The Prayers of Romans

Now that we have finished our series through the book of Job, the next book I’m hoping to start studying together is Hebrews, but I’m hoping to start that sometime early next year.

The next book I’m hoping to start preaching through is the book of Hebrews, but I’m not intending to start it until some time next year. That means that we have a few months of “free time,” so to speak, where I’m not going to be dedicated to one specific book.

Typically, when we find ourselves with some Sundays where there isn’t a specific passages we’re working through, I try to address some topics that are part of our church life.

Well, in talking among the elders, one topic that came up was prayer, which is always something we can grow in, so what we’re going to start today is a series focused on prayer.

But instead of focusing on principles of prayer, we’re going to be looking at specific examples of biblical prayers, and in particular, we’re going to be looking at the prayers of Paul.

To make this study simpler, we aren’t going to go through the letters in the chronological order they were likely written. We are going to go through them in the order we find them in our Bibles. That’s known as the canonical order.

When the New Testament was being written, people didn’t have a Bible in the way we know it today. If a church had any writings at all, it had individual copies of each book. But as the centuries progressed, and a lot more Bibles could be printed in a short time, there developed a normalized order for the books, and that’s what we have today.

What has been written is inspired by God, but that doesn’t mean the order is inspired. The chapters and verse divisions aren’t inspired either; those were added later to standardize them. It makes things easier to find.

So, in the New Testament, the four books that describe the earthly ministry of Christ are placed first. Those are called the gospels, and they are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. After that, we have one book that describes what happened historically after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. That’s the book of Acts.

And then, we have 13 books that we know were written by the Apostle Paul. These are known as the Pauline epistles, and they are not sorted out chronologically. They are generally sorted out by length.

So, the first Pauline epistle we have is his longest letter, and it is his letter to the Romans. So, go ahead and turn there with me because that is where we’ll be spending all our time today.

As we focus on prayer for the bulk of the next few months, what we’re going to mainly be looking at Paul’s explicit prayers, or the places where he lets his readers know about his prayers.

In that sense, I don’t think it will feel so much like a teaching on how to pray, but as a chance to listen on Paul himself praying. I trust that will be good for us. He’s going to lead us by his example.

How did you learn to pray? Who taught you what to say, or what not to say? For most of us, a lot of how we pray came from hearing other people pray. That’s how children learn. I’ve even heard children pray and immediately heard the similarities between their prayers and their parents’ prayers.

Well, I hope that focusing on Paul’s prayers helps all of us grow in this area. Over half a dozen times in his letters, Paul talks to his readers about imitating him, and one way we can imitate him is by following his example of prayer.

So, let’s see what we can learn from the prayer life of Paul expressed in his letter to the church in Rome. In all, I’ve got six samples of prayer request we’ll cover this morning.

First, let look at Romans chapter 1, verses 8-12. Romans 1:8-12. This is right after his introduction where he says a little bit about himself and then says who the letter is addressed to. This is the first component in the body of the letter.

Romans 1:8-12—First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. [9] For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you [10] always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. [11] For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— [12] that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

What’s one principle we can take away from this prayer? Well, a basic principle is that you and I should give thanks for our Christian family. We should give thanks for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you ever don’t know what to pray about for someone else in the church, just start by thanking God for them. Give thanks to God for bringing them to know Jesus Christ.

And then, in giving thanks, you may find God drawing your heart toward them. They’re no longer just some people whose names are on the same list as yours; they’re not just some people who happen to be sitting in the same room with you on Sunday mornings; they’re part of your spiritual family, and you should be ministering to one another.

That’s why Paul says in verse 11, “I long to see you… to strengthen you.” That’s why Paul wants to minister to them and wants to be ministered to by them. A prayer of thanksgiving draws you near to the other person.

After you give thanks for them, then what? Well, if you’re not sure what exactly you should pray, that’s okay. Just pray for them anyway because Romans 8:26-27 tells us that even though we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit of God intercedes for us. The Spirit perfectly knows your heart, and it perfectly knows the will of God. So, it okay not to know exactly what to pray. God’s Spirit sorts it all out with God the Father. Just keep praying.

Now, if we should give thanks to God for our spiritual family, what about those people who do not know Jesus? What do we pray for them?

Very simply, we pray for them to join our spiritual family. For believers, we pray to give thanks and we pray for a chance to minister to them. For unbelievers, we pray for their salvation.

Turn with me to Romans 10. Romans chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. Here’s what Paul says. He gives us another glimpse into his prayer life as he talks about the unbelieving Israelites, the unbelieving Jews.

Romans 10:1-2—Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. [2] For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

On the one hand, this can be a reminder to pray for the salvation of the Jews, the nation from which the Messiah has come, but which has largely rejected Him.

On the other hand, this is also a reminder about praying for the conversion of unbelievers. Maybe there’s an unbeliever at your work, and you are praying for something in their family, or for some financial situation. There’s nothing wrong with praying for that. But since prayer comes from a heart to love others and to see God be glorified, the best prayer we can make is for that unbelieving person to come to know Christ. That was Paul’s prayer for the Israelites.

Paul doesn’t mention praying for them to be free from the oppression of the Romans. He doesn’t pray that the Roman Empire will be friendly toward the Jews. He prays directly for the Jew’s salvation.

This is an expression, first, of his love for them. Back in chapter 9, he even says that is almost willing to trade give up his own salvation if it would mean having the Jews be saved.

Secondly, Paul’s prayer is an expression of his dependency on God. For unbelievers, it’s not any change in their life circumstances that will ultimately produce salvation. It’s not any change in the government that’s ultimately going to bring them to Christ. People come to Christ because God mercifully opens their hearts. They need to hear the message, and God needs to work in their hearts. That’s why Paul prays.

In Romans 9, this is known as the doctrine of election. We can’t know whom God has chosen or when He will act to bring them to faith, but need to recognize that God is the one who saves. He opens the eyes of the blind. He frees from slavery to Satan.

And what Paul describes in chapter 9-11 is the wonder and mystery of God’s plan to bring certain people and certain groups to salvation. Salvation is for everyone who believes, but it is all being worked out according to God’s plan. Part of God’s plan includes the church preaching the truth, which is our part, but we can never erase the sovereignty of God in all of it.

There is going to be a mystery there. It’s not going to be something we easily understand and piece together in our minds. But it needs to be something we accept. God is working out an eternal plan.

And Paul understood that with regard to the Jews. It broke his heart to know that the Jews had rejected Jesus Christ, the only path to salvation, but he also knew that this is what opened the door for the gospel to go out to the rest of the world. He also knows that one day, Israel, as a nation will be saved. They will be purified, and they will recognize Jesus as the true King.

And so, in response to that, Paul prays and praises God. Look with me at the closing verses of Romans 11. Romans 11:32-26.

Here is his prayer as he meditates on the glorious plan of God both to condemn the world for its sin but also to save all who come. Romans 11:32-36—For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. [33] Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! [34] “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” [35] “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” [36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Paul is writing a letter to the Christians in Rome, but he can’t keep himself from breaking out into praise. He leads us to pause and consider the glory of God in everything.

Paul is doing what he asks us to do in Romans 12:12—be constant in prayer.

This gives us a third prayer request on our list. We can give thanks for our spiritual family. We can pray for salvation for unbelievers. And third, we can praise God for His eternal plan.

As his letter to the Romans comes to a close, we find a cluster of prayers starting near the beginning of chapter 15. He is writing about church unity. He’s reminding them about the heart of Jesus to serve others, and then he expresses a prayer.

This is another prayer we can pray for our spiritual family. Prayer number 4 is a prayer for the spiritual growth of the church. This is what Paul prays for. But it’s not just personal, private growth he’s after. He wants their salvation and their new identity in Christ to be manifest in the world.

The first manifestation of their faith is unity. Romans 15:5-7—May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, [6] that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

The command in verse 7 is a practical expression of their unity. They need to welcome one another. Paul is praying for that, and he’s instructing them in it as well. There’s the combination again of dependency on God and on the responsibility of man.

Another manifestation of their faith is joy and peace and hope. Jump down to Romans 15:13—May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Isn’t that a beautiful prayer, especially around the Christmas season? We want our brothers and sisters in Christ, not just to have hope, but to abound in hope. We want them to be overflowing with hope. What an amazing image to have in your mind as you pray for those around you.

Now, coming to the end of chapter 15, we find another example of what to pray for. This time, it’s framed as a prayer request of Paul, but this is also something he’s praying for in his own life already. He just wants them to join him. This time, he does focus on some personal circumstances, but his main focus is ministry.

There’s a fifth topic you can pray about. You can give thanks for your spiritual family. You can pray for the salvation of unbelievers. You can praise God for His eternal plan. You can pray for the spiritual growth of the church. And now, number five, you can pray for effective ministry. Pray for effective ministry.

Romans 15:30-33—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.

Paul is saying, “I want to be an effective minister. And I want to minister to you. And I want you to minister to me. So pray for that. Pray for effective ministry that will refresh and encourage others.

As Paul’s finishes this letter, he starts chapter 16 with a list of his companions. And he’s asking the church to greet them. It’s another reminder of the unity of the church. Paul did not minister alone.

And while he’s given the church some amazing theology and charged them with vital instruction, he ends by reminding them that God is with them. It’s an encouragement to them and a praise to God. It’s another reason for them to persevere.

And so, we can say this is a sixth and final item to keep in prayer. We can pray for the endurance of the church. Pray for the endurance of the church.

Sometimes, when everything seems to be going well, we might think there’s nothing to pray for, but that shouldn’t be our response. All of us know how easily and quickly we can get off track in our pursuit of God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. So we should be praying for us to stay there.

It's like what David prayed in Psalm 51, when he said “Renew a steadfast spirit within me… sustain me with a willing spirit.” In other words, “Keep me focused, Lord.”

In Romans 16:20, Paul tells them—The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. And then he adds a quick little prayer—The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

He’s saying, “Victory is coming. May Christ sustain you until then.” And long those lines, we have the final prayer from Romans 16:25-27. This is what we’ll close with for today.

Romans 16:25-27—Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages [26] but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— [27] to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Praise God because His plan will work out. Like Job said, no plan of God can be thwarted. Nothing can be stopped. But that doesn’t mean we get to sit back. We have work to do. We have a part to play in all this. But we need the strength that God provides, and one of the ways He grants that strength is through prayer.

Let’s learn from Paul’s example and incorporate these kinds of requests in our prayer life. As we close, we’re going to take a little more time before we sing so that you can pray right now for some of these areas. Pray with your kids or with someone around you if, if you want.

If there’s something going on right now in your life, and you want someone to pray for you to be strengthened, raise you hand or come forward, and I’m certain one of our members would love to pray with you. Let’s go before the Lord together to give thanks, to ask for salvation, to praise Him, and ask for effective ministry, and to ask for strength.