Participation in God’s Will

Romans 15:22–33

Participating in God’s Will: Through Prayer and Through Joyful Giving

Big Idea:

God invites His people to participate in His purposes by trusting His sovereignty through prayer and joyful obedience.

I. God’s Will Is Certain — Our Path Is Not (vv. 22–24)

“This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you…”

Paul’s desire to visit Rome is good

Paul’s prayer to visit Rome is sincere

Paul’s delay is real and repeated

The hindrance is not sinful—it is providential

“In the fullness of the blessing of Christ” (v. 29)

Paul is not asking if he may come—he is submitting how and when.

Theological Emphasis (Prayer)

Godly desires ≠ God’s immediate will

Prayer does not override God’s timing

Being hindered by God is not rejection—it is refinement

Supporting Scripture

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

James 4:13–15 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””

2 Corinthians 12:8–9 “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Transition Line (keeps unity):

The same God who sovereignly directs Paul’s path is the God who shapes the obedience of His people along the way.

II. God’s Grace Produces Joyful Obligation in the Body (vv. 25–27)

“At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints…”

The recipients are the saints in Jerusalem

The givers are Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia

The motivation is joy, not coercion

The language of “debt” is relational, not legal

Clarifying Without Confronting

The obligation is ecclesial, not ethnic

The blessing is Christ, not geography

The aid is for believers, not a nation-state

(You don’t say it directly—but the text does the work for you.)

Theological Emphasis (Giving)

Giving flows from participation in Christ

Spiritual unity produces material care

The gospel creates responsibility, not compulsion

Supporting Scripture (Poor Among the Saints → Giving in General)

2 Corinthians 8:1–7 “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

1 Corinthians 9:3–14 “This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”

Key Line:

The New Testament never commands an amount—but it does command participation.

III. Participation Requires Trust in a Sovereign God (vv. 30–33)

“I appeal to you, brothers… strive together with me in your prayers…”

Exegetical Anchor

Paul requests prayer from people he’s never met

He asks for deliverance from unbelievers

He entrusts the outcome entirely to God

Paul does not pray:

“That nothing hard would happen”

But “that God’s will would be accomplished”

Theological Emphasis (Prayer + Giving Unified)

Prayer acknowledges dependence

Giving demonstrates trust

Both submit preferences to God’s purposes

Supporting Scripture

Colossians 4:2–4 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

Philippians 4:15–17 “And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”

Acts Connection (Verbal Summary)

Tie this naturally to the close of Acts of the Apostles:

Paul is delivered through suffering

He arrives in Rome—not how he planned

God answers the prayers of the saints in His way

Conclusion: One Call, Not Two

Bring prayer and giving together explicitly—but briefly:

“Prayer and giving are not separate disciplines. They are two expressions of the same trust: that God is sovereign, His work is worth participating in, and His will is better than ours.”

Final Question to the Church

Are we willing to pray even when God may delay?

Are we willing to give because we belong—not because we are compelled?