Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 1; Romans 1; Jeremiah 39; Psalm 13 & 14
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
When Paul thought of the Roman Christians several things came to his mind. One of the most important was that people all over the world knew of their faith. I wonder if that can be said of you and your church. Is your faith in Jesus Christ such an evident thing that others know about it? Maybe you are not known on the other side of the world but what about within your circle of influence? Does your faith show to your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors?
Paul was grateful to God for all the believers at Rome. When he wrote this epistle he had not met them yet, but he did pray for them.
Romans 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.
This is a strong statement about the prayer life of Paul. He calls God as his witness to say that he constantly prayed for the Roman believers. Who do you constantly pray for? Sometimes our prayer lives are so consumed by the urgent requests that we make for those whose lives are a mess or hurting terribly that we don't focus our prayers on those with a strong faith in Jesus Christ. This verse reminds us that we need to be in prayer not only for the hurting, but also for the healthy in Christ.
We can pray for the strong faith of others to continue. We can pray for evangelistic zeal. We can pray for strong marriages and families. We can pray for continued growth in Christ-likeness. We can pray for mutual encouragement and edification as believers continue to serve Jesus Christ. We must understand that a faith that resonates throughout the world is not sustained without believing prayer. If the apostle Paul was so conscientious as to pray for these believers without ceasing, that should be a reminder to us to continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
A faith that is known throughout the whole world is a wonderful thing, but it is not without the need of more preaching and teaching. As we continue to read this chapter we see that Paul's desire is to come to Rome and preach the gospel to them. Even the most mature Christian needs the teaching ministry of the Word for his/her edification.
Romans 1:11-12 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
A faith known worldwide needs two things – intercessory prayer and the Word of God!
In Christ,
Rody
