Romans 1:8-12 NLT
Let me say
first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your
faith in him is being talked about all over the world. God knows how often I
pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I
serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son. One of the
things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see
you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will
help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you
in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
Paul
spent time praying day and night for people he had never met. He was devoted in
prayer, prayer wasn’t the only thing he did but clearly his heart’s desire was
the growth of fellow believers. They were not names on a list but communities
he wrestled for. Mentoring without prayer is needlessly failing to bring the
fullness of all God wants to bring to a relationship. But this prayer is deep
yearning in the context of spreading the
Good News. Paul was not content to simply pray but eagerly desired to personally
visit the believers he was praying for. He wants to bring something to help
them grow strong and encourage their faith but recognises that he will be
encouraged by their faith. We need each other, we need to be inspired and
encouraged by those we are helping grow in the faith. Can we honestly say to
them, I am praying for you day and night? Are we communicating with others just
as Paul wrote letters to encourage fellow believers? Are we sending
messages to provoke growth even as we spread the Gospel?
Father, forgive our failure
to take prayer seriously and our hesitancy to spread the Good News help us to
be better examples of devoted followers than we have been.
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