30 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. 31 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, 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.
Dig Deeper
Have you ever found yourself in a state of humble brokenness before God? You know those mornings when you realize just how imperfect you are and and how much you are still in need of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So you turn to God in earnest prayer and ask for him to change you. I have had days like that. “Please Lord, help me to grow in my humility today.” Or “Please Lord, allow me to become more patient today.” Then you realize the moment that prayer leaves your lips what you might have just done. In fact perhaps you’ve done that a time or two already so that now you might even hesitate to say a prayer like that because you know the minute you utter such a prayer, that chances are pretty good that God is going to answer. And you also realize that the way to become more humble is generally to be humbled. The way to become more patient is to have to endure and persevere through trying times. In short, the way to growth is often not a pleasant prospect. We would like the growth without the accompanying pain. In fact, I have found myself at times praying and asking God to help me deal with my pride, and then sort of thinking in the back of my mind, “but not in a way that will be painful or difficult.” Anyone who has been a Christian for very long knows the incredible power of prayer and how incredibly God can work, but you also know that God often answers prayers in ways that we would never imagine. Sometimes God answers our prayers in very encouraging and comforting ways but then there are those times when we would like him to do that but he instead knows that we need something quite different. We need a struggle and a trial to go through to shape and sharpen us. It’s good to remember the old saying, “be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.”
As Paul brings this chapter to a close he offers up a prayer that he wishes for the Roman church to join him in as he petitions God. In fact, Paul offers up three prayers in this short section. On the surface, none of these prayers seem particularly noteworthy or unique, but a closer look at how God answered those prayers in Paul’s life offers up some fascinating food for thought. Paul may or may not have already had certain expectations in his mind when he wrote these prayers down, but there is little doubt that he had no clue what God was about to do in his life and what he was going to teach him as these prayers were answered one by one.
Paul certainly had some specific prayers in his heart but he knows that part of the meaning of being members of God’s one, true covenant family is that we should not have to face things alone. Paul asked his brothers and sisters in Christ, even though he likely had never personally met most of them, to share his burden in prayer with him. He urges them as a result of their status in the life of Christ and the transforming love of the Spirit that is at work in them to join him in his struggle by praying for him. The word that Paul uses for “struggle” was actually a word used for fighting or wrestling and may indicate that level to which Paul was fervently wrestling in prayer in these areas. Paul doesn’t just ask them to pray for him, though, he asks them to struggle with him in prayer so that as they pray, they will pray as mightily as if they were the ones facing the same difficulties that Paul was. This is the type of intercessory prayer that we are called to as God’s people. It is so easy to flippantly offer up a quick prayer for someone else, but Paul desires the type of prayer where they were struggling in prayer for him with the same gusto and intensity as if they were praying for themselves.
Paul’s second prayer was that when he did arrive in Jerusalem, the collection that he had taken up from the Gentile believers would be well received by the disciples in Jerusalem. We’ll consider this one first because it was answered first. Perhaps Paul was worried that the Jewish Christians would not want to accept the contribution for fear that it would make them look bad in the eyes of their fellow Jews or that for some other reason they would reject the collection. Yet, Paul’s reception showed that God had answered this prayer soundly. His reception from the believers was a warm one and the implication is that they also accepted the collection with great gratitude (Acts 21:17). One prayer down, one prayer answered; so far so good.
Paul’s first prayer was that he would be kept safe from unbelieving Jews in Judea as he returned to Jerusalem. It seems that the zealous Jews in and around Jerusalem were violently opposed to one of their own who had converted and was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and declaring that Jew and Gentile alike could be part of God’s family without following the law. So, do we have any idea how that answer to prayer turned out? We actually do. As Paul arrived in Jerusalem his fears of potential problems were proven to be reasonable. A large number of people stirred up even larger crowds against Paul. They seized him and began to beat him. The only thing that stopped the crowd was an outfit of Roman soldiers who came and arrested Paul, put him in chains and took him into custody (Acts 21:27-36). While in their charge, it came to light that at least forty Jews had taken a vow to kill Paul. The Romans centurion received a tip of this plot from Paul’s nephew and he immediately took action to protect his prisoner. The centurion arranged for a compliment of 470 soldiers in all to protect Paul on his was to Caesarea where he would be brought before Governor Felix (Acts 23:12-35). Paul’s prayer that he be kept safe from the unbelievers was truly answered in spectacular fashion. Imagine being Paul as you were riding on a horse surrounded by nearly five hundred Roman soldiers. It was not the ideal situation to be under arrest and imprisoned for two years but what an awe-inspiring way to see God answer one of the prayers that Paul and his fellow Christians had been struggling over.
Paul’s final prayer seems to be most innocuous of the bunch. His desire is that once he has completed his trek to Jerusalem, God’s will would work itself out so that Paul could come to Rome with joy and be refreshed as he came together with them. Paul was perhaps hoping and praying that his trip to Jerusalem would be quick, safe, and enjoyable. He prayed that he would be well-received and kept safe so that he could quickly come to see the Christians in Rome. But Paul also prayed that he would come to them in joy. God would answer that prayer in a way that Paul could never have foreseen. As we have seen, God kept Paul safe but only after riots, a beating, being arrested by the Romans, several trials, two years of imprisonment, a dangerous sea voyage of storms and near starvation that eventually saw a violent shipwreck and Paul almost being killed with the other prisoners to make sure that they didn’t escape. Paul made it with the others on the ship to the Island of Malta, where just when things seemed to be looking up. Paul was bit by a poisonous snake. Could it get any more challenging? Yet, through it all, God kept Paul safe and alive.
After three months on the Island, Paul finally made his way to Rome where we find that “The believers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged” (Acts 28:15). And there you have it. Paul prayed that he would be well received in Jerusalem, be kept safe from the unbelievers and arrive in Rome with joy. Paul must have been greatly encouraged at seeing his prayer to be well received answered. After a harrowing riot and arrest, he must have been equally encouraged by the way that God used the might of the Roman army to answer his prayer to be kept safe from the unbelievers. But what was with the two years of trials, struggles, and hardships just to get to Rome? We must understand that this is how God often works. He works for our benefit not our comfort or general enjoyment. Over two years of hardship and struggle. What could possibly be the purpose of that? But take a minute to think about it. How full of joy do you think Paul was when he finally set foot in Rome and saw the believers that had traveled from all around the area of Rome to greet him? How thankful and encouraged was Paul? This was, I’m sure no ordinary thankfulness, encouragement, and joy. This was a hard fought joy that at had come through trusting God despite incredible hardships and a journey that must have tested his faith time and again. Paul had likely never felt such joy and refreshment in arriving in a city in his life. He arrived with joy alright and had learned even more perseverance and faith along the way.
Surely Paul was a living, breathing example of James 1:2-5: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Paul had asked God to experience joy when he arrived in Rome and God had give him a generous amount of trials along the way so that he could experience just that. Paul had experienced trials that tested his faith, no doubt, but that had produced perseverance which had made Paul even more spiritually mature and complete in the life of Christ. Trials and struggles are not pointless in the Christian life. God uses everyone of them to mature us and transform us, knowing that what we are going through will be for our good in the long run. Our job is to have faith during those tough times that God is working things for our benefit and developing in us for the kind of tried and tested faith that we will need to complete our journey in Christ.
Devotional Thought
Perhaps when Paul uttered the prayer to not just come to Rome but to come with joy it was one of those moments when his stomach dropped a little because he knew he might be humbled as God answered that prayer. What “scary” prayer do you need to pray today? Is it to have more humility, to learn patience, to come somewhere in joy,? What prayer do you need to say today?
No comments:
Post a Comment