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Romans 15:30-33
As the Apostle Paul brings his teaching to a close in his letter to the Church at Rome and prepares to set out on his journey to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25), he pleads – actually states in Romans 15:30a, “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me,”. Even the Apostle Paul sees his need for others to come together in prayer in support for one another – him included. Prayer is powerful, and the Apostle Paul has become very aware of this fact. He has become aware of the dangers that await him on the journey that lies ahead (Acts 21) and he asks for support in prayer as he also gives blessings to those same people – in Christ.
This is an example that we all need support in prayer.
This is an example that we all have power in prayer through our Savior Christ Jesus to come to the aid of one another.
When we put our faith in Christ Jesus and declare Him our Savior, that we make a commitment to follow the guidance that He promises to give us through His Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18, 26), the new life that Jesus promises to give us is not to be mistaken for something that it is not, but that trials and the fiery darts of Satan are sure to come our way (Ephesians 6:10-20). But we must understand that this is nothing new because we put our faith in Christ Jesus, but that the trials and tribulations that we have been subject to all our lives now has a means to a way out. That way is through our salvation in Christ Jesus (John 14:6). Before we put our faith in Jesus, we had no way to overcome the fiery darts of Satan, but now the Victor has become, through our faith and obedience to Him, our way of salvation as Jesus has taken our sins, that Satan strives to hold us in, and set us free from them in His victory over Satan. Jesus took all our sins to the cross with Him in His purity. He died for you and me. He paid our price to sin because He fulfilled the law in His pure life and yet died to be raised again to victory over sin, death, and the fiery darts of Satan. He now lives to God, as we too live through our victory in Him (Romans 6:1-14). And in this is a support for one another in prayer as God has created us to be His reflection throughout the world in spreading the gospel and being the living results of it in the world today. The Apostle John teaches us in 1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV), “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Dear LORD,
In our new lives we live through our Savior Jesus, we need to do our part in our relationship with You by communicating with You each day through prayer and seeking Your will for our lives through Your word and fellowship with our fellow Christians. Jesus teaches us in John 13:34-35 to love one another as He has first loved us. He teaches us that by doing this we will be recognized as His disciples, if we have love for one another. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit and give us the strength to support one another in Christ Jesus and overcome the fiery darts of Satan that we would live our lives in the victory that Jesus has provided for us in His death, burial, and resurrection; that we would bring glory to You LORD through our lives – in Christ Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.