“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”Romans 12:12 NLT
If you ever need to send someone to a chapter in the bible on what it means to be a Christian, Romans 12 is a great starting point. It is like a Coles notes summary. Here we have Paul writing to the Romans, giving them an account of early Christians and how what they have done is shaping the world. Christians are being martyred and tournures for their belief in a resurrected Jesus.
Yet here Paul admonishes then to rejoice in their confident hope, he doesn’t just tell them to accept what is happening to those brothers and sister in the faith. No he says rejoice in our confident hope. The hope he is speaking of is the hope found in the salvation of Jesus, and what he did for us on the cross. Not only does he tell them to rejoice, he then tells them to be patient in trouble. Today this would cause pipe, to riot in the streets, the injustice that is happening. Yet Paul tells them to not get all worked up, pray.
Prayer is a powerful weapon. It has more power then we can even imagine. Even writing this I can’t put into words or describe the importance of prayer, to do would be an injustice but what I do know is prayer can move mountains, prayer can heal the sick, prayer can clam the most tourmented soul, prayer is communicating with a God who loves us.
What’s your prayer life like? I personally feel weak and need to spend more time with Jesus in prayer. We all lead busy lives, yet we must not neglect time with the one who has saved us. I challenge you to change it up and spend some more time prayer moving forward, let it build confidence and patience in your life.
Father, I am sorry for not spending more time in prayer. I have no excuse to why my prayer time has been shorter then normal. You are most important in my life and I want my life to reflect that. Jesus I want to have confidence to be able to fulfil the mission you have called me to. Build that in me through prayer, let me be patient with others as I tell them about you. They matter to you Jesus, so they matter to me. Amen
50 Days of Pray 