Strive Together with Me in Your Prayers Romans 15:30

Paul the apostle told the believers in Rome, “I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ”, and in chapter fifteen and verse thirty of Romans, Paul instructed the believers, “strive together with me in your prayers to God for me” where we read:

Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake,

and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

The verse begins, “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, ...” Paul began with the word, “now” which means “at this present time and moment” “I beseech you” or “Paul called to his side, addressed, summoned, entreated, comforted, begged and instructed the believers in Rome”, “brethren” which refers to “fellow believers who are united to each other by the bond of affection”, “for the Lord” or “through and by means of he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ's” or “the anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God's” “sake” which means “benefit and purpose”. Paul “begged and exhorted” the believers in Rome for Jesus' “cause and purpose” whom he considered “brothers and sisters” in Christ.

The verse goes on to say, “... and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;”. Paul added the words, “and for the love” which means “and through and by means of the affection, good will, benevolence and unconditional brotherly love” “of the Spirit” which refers to “pertaining to the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”, “that you strive together” which means “so all the believers in Rome would partner in the struggle” “with me” or “alongside Paul” “in your prayers” which means “within the believers in Rome's earnest oratory worship” “to God” or “toward the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “for me” or “on Paul's behalf”. Paul added the “Holy Spirit's love” to his exhortation to the believers in Rome as he requested that they “struggle together” in their “pleadings and orations” “to God” for him.

When we consider these words of Paul, we see how important it was for him to have the “prayers” of the believers in Rome. He employed “Jesus Christ's sake” and the “love of the Spirit” to have them emphatically call upon God on his behalf. Prayer was essential in Paul's ministry, and those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord” know the great value of “prayer”. If those reading these words are believers in Jesus, let them pray, and if those reading these words do not know Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior”, let them receive Him into their lives today.

Next time Paul continues his request to the believers in Rome as he desired, “that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.