Devoted in Prayer

Introduction

We are continuing our journey through the 12th chapter of Romans, in which we are examining what true living worship that is pleasing and acceptable to God looks like, in view of His indescribable mercies and grace towards us.

We are seeing that worship is far more than the songs we sing but it is the literal breathing and living out the meaning of those songs.

It is the practical expression behind the lifting of our hands in adoration to Him. It is the overflow of His Spirit within us spilling out into the lives of those around us.

Worship, true worship affects the way we think, the way we act, the way we love and the way we live, so that through us, the life of the Son of glory is put on display for the whole world to see.

Last week we began focussing on the short rapid-fire exhortations given by the apostle Paul. These commands build on what a transformed life, continually renewed in the mind and anchored in the mercies of God actually produces.

We saw service to the body of Christ flows from genuine, non-hypocritical love in verses 9-10. If those verses shaped how we love, today’s verses 11-12 shape how we endure.

Worship is not only affection, it is stamina. This section answers the crucial question, “What keeps love alive when life gets hard?” Let us look to our passage as we discover how the Spirit of God answers that question. (pray)

I. Worship Is Zealous and Not Spiritually Lazy (v.11)

Romans 12:11 LSB

11 not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,

Lagging carries the idea of shrinking back, becoming sluggish, or idle. And diligence implies earnestness, effort, seriousness. Worship is not passive. It produces urgency.

Spiritual laziness like laziness in any other area of life is not harmless. Spiritual laziness is worship in the process of decay.

Proverbs 18:9 LSB

9 He also who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys.

A few weeks ago we established that arrogance and insecurity are siblings. Here we see two other sets of siblings, the lazy and the destructive. Scripture encourages us to fight the lazy feelings

Hebrews 6:12 LSB

12 so that you may not become dull, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The word nōthros translated as dull in the LSB means lazy or sluggish or sleepy. Worshippers are awake, engaged, alive. That is why Paul continues:

“being fervent in spirit”

Fervent literally means to boil. Jeremiah describes God’s word as fire shut up in his bones. This is more than an emotional hype. Though it certainly feeds the emotions it is not born out of emotion it is spiritual intensity rooted in conviction

True worship makes the man and woman of God spiritually hot, filled with enthusiasm and care. This is true even before the dawn of the New Covenant as Solomon writes,

Ecclesiastes 9:10 LSB

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

“Let us not grow weary of doing good…” (Galatians 6:9)

In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus rebukes lukewarmness because zeal is not optional in worship. Colossians 3:23 says that we are to work heartily. Doing what? Pauls tells us in our verse,

“serving the Lord”

This actually grounds the entire verse. Zeal is not for the sake of the ministry’s reputation, it is not to promote the church, or for applause, it is for Christ whose Name is to be praised.

The object of our zeal is the Lord Himself. And when zeal is aimed at Him, it does not burn out, it burns clean.

II. Worship Endures Because It Is Anchored in Hope (v. 12a)

And so, Paul tells us what fuels zeal:

“rejoicing in hope”

Notice that this is not rejoicing in circumstances which change like the weather.Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking, it is not optimism, and it is not positive self-talk, it is confident expectation based on God’s promise.

What has He promised? He has promised future glory, adoption as legitimate children the redemption of the body. These are the things that matter, these are the things with eternal value

Romans 5:2–5 LSB

2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we boast in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Christian joy survives suffering because it is future-oriented. All the suffering in the world, for us, it builds into something glorious, and that coming glory is the source of our present joy.

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and confirmed…” (Hebrews 6:19)

Joy without that kind of hope collapses under pressure. And hope without the expression of joy becomes abstract. It is theological theory without vitality. That is why worship holds to both. Paul toward the end of his life writes,

2 Timothy 4:8 LSB

8 In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

That is my hope and the source of my joy. A joy that they world did not give and the world cannot take it away, because this promise is mine and God is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should change His mind.

If He has promised glory, then glory is coming. This is the source of my spiritual energy. This causes me to worship and praise Him and work, and work for Him with diligence giving Him my last ounce of strength

Where the whole reals of nature mine that were a present far too small. Love so amazing so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.

III. Worship Perseveres in Affliction (v. 12b)

While you are rejoicing in hope you are also,

“persevering in affliction”

Persevering means remaining under, it does not mean escape. This is important, when we think of God as a deliverer we often reduce deliverance to only one dimension. That is, “get me out.”

Although escape from painful situations is often our desire, it is not the only way the Lord delivers.

Sometimes he delivers us out of. But quite often he preserves us through. And to be “preserved through” is no less miraculous than being “delivered out”

This is not denial. It is endurance. Affliction is assumed here. Listen to the Psalm writer:

“Even though I walk through the shadow of death…” (Psalm 23:4)

There is no “if” — it is a when.

“In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33)

We often forget this reality because we live in a culture that equates blessing with ease. Every time something comes easy we call it a blessing. So, what do we call it when when it is painful? a curse? Scripture teaches that suffering has purpose. James writes,

James 1:2–3 LSB

2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.

Hebrews tells us,

Hebrews 12:11 LSB

11 And all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, but to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Perseverance is visible worship. It declare that God is always worthy even when life hurts. I love the way Job puts it. His wife was being impatient with their suffering,

Job 2:10 LSB

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the wickedly foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept calamity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Even in the midst of the most intense suffering imaginable, Job concluded

Job 1:21 LSB

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”

Again, God is worthy even when life hurts. But how do you remain under affliction without growing bitter. How do you endure without hardening your heart? How do you keep worship alive when the pressure increases?

This brings us to our last point,

IV. Worship Is Constant in Prayer (v. 12c)

Paul tells us that we accomplish this by,

“being devoted to prayer”

The word devoted here, is the same word Luke uses to describe the church

“they were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 2:42)

This is not occasional emergency prayer. It is lifestyle prayer. We often pray when we are at a loss on what to do or when our backs are against the wall. But prayer is not meant to function merely as a spiritual 911 call

Prayer should not be our last resort. Prayer is the discipline of the dependent. And notice the flow Paul has laid out for us:

Hope fuels joy

Joy strengthens endurance

Endurance drives prayer

Prayer sustains hope.

Prayer keeps worship alive when circumstances try to suffocate it. This is why the Scripture commands,

1 Thessalonians 5:17 LSB

17 pray without ceasing;

So many of our spiritual ailments lose their grip on us if we would just pray. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul rights,

Philippians 4:6–7 LSB

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer does not remove every affliction, but it guards the heart in the middle of it. The hymn writer captures this so succinctly when he says,

O what peace we often forfeit, o what needles pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. If you lose prayer, you will lose endurance.

Our greatest example is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: He was fervent in spirit John 2:17; He rejoiced in hope Hebrews 12:2, He endured tribulation 1 Peter 2:23, and he was devoted to prayer Mark 1:35.

If the sinless son of God lived in constant communion with the Father, how much more must we?

Conclusion

So being fervent in spirit, rejoicing in the hope we have in Christ, faithfully enduring suffering and remaining devoted to prayer. That is is the mark of worship that is alive and thriving.

Do not wait until suffering intensifies to build endurance. Guard yourselves against spiritual laziness; feed your hope with Scripture; redefine suffering as training and establish consistent prayer rhythms for this is living worship.