through 33.
Yeah, please stand. Romans 15, starting in verses 14 through 33.
So, here Paul is explaining his ministry plans.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God,
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God,
so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me
to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum, I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.
And thus, I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ already has been named,
lest I build on someone else's foundation.
But as it is written, those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.
This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.
But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions,
and since I have longed for many years to come to you,
I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain,
and to be helped on my journey there by you,
once I have enjoyed your company for a while.
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints.
For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
For they were pleased to do it, and indeed, they owe it to them.
For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings,
they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
When, therefore, I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected,
I will leave for Spain by way of you.
I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by the love of the Spirit,
to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,
that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea,
and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,
so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
And all God's people said, Amen.
So, the epistle of Paul to the Romans was written around 56 AD.
Paul was in Corinth, in modern-day Greece,
and as we just read, he is on his third missionary journey,
and he's already thinking of new destinations.
He wants to go west. He wants to go to Spain.
But he has things to do first.
He needs to go east to Jerusalem.
So, remember, he just explained in this passage
that he has an obligation to go to Jerusalem
to take an offering that he's collecting to the saints there.
Because remember, when he was in Jerusalem before,
they asked him to remember the poor.
Remember the poor saints in Jerusalem.
And he said he would be glad to do that.
And he even said in this passage that he read,
that we just read,
that the Gentiles, in a sense, have an obligation, right,
to share with them who they've received so much blessing from.
And so, that's his main thought
as he's writing this epistle.
The main occasion for writing it
is that he is making his plans.
He's going to Jerusalem,
but he'll eventually be back,
and he wants to go through Rome on his way to Spain.
And he mentions this,
but when we think of Romans,
we usually don't think of missionary journeys and planning, right?
When we think of Romans,
what do we think of?
We think of the righteousness of God.
We think of how Paul explains in such depth
this great theme of God's righteousness
and how God justifies sinners by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul develops this theme,
and he discusses many of its practical implications
through the whole body of this letter.
But then at the end,
he wraps it up with this section.
So we're going to focus on this section,
and we're going to focus specifically
on verses 30 through 32.
Because in this section,
we see that Paul,
he stopped being a theologian and teacher.
He stopped discussing his plans,
and he makes a very personal plea.
He urges them as strongly as he can
to be praying for him.
He won't see them for, who knows,
a year or two.
I don't know how long he's thinking
it'll take him to get to Jerusalem
and back to them,
but it'll be a while.
And in that time,
he doesn't want them to just,
you know, forget him.
Instead, he wants them to be urgently.
He's urgently appealing for them
to be praying for him
from the time they receive this letter
until he arrives, basically.
So let's look at these verses.
And what we'll see is,
first, we're going to look at four observations.
So I'll draw out four observations
that'll sort of guide us through the passage
and help us understand the key points.
And then we'll turn and look at
three applications for our lives.
So there'll be four observations
and three applications.
So let's look at the first observation.
That's great.
Good.
So the first is that Paul urges the believers
in Rome to pray for him.
He's discussing his travels.
He's discussing the gift.
He's concerned about different things happening.
But in this section,
he's focused in on one thing, prayer.
That's what this passage is about.
It's what, if I asked you afterwards,
what was it about?
What's it all about?
Just one word.
Prayer.
Daisy, just one word.
Say prayer.
Okay?
One word.
This is all Paul is concerned about
in this passage.
Prayer.
He desperately wants prayer.
And this isn't new for Paul.
He opens his gospel,
I'm sorry, his epistle,
by mentioning that he's praying for them.
He does this often in his epistles.
He'll tell those that he's writing
that he's been praying for them.
And he does the same
in his epistle to the Romans.
He says in chapter 1, verse 9,
Unceasingly, I made mention of you
always in my prayers making requests.
If perhaps now at last,
by the will of God,
I may succeed in coming to you.
So Paul constantly remembered them
in his prayers.
And now in these verses,
he's urging them to pray for him
and to remember him in their prayers.
And it's interesting to note
how he says this.
He begins by saying,
I appeal to you, brothers.
I appeal to you.
He doesn't just say,
now pray for me.
Now he does that in other epistles.
For example, in 1 Thessalonians
and in 2 Thessalonians also,
he concludes those epistles.
1 Thessalonians 5.25,
he simply says,
pray for me.
Or 2 Thessalonians 3.1,
he says, pray for us.
So that's not uncommon for Paul
to just write in his epistles,
pray for me.
And in Romans 13.50,
he also says,
now I urge you, brethren.
So sometimes he urges them
and sometimes he just asks them
to pray for him.
But in this section,
we see that he is urging,
but he doesn't stop with urging.
He doesn't just urge,
say, I urge you to pray
and he gives the reasons.
He's going to try to make this stronger.
He's going to make an appeal.
He's going to give them two reasons.
So let's look at that.
That's the next point to observe,
that Paul urges the believers to pray.
Because of their common Lord
and their common love.
Look at what he says there.
He says,
by our Lord Jesus Christ
and by the love of the Spirit.
So he's strengthening his appeal.
He says first,
by our Lord Jesus Christ.
So he's basically saying
that because we have a common Lord,
pray for me.
Whatever concern you have for Christ,
whatever desire to see his cause prosper.
I have that same concern.
I have that same desire.
We have the same Lord.
So that should move you to pray.
Because we have the same Lord Jesus Christ.
But he adds to that
by the love of the Spirit.
So he's referring to the love
that believers have for one another
that comes from and through the Holy Spirit.
And Paul is saying,
in effect,
since we have that same love in our hearts,
from that same Spirit working in our hearts,
that binds our hearts together,
let that move you to pray for me.
So when we look at Paul's urging here
and his appeal to these reasons,
this is unusual for Paul.
Something is moving him to urge
even stronger than he normally urges people.
In fact, 14 times,
Paul urges believers to do things.
So for example,
even in the next chapter,
in chapter 16,
verse 17,
he urges them.
He says,
Now I urge you, brethren,
keep your eye on those
who cause dissensions.
So even there,
he urges them.
But he doesn't give them
two reasons like he does here.
He just says,
I urge you.
Now there are three cases
where Paul makes an appeal
and he strengthens it
by referring to Jesus Christ
or God the Father.
So for example,
in Romans 12, 1,
he urges them
by the mercies of God.
And in 1 Corinthians 1, 10,
he urges them
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then in 2 Corinthians 10, 1,
he urges them
by the meekness
and gentleness of Christ.
But in this verse,
Paul does something
he hasn't done before.
He urges them
and he gives them
two reasons,
two reasons to pray for him.
So something must be
really significant.
Something's really burdening him.
He really needs prayer.
But he doesn't ask for prayer.
This is the really striking thing
about this passage.
He just doesn't move
right into prayer.
He moves into asking them
to do something first.
Let's look at the next observation.
Paul urges the believers
to strive together with him.
To strive together with him
in prayer.
I remember years ago,
we were back on furlough.
And, you know,
your first day,
a few days back on furlough
are great
because all the couches
are so soft.
The coffee is so good
in the morning.
Everything is so fresh and new.
And I was sitting one morning
reading this passage.
And this just really struck me
that he wanted them
to strive with him
because every missionary
wants prayer.
But he doesn't say,
I urge you to pray.
He says,
I urge you to strive with me
in prayer.
So what does this mean?
So the word here,
strive,
simply means struggle
or fight.
Fight with me.
Struggle with me.
And Paul often uses this word.
So, for example,
in Colossians 129
and also in 1 Timothy 4.10,
he describes his ministry
as labor and striving.
Labor and striving.
He sees what he's doing,
his ministry,
as a struggle.
It's a spiritual struggle.
It's a spiritual battle.
He is striving.
He is fighting.
And he wants them
to strive as well
and he says,
strive together with me.
Strive with me.
Fight with me.
Join me.
Make common cause with me.
I love what one of the
Puritan commentators said.
He said,
he would have them
ply the same oar.
Think of a rowboat.
Think of an oar.
You know,
you're pulling that oar
and that can get really
difficult to pull.
He wants someone
to pull with him.
Some of you may have
watched Ben-Hur
when you were young.
When I was young,
that was my favorite movie.
I'm bathing myself.
I know.
I don't know if kids
watch Ben-Hur anymore.
But it's a great movie
and there's a scene in it
where they're in the
Roman gallery rowing.
Remember that scene?
And every oar
has two men
and they're rowing
for all their lives
because they know
if they don't row fast enough,
they're going to sink
with that ship.
And so that's
this commentator says
Paul would have them
ply the same oar,
join him in fighting,
pulling as hard as they could.
So that's what Paul has in mind.
And this is just
an incredible thought.
Paul is drawing their attention
and our attention
to this idea
that though physically separated,
we can be pulling together
on the same team.
We can be fighting together
side by side as it were,
even though we are separated
by thousands of miles.
And Paul wants them
fighting with him
in their prayers.
And then finally,
he gets to his prayer requests,
his topics of prayer.
Let's look at those.
That's the fourth observation
is that Paul provides them
with three prayer requests.
So let's look at those.
First, he urges them
to pray for his safety.
He asks that they would pray
that God would deliver him
from the disobedience
in Jerusalem, in Judea.
He's referring to the Jews
who are seeking his life.
And he knows
that something terrible
is awaiting him.
He is going to suffer
terribly in Jerusalem.
He's been warned
by the Holy Spirit.
And he'll be even warned later
by the prophet Agabus.
But we read in Acts 20,
when Paul is traveling
to Jerusalem,
he stops and meets
with the elders from Ephesus.
And in Acts 20,
there's this really poignant scene.
They meet together
and he tells them,
I'll never see you again.
And so he gives them
his final words to them.
And this is one of the things
he tells them in Acts 20,
verses 22 through 23.
He says,
I am on my way to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will happen
to me there,
except that the Holy Spirit
solemnly testifies to me
in every city,
saying that bonds
and afflictions await me.
Think about that.
The Holy Spirit
is testifying to him
in every city,
every stop along the way.
He's being reminded
by the Holy Spirit
that bonds and afflictions
await him.
And so what does he do?
Does he stop?
Does he go back?
No.
He realizes
he needs to ask
the brothers and sisters
to pray for him about this.
And so he asks,
even in this letter
to the Romans,
pray for me.
Pray that I get safely
to Jerusalem
and I am spared.
I'm rescued.
I'm safe from these,
the ones who would
seek his life.
And second,
he asks for prayer
for his,
what he calls
his service for Jerusalem.
And he explained it earlier
in the chapter
that we read,
that he's been collecting
gifts from the churches
in Macedonia and Achaia.
And as he's been
collecting these gifts,
he's making plans
to take this money
to Jerusalem.
And he wants this
to be received,
not only for the money
to get there,
but for the believers there
to really see it
as a blessing
and for them
to receive it
and to be encouraged
by what God is doing
among the Gentiles.
And finally,
he urges them
to pray for his
safe arrival in Rome.
So he mentions earlier,
remember the whole occasion
for this book,
for the epistle
to the Romans,
is that someone's
traveling to Rome
and he's going to send
this letter
to tell them I'm coming.
So please,
pray for me
that I eventually
arrive safely
in Rome
and can be refreshed
by my time
with you.
Now what's wonderful
about scripture
is that scripture
interprets scripture.
Scripture fills out scripture.
You know what?
We have these three
prayer requests here
and guess what?
We have the answers.
We know what happened.
We actually know
how God answered
each of those prayer requests.
So,
let's look at that.
I'm going to,
I don't want you
to feel like
you have to look up
every verse in Acts
that I referred to.
That would take
a couple hours
for us to read through
and discuss every passage.
So I'm going to
sort of skim through
and then we'll spend
a little bit of time
in Acts 28.
But the first thing
to note is
Paul did arrive
in Jerusalem
and the leaders there
did receive
the offering.
They were greatly
encouraged
with what the Lord
was doing
through Paul
and his ministry
and we read about this
in Acts 21
verses 17 through 20.
So we know
that that prayer
was answered.
Paul did get
to Jerusalem.
They did receive
the gift.
The saints
were encouraged
by that.
And second,
as the Spirit
of God
had told Paul,
he did suffer
bondage
and affliction
in Judea.
he was attacked
in the temple.
He was dragged
outside,
almost stoned
to death,
but rescued
by the Roman
soldiers.
And then in Acts
21 through
Acts 26,
we have the account
of how his life
is saved.
There was even
40 Jews
who made
a pact.
They were going
to fast,
not eat
or drink
until they killed
Paul.
And God
preserved him
from those
40 men.
And he was
eventually taken
down to
Caesarea
on the coast.
And eventually
he's taken,
put on a ship
on his way
to Rome.
So he is saved
from those
attempts on
his life.
And what about
his request
for prayer
that he would
arrive safely
in Rome?
Did he arrive
safely in Rome?
Yes.
In fact,
we read
in Acts
27 and
28 about
their long,
difficult voyage.
They even
had a
terrible storm
at sea.
Their ship
is crashed
on the island
of Malta,
but God
spared everyone
on that ship.
And God
even used
Paul to
preach the
gospel on
the island
of Malta.
And then
they eventually
arrive in Rome.
And let's
look at Acts
28,
because there's
a beautiful
passage there
that is so
easy to
read right
by.
But Acts
28.
I'll start
reading in
verse 15.
Let's see.
Actually,
let me start
in verse
11.
So Acts
28,
verse 11.
After three
months,
so they
were in
Malta,
we set
sail in
a ship
that had
wintered
in the
island,
a ship
of Alexandria,
with the
twin gods
as a
figurehead.
Putting
in at
Syracuse,
we stayed
there for
three days.
And from
there we
made a
circuit and
arrived at
region.
And after
one day,
a south
wind sprang
up,
and on
the second
day we
came to
Peteoli.
There we
found brothers
and were
invited to
stay with
them for
seven days.
So I
think,
I think
that those
seven days,
that gave
news time
to reach
Rome,
that Paul
was nearby.
Because look
what happens
next.
And so we
came to
Rome.
And the
brothers,
there,
when they
heard about
us,
came as
far as
the
forum of
Appius,
and two
taverns to
meet us.
And seeing
them,
Paul thanked
God and
took courage.
And when we
came to
Rome,
Paul was
allowed to
stay by
himself with
the soldier
who guarded
him.
Now it's so
easy to
read by
those verses
and not
think about
the significance.
It says
there in
verse 15,
the brothers
there,
when they
heard about
us,
so they
got news
that Paul
was pretty
close.
What did
they do?
They came
as far as
the forum
of Appius
and the
three taverns
to meet
us.
Now we
can read
that and
just think,
okay,
they met
them.
How far
did they
go to
meet them?
Maybe if you
have a study
Bible,
you'll see in
the notes,
but let me
give you the
quick answer.
They went
43 miles
to the
market of
Appius,
43 miles,
probably walking.
They traveled
two days.
They were
probably prepared
to go all
the way to,
was it
Petulium or
Regium where
he had been,
where he spent
seven days,
oh, Petulia.
They may have
been prepared
to go all
seven,
you know,
all the way
to that town
to meet
them,
but they
went as
far as
the market
of Appius,
43 miles.
And then
there was
a second
group of
them coming
behind that
made it only
as far as
the three,
three ends.
That was
33 miles.
So the
believers in
Rome organized
themselves quickly
and said,
let's send some
people to meet
Paul because
they knew he
was a prisoner.
What did he
need?
He probably
needed some
fresh sandals,
some food,
maybe some
clothes.
Most of all,
he needed to
be encouraged
and they were
ready to
do it.
They sent
a team
out.
Then he
got a second
team together
and they
sent them
out and
they met
him.
What did
Paul do?
It says
here,
Paul thanked
God and
took courage.
If we
could see
that,
if we
could have
had that
on TikTok,
you know,
it would
have,
I'm sure
the words
don't capture
the amount
of gratitude
Paul had
and the
amount of
encouragement
he received.
Imagine writing
a letter to
Rome,
and it's
almost three
and a half
years.
You don't
even know
if it
got there.
You don't
even know
if they
remember you.
And here
they send
this group
to meet
you.
And then
they send
another group
to meet
you.
And so
I'm sure
he was
greatly
encouraged
by this.
So what
does this
mean for
us today?
How
should we
apply this?
I think
there's
three things
we could
take away.
First,
don't
neglect
prayer.
Don't
neglect
prayer.
In this
passage and
throughout
his epistles,
Paul was
always exhorting
us to
pray.
I'm sure
these are
very familiar
verses.
First,
Thessalonians
517,
pray without
ceasing.
Colossians
4-2,
devote yourselves
to prayer.
Ephesians
6-8,
with all
prayer and
petition,
pray at
all times
in the
spirit and
with this
in view,
be on the
alert with
perseverance and
petition for
all the
saints.
And Paul
was simply
exhorting the
believers as
our Lord and
Savior had
exhorted the
first believers,
the apostles.
Jesus says
in Matthew
7-7,
Ask and
it will be
given to
you.
Seek and
you will
find.
Knock and
it will be
open to
you.
We are to
be continually,
earnestly
seeking the
Lord in
prayer.
This is what
John Calvin
said about
that verse.
Nothing is
better adapted
to excite us
to prayer
than a
full
conviction
that we
shall be
heard.
I mean,
why pray if
you're not
going to be
heard,
right?
A full
conviction that
we shall be
heard.
Christ,
in order to
excite us
powerfully to
this part of
our duty,
not only
enjoins what
we ought to
do,
but promises
that our
prayer shall
not be
fruitless.
Again,
whenever we
engage in
prayer,
or whenever
we feel
that our
ardor in
prayer is
not sufficiently
strong,
we ought to
remember the
gentle invitation
by which
Christ assures
us of God's
fatherly
kindness.
Each of us,
trusting to the
grace of Christ,
will thus attain
confidence in
prayer and
will venture
freely to
call upon
God.
So,
we should
remember our
Father's
kindness awaits,
our fatherly
kindness awaits
us, so we
should not
neglect prayer.
And another
point is that
we should strive
together in
prayer.
This is what
really struck me
about what Paul
wrote.
He didn't just
say pray, he
said strive,
strive,
strive together
in prayer.
As brothers and
sisters in
Christ, having
the same Lord,
having a common
love, we
strive together
in our prayers
for each
other.
This is what
Carl's
Hodge in
his commentary
on this
verse wrote,
we shall
pray for
others in
such a way
as really
to enter
into their
trials and
conflicts and
believe that
our prayers,
when sincere,
are a real
and great
assistance to
them.
So,
do you think
your prayers
are a real
and great
assistance?
I know for
myself, I can
pray for
someone because
I don't want
them to feel
bad, or I
want them to
know that I
care about
them, but am
I praying because
I think my
prayer is a real
and great
assistance?
It's easy to
focus on the
individual, but
we have to
remember that we
have our God,
our Heavenly
Father's kindness
awaiting, and
so we pray
realizing that
our prayers are
real and great
assistance.
Several years
ago when we
were in
Cameroon,
there was a
period when I
was traveling
back and
forth, and I
left Susan
and the girls
at the
provincial
capital,
Marowa, and
I traveled out
to where we
were building
our home, and
the phone
service on
that trip was
really bad.
I wasn't able
to call her,
so I wasn't
able to do
the usual
check-in and
say I arrived
safely.
And so several
days went by,
and she was
becoming more
and more
concerned.
And this
wonderful
missionary named
Marty, Marty
Giger, she's
Swiss-German,
Swiss-German
missionaries are
great, everyone
needs a Swiss-German
missionary in
their life.
She came by to
see Susan, and
she had such a
gentle spirit, she
sat down with
Susan and said,
how are you
doing?
And Susan said,
Aaron's out, and
I haven't heard
from him.
And so she
said, let's
pray.
And as they
were praying,
the Lord heard
their prayers,
because right
then the phone
went off, and
I was able to
tell Susan, you
know, I'm okay,
and I should be
home today.
And when I got
back, I learned
that they had
been praying at
that very moment.
So Marty
understood that
her prayers were
a real
assistance.
presence.
And we
need to
remember that.
Lifting
each other
up, striving
together in
prayer.
And finally,
this is the
Apostle Paul,
a missionary,
making his
missionary plans,
asking the
church to pray
for him.
So I think
the third
application is
to strive
together in
your prayers
for your
missionaries.
Paul gives
us this
insight.
He sees
prayer as a
way for
others to
stand side
by side with
him in his
ministry.
And he
desperately needed
their prayer.
He wanted
their prayer.
He urged them
as strongly as
he could.
He doesn't
urge anyone
in any of his
writings like he
does here to
pray for him.
He wanted
their prayers.
prayers.
And so I
think we
all should
take this to
heart.
We need to
be striving in
prayer with our
missionaries.
I'm really
encouraged that
your church is
praying for your
missionaries.
And I just want
to encourage you
to excel still
more.
Continue to
lift them up in
prayer and
encourage them
through that.
And you can
even take a
little step
further if you
want.
After you pray
for them, send
them a text
message.
We pray.
The church we
go to in
Florida, they
have twice a
month we meet
together and
pray for the
missionaries from
our church.
And one thing
that they do at
the end of the
meeting, you
can't leave until
you texted one of
the missionaries
and said, we
prayed for you.
And sometimes I
even get a text,
especially if I
didn't make the
meeting.
They'll text me
and say, Aaron,
we prayed for
you too.
So pray for
your missionaries.
Encourage them.
Let them know.
And when they
come back, when
they walk in,
this is the
best way to
greet them.
Say, welcome
back, Sam and
Amanda.
We've been
praying for you.
Don't say
anything else.
They'll be so
shocked.
Let them just
sink in.
Welcome back,
Chris and Liz.
We've been
praying for you.
Don't say
anything else.
Just let that
encourage their
hearts.
Kyle and Hannah,
welcome back.
We've been
praying for you.
They'll be really
blessed by that.
And if you
haven't been
praying for any
missionaries, now's
the day.
You can start
praying.
Your church has
four couples.
Maybe there's even
another missionary in
your life.
Maybe you have an
uncle or an aunt,
a nephew, someone
else.
Maybe someone, the
Lord brought a
missionary in your
life before you
came here.
And even now, the
Spirit's brought
them to your mind.
I've told so-and-so
I'd be praying for
them.
Their prayer card
fell behind the
refrigerator and I
just never have
gotten it out.
Let today be that
day where you begin
praying for them
again.
Strive together with
them in your prayers
to God for them.
Last night, I
mentioned William
Carey.
People call him the
father of modern
missions.
He appears in so
many textbooks and
so many sermons.
He encouraged so
many people in
mission work.
You may have
heard of Agnard
Judson, the
American missionary
who went to
Burma.
Do you know why
he went to
Burma?
Because of
William Carey.
He went and
William Carey
helped save him
from the British
authorities.
The British
authorities at
that time loved
to capture
missionaries and
send them back
home.
And so there's
nothing better than
the British, what
was it, East
India Company.
They did not want
missionaries there.
In fact, William
Carey lived in a
Danish colony in
order to fulfill
his ministry.
So he helped
Adoniram Judson
escape the
British and get
safely on to
Burma and begin
his ministry.
Everyone has
heard of William
Carey, but very
few people have
heard of his
sister.
Did you know
that he had a
sister, Polly?
And Polly is
probably better
remembered in
heaven because of
all her prayers.
She prayed for
him regularly.
In fact, she was
bedridden and she
would write him
regularly and pray
for him regularly.
And when groups
would visit her, she
would have them
pray for her
brother overseas.
And she was
continually lifting
him up in prayer.
And that's what
every missionary
wants.
They want a
Polly behind
them, praying
for them.
Even Paul wanted
that.
He urged them,
strive together
with me in your
prayers to God
on my behalf.
So I encourage
you, brothers and
sisters, let's
follow the example
of Paul, his
exhortation, and
strive with those
who are serving
and even strive
with one another
coming together
and praying for
each other.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we
thank you for this
passage.
We thank you for
your spirit moving
Paul to write
these words where
he's very vulnerable
in a way, sharing
how much he needed
prayer, how much
he wanted the
believers in Rome
to remember him.
And we thank you,
Lord, that you
answered those
prayers and even
moved Luke to
record how you
worked through your
people to continue
the ministry of
Paul.
And we just pray
that you would use
this in our hearts
to stir us to pray
even more that
you, your purposes
would be accomplished
in our day through
your servants.
And we pray for
Sam and Amanda,
that you would
encourage them today
and bless them and
Chris and Liz as
they minister in
their mission field
in North Africa.
And we pray for
Kyle and Hannah in
the southern tip of
Africa.
You bless them as
well today.
And we thank you for
all those that you've
led to the ends of
the earth to proclaim
your greatness.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.