Praying for Gospel Hope

This week as we gather corporately to pray together as God's people on and for God's mission, we look at Paul's power-packed words in Romans 15:13, as he again prays for the Christians in Rome:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

First of all, this is a great Scripture to commit to memory, as these are words we all need to pray for ourselves and for those around us.

This is because it is assumed and implied that we are very needy of these things. In a life full of disappointments and discouraging reports, we need to be filled with "all joy and peace." Without and within there seems to be anything but joy and peace.

And so we with Paul need to pray.

As the heat of persecution against Christianity was being turned up in Rome, the believers in Rome, like a pot of boiling water on a stove, were being tempted to boil over and lash out at one another. Doing so would compromise the message of Christ's powerful gospel to save His people from not only the penalty of sin, but also the power and presence of it in our lives and churches.

And so Paul prays for them.

This is because God is not only the God "of" endurance (15:5); He is also the God "of" hope. That is, there is hope to be found in this hopeless world. And this hope is found only in, and is dispensed only by, "the God of hope."

What good news for us today! The triune God offers hope to all, and grants it to those who ask.

And He does so in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, through our faith in the gospel.*

Romans is all about God's power being unleashed through faith in the gospel of His Son (cf. Rom. 1:16). As we prayerfully gaze upon Christ by faith as we ingest the gospel, the Spirit produces joy and peace to our hearts, which overflows in [this true] hope. Let us marvel at this, for it is as glorious an expression of God's power in our lives as the Spirit producing saving faith in our hearts through the gospel.

In light of this logical progression, let's pray accordingly:

1. That we would not neglect meditating and rehearsing and feasting on and believing in the gospel. Every day.**

2. Let's pray that for those in the slough of despond, that God would send an "evangelist" to shine through the dark clouds with the light of the gospel of Christ.

3. Let's pray that we would not just 'acquaint' ourselves with the 'facts' of the gospel, but that we would be believing it***, for without faith in the gospel, true joy and true peace are elusive and illusionary.

4. Some people cannot be themselves in certain environments. But when we're at home, we can be who we are. In the same way, let us pray that our hearts are a suitable "home" for the Spirit (cf. Eph. 3:17; Col. 3:16). When He feels at home in our lives, He brings the gift of God's hope in "every" circumstance of life.**** The Spirit loves the heart where Christ dwells richly. So let's pray to this end, for ourselves, and for our brothers and sisters at GCC.

5. The world is full of counterfeit hopes. What people need to see in us is true and abounding hope (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15). Let's pray not only for a little hope here and there, but for hearts and lives that are so "full" of Christ our hope (cf. 1 Tim. 1:2) that they irrepressibly "abound" and refresh this parched landscape around us.

May this be so, Lord Jesus!!

In Christ, the hope of the world,
pastor ryan

* literally, Paul says, "Now may the God of the hope fill you." Paul is not just talking about 'any' kind of hope here, but "the" hope that comes as a fruit and when we see and believe in the gospel (cf. 8:20-25).

** that Paul uses an aorist tense for the verb may imply that we need 'fresh' fillings regularly. Thus we need to pray regularly to be 'refilled.'

*** the Greek verb "to believe" is a present infinitive, meaning that as we believe on and rest in the gospel, the Spirit produces all joy and peace and hope in our lives. 

**** the Greek word pas/pan is translated "all" by the ESV, but also conveys the idea of "every", as in we need this gospel-empowered hope for "every kind" of circumstance or need.

A Prayer for Harmony and Unity in the Body

Today, we look at Romans 15:5-6 as we gather together to pray as a church body.

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

A couple of exegetical notes that could spur on discussion and prayer:

1. The genitive "of" in the phrase "the God of" could be easily translated, "who gives."

• Obviously, these Christians needed endurance and encouragement. Why would they need "endurance"? Why would they need to be "encouraged"? Are we any less needy of these things today?
• Since they needed them (implication: so do we, if we are faithfully seeking the Lord and His kingdom), WHAT does Paul do? Let us with Paul seek to regularly pray that God would grant us (and others) He alone can truly give: endurance and encouragement. 
• How often do we pray for these things for our brothers and sisters who are struggling?

2. When the graces of divine endurance and encouragement are lacking in a congregation, "harmony with one another" will be lacking in the congregation.

• The solution seems to be that we as Christians must live "in accord with Christ Jesus."
• WHAT does this look like? (hint: passages like Phil. 2:1-8 might be helpful)
• A.W. Tozer once said that the best way for an orchestra to be "in tune" with one another is to have them all tuned to the same tuning fork. Otherwise, all the parts will sound out of tune and disharmonious with one another.
• HOW can we all live "in accord with Christ Jesus." Do we need His mindset? If so, how (and where) is this cultivated?

3. Despite the persecution and difficulty the Christians in Rome were experiencing, Paul says that by living in harmony with each other, they will "with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

• Unity and harmony are not an end, but merely a means to an end: the glory of God!!
• This is counter-cultural, even within the church. Community is costly. It takes work. It requires much time. Even more, it takes prayer. Living for self and by one's self is easy and really doesn't require grace or prayer. Which is why a community operating in the unity of the Spirit is a great witness to the transforming power of the gospel over the self-centeredness and individualism that pervade our dark world. 

Let us then pray to the end that God is glorified in our church's unity this evening. Pray that in our lives of difficulty and discouragement, God would fill us with His endurance and encouragement. The result will be that we live harmoniously, and that the world will see we truly belong to Jesus (cf. John 13:33-34), and that our great Father in heaven will be hallowed on earth as He already is in heaven.

In Christ, and for the glory of God in the church (Eph. 3:21),

pastor ryan

Praying for Conversions

As we continue through Paul's prayers, we will consider one single verse found in the tenth chapter of his letter to the Christians in Rome:

"Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." (v.1)

When God saves His people out of their various contexts, He often leaves them with a burden for those very people whom they were called "out of."

• For Paul, that meant that he had a 'sweet spot' in his heart for his fellow country-men, the Jews. 

• For us today, this might look like a Christian praying for their family members who have yet to submit to Christ's lordship. Or, it could mean praying for their particular country where they were born. It may even mean praying for a religious cult or denomination out of which they were graciously rescued by the gospel.

Tonight, as we pray together as a church, let us ask God for such a "heart" (Greek: kardia) that strongly desires for the "good will" (Greek: eudokia [translated as "desire") of those who are near and dear to us. Too often, we as Christians can grow cold in our desire to see others converted to Jesus. May this not be true of us. If it is, let us pray for God to not only thaw our frozen hearts, but to warm them with evangelistic zeal for Christ!

Let us pray that this God-granted desire for the eternal well-being of others would be turned into fervent and unceasing prayers to God to do what only He can do: save lost sinners. In the Greek "my" (teis emeis) in emphatic; let us pray that we (not merely "others" in the church) would pray regularly for the lost around us to be converted.

Let us remember that "salvation" comes only through the gospel (cf. 10:5-17; 1:16-17), and pray that God would send somebody - even us! - to proclaim and embody the good news of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

As we gather together to beseech our gracious God who loves to hear and answer the prayers of His children, let us remember to pray for many conversions and baptisms at GCC this year. Let us pray that His kingdom come, and that His great Name be glorified as sinners come to a saving faith in the living Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria!!

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

Keeping our Hearts unto Prayer, Part 8 (Praying with an Eye to Eternity)

Flavel's final exhortation to Christians regarding our duty to pray is to "consider what influence these have unto eternity."

He goes on to write:

These are your seed-times, and what you sow in your duties in this world, you must look to reap the fruit of it in another world, Ga. vi. 7, 8. If you sow to the flesh, of that you shall reap corruption; but if to the Spirit, life everlasting. O my soul, answer seriously, wouldst thou be willing to reap the fruit of vanity in the world to come? Darest thou say, when thy thoughts are roving to the ends of the earth in duty [prayer], when thou scarce mindset what thou sayest or hearest; now, Lord, I am sowing to the Spirit; now i am providing and laying up for eternity, now I am seeking for glory, honour and immortality; now I am striving to enter in at the straight gate; now I am taking the kingdom of heaven by an holy violence? O such consideration as this should make the multitudes of vain thoughts that press in upon thy heart in [prayer], fly seven ways before it.

It has been foolishly and erroneously preached from many a pulpit that there are Christians who are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. 

Flavel, and more importantly, the Bible, would strongly disagree. In fact, the opposite is true: many Christians are of no heavenly good because they are so earthly-minded.

Solomon himself says, "The discerning [person] sets his face towards wisdom, but the eye of a fool are on the ends of the earth" (Proverbs 17:24), and the apostle Paul exhorts those who "have been raised with Christ" to "keep seeking the things that are above" and "keep thinking about things above, not things of the earth" (Colossians 3:1-2, NET).

In the movie "Gladiator", there is an epic scene at the beginning of the movie where the Roman army is squaring off against the Barbarians. Maximus, the leading general of the army, concludes his exhortation to his troops with a truth that is repeated throughout Scripture: "What we do in life, echoes through eternity."

Dear believer, never forget eternity before you pray, when you pray, and after you pray! 

In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth,
pastor ryan

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Keeping our Hearts Unto Prayer, Pt. 7 (Crying out for Deliverance from Vain Distractions)

Flavel's next help for believers in seeking to improve their prayer duties is simply this: ask God to remove any and every distraction that keeps us from intimate and unhindered communion with God while in prayer:

Mourn over the matter to God, and call in assistance from heaven, when vain thoughts assault thy heart in [prayer].

When Paul was buffeted in his times of prayer by Satan's messenger, he immediately went to God to mourn the issue before Him (2 Cor. 12:8). So too, says Flavel, should the Christian immediate ask God for immediate assistance and deliverance.

As Solomon says, it only takes a fly or two to make sweet-smelling perfume reek (Ecclesiastes 10:1). In the same way, all it takes is an apparently innocuous distraction to ruin a sweet time of prayer with our triune God.

Solomon is saying that something that is seemingly insignificant has great potential in ruining something exceedingly valuable.

And so, says Flavel, "Never slight wandering thoughts in duty as small matters; follow every vain thought with a deep sigh."

In fact, Flavel gives us a model prayer for such times:

Lord, I came hither to speak with Thee, and here a busy devil and a vain heart conspiring together have set upon me. O God! what an heart have I! Shall I never wait upon Thee without distraction? when shall I enjoy an hour of free communion with Thee? Help me, my God, this once; do but display Thy glory before mine eyes, and my heart shall be quickly recovered: Thou knowest I came hither to enjoy Thee, and shall I go away without Thee? See how the heart of Thy poor child works towards Thee, strives to get near Thee, but cannot: my heart is aground; come thou north wind, blow south wind: O for a fresh gale now from Thy Spirit, to set my affections afloat!

"Couldst thou," concludes Flavel, "but thus affectionately bewail thy distractions to God, thou mightest obtain help and deliverance from them."

O how we must, in the wise words of Solomon, beg our Guardian God to "catch all those little foxes (those little foxes!) before they ruin the vineyard of love" (Song of Solomon 2:15).

So often we only seek the Lord's assistance against visibly large foes. May He give us the grace to see that we need just as much for our Warrior King just to fell the little ones as well!

In Christ, and for the glory of His Name,
pastor ryan