Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Romans 15:30-32,
“I urge you, brothers, 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 rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
Understand:
Paul closes this section with a passionate appeal for his readers prayers. Why such passion? Because of their mutual union with the Lord Jesus Christ and their love which came from the Holy Spirit. How powerful is that? He asks them to agonize in prayers to God for him. He’s calling for the kinds of prayers where one puts their whole heart and soul into it.
What is it that Paul ask for? First, Paul asks for prayer that he will be delivered from those in Judea who were fanatically opposed to the gospel, just as he himself had once been. Second, he wants the Romans to pray that the Jewish saints will accept the relief funds in good grace. Strong religious prejudices remained against Gentile believers and against those who preached to the Gentiles. Then there is always the possibility of people being offended at the idea of receiving “charity.” It often takes more grace to be on the receiving end than on the giving end! The third request was that the Lord might see fit to make the visit to Rome a joyful one. The words by the will of God express Paul’s desire to be led by the Lord in all things. Last of all, he asks that his visit might be one in which he may be refreshed in the midst of a tumultuous and fatiguing ministry. (MacDonald)
Apply:
We have the same opportunities to bring our request before the Lord. And we should, along with the same fervor that Paul does here. One way this happens is through doing life together, and I can’t think of a better way to make that happen than by being in a small group where you can share your prayer request with a group of people who know and care about you. But it will only happen is you are willing to be open and honest with others. Does this seem risky? It is. But I’ve found it to be worth the risk.
*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the Gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Inspiration and insight for the devotionals came from the following books: Reading Romans with John Stott; The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks Today Series), Stott, John; Romans (The NIV Application Commentary Book 6) Moo, Douglas J.; Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) Moo, Douglas J.; Believers Bible Commentary; The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the New International Version, Romans through Galatians; NIV Application Study Bible. The Cambridge Bible Commentary, Romans, Best, Ernest. Romans 8-16 For You: For reading, for feeding (God’s Word For You – Romans Series Book 2, Keller, Timothy.