Romans 15:30-33 Peace Be with You All!

Romans 15:30-33  I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.  The God of peace be with you all.  Amen.

As those who hear the most high, our spirits should be in a position of prayer, constantly communicating with God, for God has placed us in Christ as new creatures.  We are IN CHRIST and He is IN US.  Otherwise, we are never apart from the living God.  Our temples have been made holy; Christ in us has made us holy.  What prayers have we said today?  What songs have we sung?  What words have we expressed to God?  We are holy people, living in a holy place. The Bible says we are a peculiar people.  Every day we anticipate knowing God better, desiring to understand his heart because we are living as adopted children in the household of God.  However, often we do not recognize our privileged position before God, failing even to whisper a prayer to him in the course of a day.  Even though we are spiritually seated with God in heavenly places, we sometimes live as if this blessed existence with God is not ours.  Paul exhibits no other belief than he is a new creature presently alive with Christ in the heavenly realm.  Consequently, he talks about prayer repeatedly.   Prayer is a daily venue for him.  Just as Christ did with his disciples, Paul encourages believers to pray by the love of the Spirit, joining him in his struggle for God by praying for him and his safety.  Sometimes, prayer is lacking in us because the world and its circumstance do not change as we desire in our prayers.  We see continuous disruption and conflict around us.  We see sickness afflicting even the best Christians, some dying too young, according to our thinking.  We observe the sinful prospering, living long lives in good health.  We know many of the righteous live subsistent lives in a world of material abundance.  With all of this in mind, we hold back our prayers, for we do not see mountains moved or crooked roads straightened.  We do not see the people we know healed, or the poor prosper, or the disabled in mind at peace.  With this understanding, knowing the world seems to be going on as it has from the beginning of time, our prayers become fewer with less fervor and faith.  The Psalmist in Psalm 73 had this problem of viewing the world in a skewed manner.  His complaint is that the arrogant, boastful, antiGod elite of this world seem to have the best in this life; they are prosperous, healthy and secure.  But in viewing the world this way, he concludes that he was a fool in his thinking.  He was not looking at the world as God looks at it; with a determination of saving the righteous from destruction and bringing them into his household.  I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.  Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  (Psalm 73:22-28)  The writer is saying, you, God, are my portion on this earth of the senses.  I know you have my right hand, that your counsel is always in my ears.  I will serve you; I will communicate with you; it is good to be near you.  This is what prayer is all about.  It is good to be near the Lord, to bring your petitions and desires before him.  He loves you—you are eternally dear to him.  Unbelievers in this world are living on a slippery slope.  Sooner or later, they will slide into oblivion.  Their lives will be measured in reference to God’s holiness, and they will be found wanting: destruction will be their destination.

Jesus desired us to pray.  Prayer is an act of faith.  Some people claim they have faith, but they do not pray or live lives of active faith.  We should live our lives with an understanding that we, as believers, are constantly in the presence of the Lord.  Therefore, we should desire to pray, to communicate to God our desires and needs.  We should know He hears us, and He is a good God, desiring the best for us.  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  (Matthew 7:7-12)  God is in the business of doing good, giving you what he has: eternal life.  Doing to others what you want them to do to you is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  From the beginning of time, God is in the business of giving eternal life to all who would put their trust in him.  Jesus will open the door to those who knock just as He will give to all who ask.  The one who seeks God will find.  God will not give you less than what you deserve.  He will not give you a snake, or death, if you ask for a fish, or life.  He gives good gifts to his children, including the best gift: eternal life.  He wants to bring his family home into his kingdom.  How does all this fit in with praying daily, fervently?  Our lives are not our most precious possession: eternal life is the most precious possession that we hold in our being.  Jesus said, do not fear those who can take away your life of the flesh, for that is not what is most important; fear only God who can take away eternal life  As we now live in our earthly bodies, we should grasp the eternal nature of our existence.  Prayer is important for it allows us to speak with God, and it does move the hand of God.  And thinking of time as a clock, God is always moving the minute hand forward.  We might pray to stop that progression or to move it backward because of some good thing we have in mind.  Of course, when we pray that way, we should remember God’s eternal plan for our lives.  The hand of the clock moving forward signifies the will of God for our lives.  As Jesus spoke of prayer, He said let God’s will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.  God’s will is eternal life for us.  This is prayer: telling God our needs, asking him to intervene in our lives, and in everything allowing him to dictate how the clock’s hand of eternal life will move forward.  Paul asked for a specific prayer: Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.  Yet we know the unbelievers in Jerusalem finally got Paul arrested.  Rather than go to Rome in peace, Paul went to Rome in chains, under the supervision of the Roman army.  The clock hand of eternal life was moving forward in Paul’s life.  He had to accept a greater plan than his own  All of us Gentiles are recipients of that hand moving forward in Paul’s teachings and in his life.

Dear friends, prayer is important!  Living for God in anticipation and hope of what He will do in our lives is important!  As we have already read, Paul wanted this hope for the church at Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 15:13)  We need to live as new creatures in constant contact with our Maker.  We are not alone in this world of the senses.  God is with us every hour of every day of our lives.  He has not abandoned us, leaving us alone to struggle through life by ourselves.  The Holy Spirit came to abide in us, to guide, counsel, and teach us.  When Jesus was with his disciples in this world, He probably lay down at night to be near them, maybe to quell their uneasiness over their struggles in life.  He is also with us in the darkest of nights, when the pressures of life or the fears of the unknown grip our hearts, his presence is there to say, “I know this is hard, I am with you, do not be afraid.”  He knows every unanswerable question and unreasonable fear that goes through our minds.  He knows when the problems of life seem higher than our heads, but He is always near to calm down the mountains inside of us.  His presence will move the mountains of our lives to other places if only we trust and believe.  Our Christian lives are based on the foundation of his goodness and his nearness to us.  Breakfast companions, pray to the One who is always with you.  Pray to the God who understands your heart more than you understand yourselves.  As in Paul’s life, the activities and things of this world might not go the way you desire.  You might have wanted to walk a different path, one that looks much easier than the one you are walking on today.  If the path you are on this day seems rough and dark, know that there is a companion walking with you: Jesus Christ.  You would not have needed him as much on the easier path, but you will turn to him completely on this path.  Activate your prayers and dwell upon God’s Word.  Tell the Lord your fears, your misgivings, your mistakes.  He will listen; He will have your right hand.  As we read in the psalm above, I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  No matter what path you are on, if you have placed your trust in him, he is moving you to eternal life.  The clock of your life is progressing towards everlasting life.  God has given to you what you should present to others, his very best gift: eternal life.  Live that life now in prayer, in song, in believing.  You will find your heart comforted by his presence in you, the peace of God that passes all understanding.