Category Archives: Prayer

July 6, 2023 · 11:15 pm

Strive With Me in Prayer

God’s presence in the midst of your prayers
Part 2, Striving with Me

When writing to the early Christian church in Rome, Paul the apostle has what seems to be a strange request. “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me…” (Romans 15:30). Sometimes the Christian life is described as hard, and here it seems even praying is hard work (striving)! What does he mean?

Paul was one of the early missionaries, having traveled throughout much of the Mediterranean region to spread the Gospel. Writing his letter to the Romans while he was in Corinth, he laid out some of his plans. Although he wanted to come to Rome to speak with Christians there, he knew he needed to bring some financial aid to Jerusalem first. Then, he told the Romans, he planned to head to Rome on his way to Spain. However, as we Christians could understand, he knew his plans might not exactly have been God’s plans! And it turns out that though he did make it to Rome, it came about through completely different circumstances.

As the book of Acts describes, when Paul got to Jerusalem, a mob attempted to kill him. The Roman soldiers in Jerusalem, seeing a riot ready to break out, took Paul, bound him in chains, and dragged him away.

Arguing that he was a Roman citizen with rights, Paul was eventually brought to Rome (with many adventures and trials along the way). He didn’t go as a free citizen, but as a prisoner. But Paul was able to preach the Gospel along the way to anyone who would listen—including the soldiers who held him. How many people heard the Gospel who might not have otherwise? How many more directions did the Gospel travel in, as a result of his detours? We will never know, but we do know that Paul didn’t resist; he used his circumstances to preach the Gospel and bring God glory.

Given the dangers he went through after he wrote that letter to the Romans, his small reference to striving in prayer has more significance. Paul knew that though he had plans, God is ultimately in control of all the details, and so he submitted himself to God’s will before all things.

Why did he ask his readers to strive with him in prayer?

Prayer is, above all things, submission to God’s will. Prayer acknowledges God’s sovereignty. Paul submitted his plans and desires to his Lord, and let his Lord take care of the details.  Essentially Paul was saying, “I’m turning my feet in this direction, but I will let You turn them aside however and whenever You want.” Ultimately, Paul says, God’s plans are more important than his own.

Imagine Paul praying. He lays out to God what he wants to do to spread the Gospel. But he knows this is not about Paul; it’s about God. So if God has detours along the way, Paul trusts that God will care for him.

Now imagine how he asked the Romans to pray: strive with me. Do the hard work of praying that nothing gets in the way of God’s plan. Pray that whatever happens, God will accomplish His will. Pray that I can come to you safely, he says, but if not, God will get the glory anyway.

Someone else prayed similarly, back in the Old Testament. In the book of Daniel, when Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship another god, their punishment was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. They said to the king, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us from out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). The three friends trusted God more than some handmade gods, and they were absolutely certain in their trust of Him. They didn’t back down. When they were tossed into the furnace, not only did God spare them, He allowed the onlookers to see the visible presence of another person, perhaps an angel or the pre-incarnate Christ, walking with them in the fire. Walking with them in the fire!

So strive in your prayers to God. Do the hard work of submitting your requests to Him. Be assured that He will answer your prayers, not always in the way you picture it, but His presence will be with you regardless of the outcome. And He will walk with you in the fire.

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June 23, 2023 · 7:56 pm

Striving in the Christian life

Strive With Me, Part 1 (Part 2 here)

A pastor of mine, years ago, preached that the Christian life is very difficult. That got my attention. Is Christian life impossible?

It’s hard to stand up in a culture that is so antithetical to the message of the Gospel. It’s hard to withstand temptations that bombard us from every direction. It’s hard to overcome past habits and present distractions.

Then we read verses like Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” What are we to make of that?

That word “strive” means struggle. The Greek word for “striving” gives us the English word “agony.” Well, if that’s what it means to be a Christian, how can I ever manage it? How can I ever work so hard that my striving becomes agony?

I could give up if I were to stop right there. But the Christian was never meant to stop at striving. I could never achieve heaven by striving alone. I could never succeed in my Christian walk with endless struggling.

Late theologian RC Sproul commented on this passage from Luke: “What Jesus is saying is that there must be passion, real effort in striving, not that human effort would ever get anybody into the kingdom of God, but the person who has been quickened by the Holy Spirit, who has caught a glimpse of the reality of Jesus, must make the seeking of the kingdom of God the main business of his life” (A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke). The element of most importance here is the Holy Spirit.

We sometimes forget that the Christian walk is not a solitary one. I mean that in two important senses.

First, and foremost, before He suffered on the cross, died, and rose again, Jesus made a promise. He would not leave His followers alone. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you,” He says in John 14:25-27, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

The Holy Spirit is the power of the Gospel living inside each believer!

Second, the Christian walk was meant to be lived alongside other Christians. The walk was never meant to be solitary.

If you are discouraged in your faith, if you are a new Christian just trying to figure it out, if you’ve been one for a long time and find yourself running low on energy, answer these questions:

Are you part of a fellowship of Bible-believing Christians? Do you study the Word with other believers? Are you looking one another in the eye and holding one another accountable?

You can’t do that if you’re still watching church services online. You can’t if you are only reading blogs about Christian living either!

You need to be walking side by side with other believers. Praying with them. Studying with them. Worshipping with them.

Many examples from the New Testament support this. In Acts chapter 2 believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The book of Acts describes many times the early believers—the early Church—had gathered together to hear preaching, to worship, and have fellowship with one another.

Paul tells believers in Ephesians 5:15-21, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

When you isolate, you will begin to doubt. You’ll get discouraged. You aren’t giving others the opportunity to know you, to love and encourage you, to hold you accountable to the faith that you profess. And you will miss out on the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with other believers. You have no idea of the riches you will miss out on by NOT getting involved!

So Christian, if you are discouraged by trying—striving—to be a Christian in an un-Christian world, stop striving alone! Realize that the Holy Spirit is with you to encourage you and give you peace. And know that a Bible-preaching church is where you need to have the fellowship with other believers who will help to build you up in the faith. You’ll find other people who, just like you, find life challenging, and who know that there is power in the Holy Spirit.

If you’re struggling to find a Bible-preaching church, you can start at 9marks.org for churches in your area.

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February 17, 2022 · 11:06 pm

Praying for rain in the midst of drought

We’ve lived in Northern California for 5 years now. When we moved here from the Midwest, the area had record rainfall, flooding, even the threat of a dam breaking. Two years later, in February, we woke to a “50-year snow,” 2 feet of it.

That came a year after we evacuated during the Carr Fire, which missed our neighborhood by a mile but destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed several.

And now we are in a drought. Welcome to the Western US! The “plenty” that rained in one or two years caused abundant grasses to grow, which became fuel for fires in the dry summers.

We’ve been faithfully praying for rain to quench the land, fill the lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Rain and snow fell aplenty in December. And no more, thus far. Halfway into February, we haven’t seen any more.

Here’s the irony. Spring has come here, in early February. From our city we can see Mount Shasta, looming hugely to the north, covered in beautiful white. And here, our trees are in full bloom.

Bulbs are blooming, fruit trees covered in blossoms. Birds sing their praises in rapidly greening trees. And we can eat outdoors because it’s in the 70s every day!

But I’ve been so dismayed at the lack of rain, praying faithfully for rain but not wanting to look too closely at the flowers, or note the birdsong as harbingers of spring.

I’ve been so focused on imploring God for rain, that I’ve neglected to rejoice at the spring.

Here’s the thing: It’s not that God doesn’t care about what I care about. It’s that His perspective—His view—is immense—and eternal—and mine is so very narrow. Is He able, at this very moment, to bring rain? Of course. Am I okay with rain not coming at the end of each of my prayers? I have to be.

Did I pray the wrong prayer? Sometimes I worry too much about the right words to say, the right prayer to pray, when I should be concerning myself with submitting to the God who created the universe and is so capable of producing rain and snow to water the ground. He’ll cause the rain to fall in His own perfect time and not mine.

Romans chapter 11, verses 33-36 contains a doxology, which is a hymn of praise to God. The words remind me that God’s ways are superior to mine, in my finite mind and imagination.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

I’m going to keep on praying for rain, because we’re told to pray. And I’m leaving the results up to God, because He is absolutely sovereign over all, and I’m not. He knows when is the right time for rain and snow, for heat and thunder. I need to trust Him.

And I have to be okay with that.

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