8a Prayer for Ministry
Praying with Paul • Sermon • Submitted
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Even apostles need prayer. As Paul proclaimed the gospel to the nations, he saw lives transformed and churches planted but also encountered constant opposition, controversies, hardships, and setbacks. Having preached the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum, Paul planned to travel to Rome and then Spain to share the gospel with those who have never heard of Christ. But first, he intended to risk his life and his reputation to return to Jerusalem, bringing a financial gift from Gentile churches to the impoverished Jewish believers. So in Romans 15, Paul exhorted fellow believers to intercede for him and his ministry.
In this session, we’ll consider five important lessons from Paul’s request for intercession in Romans 15:30-33. This passage informs how we might pray strategically for pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders. Paul also offers us an important example of maintaining a broader, long-term ministry vision while requesting timely prayers for present ministry challenges.
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Thus far our study has focused on Paul’s prayers and priorities for the churches to which he writes. The apostle gives thanks constantly for evidences of divine grace at work in these believers. He intercedes for the saints that they might continue to bear spiritual fruit, abounding in faith, hope, and especially love. Paul prays that they might grow in their knowledge of God’s will and power and grasp the limitless love of Christ and that God might make them worthy of His calling and bring His work in their lives to completion. At the same time, we noted in session 1 that Paul’s rock solid conviction that God fulfills His purposes in response to the prayers of His people motivates the apostle not only to pray for the saints but also to urge them, “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:25).
Paul regularly asks believers to intercede for him and his ministry, as suggested by the following passages (emphasis added):
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 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— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.
22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.
Paul recognizes that if his dreams for effective ministry are to be realized, he must be utterly dependent on God’s help, which will come through the faithful and earnest prayers of many. This session focuses on Paul’s request for the church to pray for him and his ministry in Romans 15:30-33.
Paul appeals for intercession in Romans 15:30-33 after discussing his apostolic aims and specific travel plans. First, in Romans 15:14-21 Paul summarizes his goal to proclaim the gospel where Christ has not yet been named, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 52:15. Next, in verses 22-24 Paul stresses that on his way to Spain he desires to spend time in Rome, which he has longed to do for many years. But first, he must travel to Jerusalem to bring the impoverished Jewish believers there a financial gift from their Gentile brothers and sisters in Macedonia and Achaia (15:25-27). The apostle then urges the church to pray for him (v. 30). He makes two specific requests (v. 31), highlights his goal to visit Rome according to God’s will (v. 32), and then prays that the God of peace may be with the community of believers in Rome (v. 33).
Here we consider five important lessons from Paul’s appeal for intercession in Romans 15:30-33. First, in verse 30, Paul urges the believers in Rome to join him in his struggle through prayer: “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.” “To strive together with” (ESV) or “to join me in my struggle” (NIV) is translated a single Greek word (synagonisasthai) used only here in the New Testament. However, Paul uses similar expressions elsewhere to describe the earnest struggle and labor of Christian ministers. In Colossians 4:12, Paul writes that Epaphras is “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” Similarly, Paul informs the church that he struggles greatly on their behalf, referring to his ministry of prayer for these believers that he hasn’t yet met face to face (see Col. 2:1). Elsewhere this word group is associated with “toiling” and with the strenuous discipline of an athlete engaged in a great contest.1 The sort of intercession that Paul undertakes himself and commends in others entails strenuous, disciplined, spiritual struggle. He explains in Ephesians 6:12 that, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Thus, when Paul entreats the Romans “to strive together with me in your prayers,” he is urging them to join him in this supernatural conflict and to further his apostolic work through their vital work of intercession.
Second, Paul’s understanding of the triune God informs his appeal for the church’s prayers. The phrase “by our Lord Jesus Christ” in verse 30 “introduces the authority by which Paul makes his request.”2 According to Romans 1:5-7, Paul’s apostolic call and mission come though Jesus Christ, and the believers to whom he writes belong to Jesus Christ and receive grace and peace from their Lord. In verse 30 Paul also makes his appeal “by the love of the Spirit.” Love between Christians is a key theme in Romans 12–15—“Let love be genuine.” “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”3 Such sincere one-another love flows downstream from the headwaters of God’s love poured into believers’ hearts through the Holy Spirit and responds to Jesus’ perfect demonstration of divine love “while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:8). Earlier in this study, we saw that Paul’s passionate love for people stems from his own profound experience of the love of Jesus (see Phil. 1:8) and motivates his constant intercession for others (see 1 Thess. 3:6-10). Here in Romans 15:30, Paul urges believers to pray “to God on my behalf” as an expression of their Spirit-motivated love in response to the saving work and supreme authority of the Lord Jesus.
Third, the apostle asks believers to intercede for him and his ministry in two specific ways: “that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints” (v. 31). The Book of Acts illustrates how Paul’s ministry in every city prompted resistance and opposition from unbelieving Jews and Gentiles.4 Some Jews opposed Paul because he proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God, which they perceived to be theological heresy. Further, Paul’s message that Christ was the end of the law for all Jewish and Gentile believers threatened the Jews’ exclusive claims to be God’s distinct people marked by obedience to the Mosaic Law. Alternatively, many Gentiles dismissed Paul’s gospel of Christ crucified and raised from the dead as strange and foolish, but they persecuted Paul because his teaching had significant political, religious, and social ramifications. The Christian message—that Jesus is Lord of all—challenged Caesar’s supreme authority, threatened traditional Roman worship customs, and thus upset the structure and equilibrium of Roman society. Thus, in Romans 15:31 Paul asks the church to pray for divine safety and deliverance from such opposition as he travels to Jerusalem to deliver a financial gift to the impoverished church from the saints in Greece. Paul isn’t pursuing a path of self-preservation and avoidance of suffering at all costs. Rather, he puts himself in harm’s way and appeals for prayer that God would rescue him from his opponents so that he might fulfill his ministry of love in Jerusalem.
Paul asks the Romans to pray that the collection he brings for the Jerusalem church might be “acceptable.” Though the key term “acceptable” is rarely used in the New Testament, it occurs in the previous passage at Romans 15:16, where Paul describes his calling “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (emphasis added). The connection between verses 16 and 31 is significant. Because Gentile believers are “acceptable” to God and sanctified by the Spirit, Paul longs for the financial gift from the Gentile churches to be “acceptable” to the largely Jewish church in Jerusalem. The generous collection for Jerusalem illustrates the genuine love of Gentile believers for their Jewish brothers and sisters and the unity of God’s people in Christ, across ethnic and geographic barriers.
Fourth, Paul requests prayer for present, specific challenges and opportunities, with the broader goal of further ministry. This is the implication of the purpose clause in verse 32: “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company” (emphasis added). The apostle again asserts his intention to visit Rome, while submitting his plans to the will of God. We see here a large, visionary view of prayer. Paul requests intercession for present challenges (in Jerusalem), while constantly dreaming and planning for new opportunities to encourage the saints (in Rome) and to bring the gospel to places that do not know the name of Christ (in Spain).
Fifth, the book of Acts illustrates how God answered these prayer requests, but not as Paul or the Roman believers expected. Paul did travel to Jerusalem and the church apparently received the offerings presented by Paul (see Acts 24:17). But while in Jerusalem, a violent Jewish mob seized Paul and dragged him from the temple, beat him, and tried to kill him, before Roman soldiers intervened (see Acts 21:27-33). Paul finally reaches Rome in Acts 28:16, but only after enduring numerous dangers, detours, and delays. After waiting for two years in prison in Caesarea on false charges leveled by Jewish adversaries, Paul heads for Rome only when he appeals to Caesar for justice. On the way, he experiences substantial travel setbacks and a shipwreck. Again and again, God protected and preserved Paul’s life no matter how fierce the opposition was or how great the challenges. Thus the apostle declared that “the Lord rescued me” (2 Tim. 3:11) from every persecution and “to this day I have had the help that comes from God” (Acts 26:22).
After appealing to the believers to intercede for him and his ministry, Paul offers a closing benediction for church in Rome in verse 33: “May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” Paul refers to “the God of peace” three other times in his letters (emphasis added):
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Romans this divine title recalls 5:1, where Paul celebrates the peace with God that results from justification by faith. In 14:17,19, he explains that “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” are essential features of God’s kingdom and then exhorts Christians in Rome to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” So God makes peace with sinners justified and reconciled through the blood of Jesus, and then God’s ongoing presence by the Spirit begins to produce harmony between Christians from different backgrounds (Jews and Gentiles) with different convictions (strong and weak).
Paul’s specific request for intercession has clear implications for how we might pray for pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders. First, we should ask God to preserve and protect Christian leaders from outsiders who oppose and threaten their ministries. Opposition, harassment, and overt persecution constantly threaten missionaries who labor in parts of the world with very few Christians. Sometimes this opposition or resistance is very subtle, taking the form of denied visa applications or work permits or restrictive laws. Other times, Christians in these places are faced with false accusations, smear campaigns, violent threats, vandalism to property, kidnapping, beating, imprisonment, or worse. In the West, faithful Christian leaders may be subjected to vitriolic media attacks or be maligned for their intolerant, narrow-minded, or bigoted positions. Such pressure now comes not merely from the secular media and political arena, which we should expect to be hostile to the things of God. Alas, even leaders of established church denominations oppose sound doctrine and sound gospel preaching, as they adopt an intolerant version of tolerance and stress cultural conformity over biblical orthodoxy. As Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:30, “From among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Thus, believers should pray that God might protect, preserve, and deliver faithful Christian leaders from opposition and threats that seek to hinder faithful gospel ministry.
Second, we should pray that believers might accept and benefit from the service of pastors, missionaries, and others who labor for God’s kingdom. Hebrews 13:17 calls Christians to, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Unfortunately, some Christians evaluate their pastors and leaders according to unbiblical standards—say, desiring sermons that entertain and encourage but that do not urge repentance and holy living. Others compare their pastor’s sermons with those of well-known, exceptionally gifted preachers who write books, speak at conferences, and top the charts for podcast downloads. We need to pray that God will send us undershepherds who are wise, spiritual, godly, disciplined, informed, prayerful, and faithful to Scripture. But we also need to pray that their ministry will be acceptable to the saints. It is an enormous tragedy when there are too few faithful, anointed, visionary leaders; it is a terrible indictment on the church when those the Lord sends are treated like dirt. This is a lamentable situation, and we should respond by praying that God would make the ministry of His most faithful, spiritual Christian workers acceptable to the churches they serve.