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, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.—Romans 15:30–33 

Intro: The Blood-Bought Privilege of Prayer

My prayer this morning is that we would be a people who experience more of the presence and power of God because we strive together in the privilege of prayer.

The average Christian, according to a few polls I saw, spends between 5–7 minutes/day in prayer. And the average Christian spends less than that amount of time praying with other believers in a week. 

So, the question for us is do we realize the blood-bought privilege we have in prayer?

This last week was another week, as so many seem to be, with hard things. There new Christian scandals that were revealed. Within our family here there is disease, medical problems that required hospital stays, tragedy, the reminder of abuse, and uncertainty for many in their jobs, health, parenting, marriages, and futures.

Our church is beginning to think about changes to some structures.

All of this can be overwhelming, right? It can feel paralyzing. And yet, we know God is working in all of this for his glory from his sovereign throne—and we’re invited to go to him.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:14–16 

The blood of Jesus has made a way for us to have access to the throne of grace. And notice that not only do we have access, but we are invited to come boldly and with confidence because of Jesus. And what we will find there is not a frowning providence but a sovereign throne of mercy, grace, and well-timed help! Do you or someone you know need some well-timed help? Do you want to see someone healed? Or someone’s faith persevere in suffering? Or someone you love overcome sin? Or yourself overcome sin? Do you want to see your neighborhood or the nations reached with the gospel of Jesus? We can go to the sovereign throne because of the blood of Jesus and find well-timed help. 

The whole book of Psalms shows us what a bold, humble approach to God looks like. It looks like bringing all of the joys, sorrow, pain, and praise to him. He hears and he heals. And so, with all the brokenness inside of us and around us, and all our hopes for the gospel to spread among us and through us to others—I want us to be a praying church.

Entering by the Spirit Into His Presence

We’re going to dive into Romans 15:30–33 together today and see Paul’s appeal to the church in Rome for prayers on his behalf. Paul is getting ready to go to Jerusalem to bring a financial gift to the church there. Then, Paul hopes to come to Rome and spend time with some dear brothers and sisters in Christ whom he’s never met, before he heads off again to his missionary purposes in Spain. But, he has two concerns about his trip to Jerusalem. Danger and division. 

He’s worried that the unbelievers there will try to find him and hurt him. And he’s worried that the Church in Jerusalem might not receive his gift with joy. The chance of danger was high in Jerusalem because of the false religious leaders there eager to snuff out Christianity. And the chance of division was high there because of the ethnic hostility that sometimes still existed between Jewish and Gentile believers. That’s the context of our text that we’re going to unpack. So, read the first half of verse 30 with me:

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit.  

Paul is appealing to this church for prayer. And he gives two reasons that he hopes will motivate them. The Lordship of Christ and the Love of the Spirit.

First, Paul appeals to what we’ve already talked about. He appeals to the throne of Christ. Paul knows that these believers have been bought by King Jesus and that he reigns over the universe and is advancing his kingdom throughout the world. If Jesus is Lord and he’s on his throne, then we have reason to pray. We have a king who can change things.

Second, Paul appeals to the love of the Spirit. Those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus have been given the Holy Spirit to help them walk in the love of the gospel. 

Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.—Romans 5:5

Paul is counting on the fact that these believers have the love of God in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we are told that the access to the throne of grace comes by the power of the Holy Spirit:

For through him [Jesus] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.—Ephesians 2:18 

So, Jesus has purchased our access and in power of the Spirit we go to the Father. That’s why Paul tells us to, “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). Praying in the Spirit is not some special way to pray. Rather, it is the only way to pray. We cannot really pray unless it is by the power of the Spirit of love. The Spirit prompts and empowers our prayers. 

Paul is appealing to these believers to enter into God’s presence on his behalf because of the sovereignty of King Jesus and is trusting their hearts are filled with love for God and others as they go to throne in the power of the Spirit. So, Paul is saying, “You believe Jesus is King, right?” Good, then pray. “The Holy Spirit lives inside of you to make you a loving people, right?” Good. Then go by his power to the throne on my behalf. 

Isn’t this the foundation for all prayer? A deep-rooted confidence in the sovereignty of the King of kings and a heart that is filled and moved by the love of God in the power of the Spirit. A heart trusting in the sovereignty of God and filled with the love will go to the throne of God for help. Think of the example of Esther we see in the Old Testament. You remember the story, right?

Queen Esther, a Jew, was chosen to be the new queen in the land. After she became queen, she was told of a plot against the Jewish people that would destroy them all. Now, anyone who went to the throne of the King without being summoned could be killed. But, Esther decided to go and intercede for her people. Why? Because she knew the sovereignty of the throne and was filled with love for the people.

In the same way, Paul is appealing to the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus and counting on the people being filled with love as he makes his appeal for them to pray in the power of the Spirit.

Energized by the Spirit as His People

Now, let’s read the second half of the verse together. 

Strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.—Romans 15:30

This word for “strive” has athletic backgrounds. Paul talks about one who strives as an athlete in 1 Corinthians 9:25. They strive for the prize. Athletes have to work hard and are often worn out as they prepare for their seasons and then play in games. In fact, part of being a good athlete means striving until you feel like you’ve got nothing left.

Now, we would already assume that this striving happens by the empowering of the Spirit. The striving is driven by the Spirit of love. It’s a labor of love in the power of the Spirit. Paul wants them to strive in prayer. 

When was the last time you really went after something in prayer? When was the last time you were like the persistent widow who just kept on praying over and over again? When is the last time you’ve felt the need to set aside time to go to the throne of grace and strive like athletes do who pours themselves out until they have nothing left? 

That same Barna poll I read about prayer was entitled: “Silent and Solo”—meaning Christians never pray together anymore. Yet here, Paul calls them to “strive together” on his behalf.

Now, I know some of you struggle with this. You really struggle when I ask us to pray together because you’re introverted. I get that. I don’t discount that. But, prayer is meant to not only be in your closet by yourself, but also together with the blood-bought family. Notice, it doesn’t give parameters on how to strive. If you’re an introvert and you struggle being in groups, when we break up to pray you can sit there by yourself, united in your heart and strive with us. You can join a group and strive with us silently while you listen to others’ prayers. 

But, prayer is not just an individual thing. When God moves in power, he often does it when his church prays together. Have you ever noticed that when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, he says, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” He doesn’t say, “My Father.” That’s because he assumes that we are all joined to each other as a family. I have a Father in heaven. But, he’s “Our Father” together.

Or have you noticed in Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42, and 4:31 that the inclination of the early church and the way the Lord led the early church and worked the power of healing, comfort, and miracles among them was when they gathered to prayer? Do we even feel that inclination? Do we long to be together going to our Father in prayer?

So, every athlete has to work out on their own at times. But, then they have to come together with their team to play the game. Prayer is a team activity. Paul asks them to “strive together” in prayer. Are we inclined to pray together? Do we strive? Are we inclined and empowered by the love of the Spirit to strive together to see the kingdom of God break in among us? 

Empowered by the Spirit for His Purposes

And finally, but not insignificantly, notice that Paul intends that this striving together in prayer by the Spirit will lead to empowerment by the Spirit.

That I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.—Romans 15:31–33 

Paul is praying for God to work in hearts and circumstances. He’s praying for God to protect him from unbelievers and to prepare the hearts of the saints in Jerusalem. This must mean that Paul thinks that God can change hearts and circumstances. Why ask a people to pray for that if he doesn’t think God might do it?

Paul is going to go. Paul is going to bring the gift. Paul is going to continue his mission for Christ. That’s his calling. Paul knows danger and division might be there. But, he’s going to do his part. Now, Paul could rely only on his cultural savvy and good planning. But he doesn’t. Instead he appeals for prayer. He asks believers who believe in the lordship of Christ and are empowered by the Spirit of love to pray because he knows ultimately the outcome is up to God.

Let me ask you about your life. Are you prone to hours of googling before you resort to prayer? I can be. With Stone’s surgery I knew a lot of things. And I had to stop and remind myself to go to God before I went to Google. Or what about these changes at Bethlehem? Are we sitting around nervously wondering what might happen? He will build his Church. He already knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t make mistakes. Let’s get on our knees and seek him! I’m so prone to rely on my own self-sufficiency. I want to make a plan and then work long and hard to see it happen. I will strive a lot in my own strength.

But, I want to grow in striving in prayer by empowering of the Spirit and asking for his strength. I want to rely on him more in my parenting to ask him to change my kids’ hearts. I want to rely on him more in my pastoring to lead me in my planning, and help me in my counseling, and empower me in my preaching. I want to strive in prayer for all the details of my life to be used for his glory. 

So, let me ask us some questions. As a church do we have merely a theology of a big God who can unleash his power to heal, to save, to persevere, and to give us wisdom? Or, do we put that theology into practice by asking God to empower us and go before us to change situations and hearts?

Will we do that as a church right now as we look toward the future? Will we not rely on our own power or our own wisdom, but go to God’s word and hit our knees in prayer? Will you do that for yourself and others in your life for broken bodies, broken relationships, and broken souls?

Will we be more like responsible adults who have all the answers and can figure it out on our own—or will we be like little children with a good Father whom we are totally dependent on?

Do we want God’s power and presence? I mean, do we really want it? Together? Do we want to see God show up here in power and set people free from sin and shame, and bring trafficking at the truck stop to an end, and reconcile marriages, and save wayward children, and see people healed, and see God sustain people with unshakable joy in deep suffering, and save our neighbors and family members? I mean, do we want God’s power and presence more than we want anything else? Will we settle for 5–7 minutes a day? 5–7 minutes with each other?

As Christian hedonists, we should love prayer. Because in prayer, we get the help and God gets the glory. In prayer, we get the joy and peace of Jesus and the supremacy of God is seen as he spreads his kingdom in ways that we can only point to and give him praise.

Application: A Blood-Bought People Clinging to Blood-Bought Promises

Now sometimes prayer can feel shaky. We believe in a sovereign God who works all things for his good in strange and mysterious ways, but we wonder if our prayers matter or if he really hears us.

Jesus purchased the gift of the Spirit of love with his blood. Jesus purchased prayer with his blood. It’s ours. We get 24/7 access to the throne room of the One who owns it all! Nothing is impossible. He speaks and things come into existence.

Those who believe in the lordship of Christ and are filled with the love of God can be dependent and confident in their prayers at the same time because blood-bought people cling to blood-bought promises.

Are you nervous for the future of Bethlehem? Pray Matthew 16:18:

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Do you wonder if God will be kind or harsh as he hears your prayers? Matthew 7:11:

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Do you wonder if God is really all in for your good? Romans 8:32:

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

These promises are all “yes” for us in Christ.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.—2 Corinthians 1:20

Those are blood-bought promises for the blood-bought people of God and it’s by those promises that we can pray with dependence and confidence. The picture that comes to mind is my little Quinn just screaming for her mom in her crib at night. She’s totally dependent, right? And yet she’s so confident of her mommy’s love for her and that her mommy will come to help her and hold her and give her all she needs, that she just screams! And if mommy doesn’t come right away, she screams more and louder.

We, the blood-bought people of God have a blood-bought privilege to come to throne and do so with blood-bought dependence and confidence because of blood-bought promises. The Spirit glorifies Christ in dependent, confident prayer that strives together to see kingdom of Jesus spread. What might God do if we are people striving together in prayer for the glory of Jesus?