Praying Out Loud

Praying over our daughter, Cara, as she received
her first preacher's license. 

Scripture:

Rom. 1:8   First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. ⁹ For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 

Observation:

In his opening statement, Paul breaks into a prayer for the Roman Christians. While Paul is given, from time to time, to hyperbole, he is trying to make a point. It is incredible that there are followers of Jesus Christ in the capital city of Rome, and the news of this is spreading rapidly, and is of great encouragement to the other churches. 

Paul serves God through the power of the spirit. This indwelling of the spirit is what enables him to engage in a significant prayer life. This is a form of worship for Paul, and he often mentions how he prays without ceasing. His entire life is lived in an attitude of continual and on-going communication with God through Christ. He remembers the Roman Christians on a regular basis — they are often brought to his mind. When they are brought to his mind, he prays for them. His prayer includes a specific request, and that is his desire to come and visit them. 

The desire for the visit is unique, for it is not about what Paul has to offer, but how he may share a spiritual gift with them, to strengthen them. The focus is always on the Triune God, and whether through communion with God, or the sharing in the power of God, Paul’s praying without ceasing leads him to the mission and ministry. Paul does not speak highly of himself or what he has to offer, but in humility, recognizes that encouragement is mutual. Paul knows that he will be encouraged by the faith of these new followers of Christ, trying to live faithfully in a capital city where Emperor worship is the order of the day. 

Application:

There is so much to learn about prayer, and I feel that I am just at the beginning. Praying out loud with other people is a gift that informs our lives. I have the privilege of praying with a group of women on a regular basis and I’m amazed at the different ways in which we all pray. One of them prays very much like Paul does here, praying out loud for what is going on in life, what they’ve experienced that week, and where God will be takin them in the days ahead. Others might pray through the power of the spirit about things we had not planned to pray for — it’s just a leading of the spirit. The beauty is that no one prays the same, and yet everyone is engaged in an intimate conversation with the Lord. The prayers have become so amazing that I often take notes as other people pray —for I want to remember what has been said in the conversation with the Lord. 

In this passage we are invited into Paul’s prayer, and it becomes a model for us. We all need models in prayer. We need people who will pray out loud and teach the next generation what it means to be a people of prayer. Paul said to follow him as he followed Christ because he knew that people needed role models. We are in danger of losing the art of prayer if we don’t practice it out loud. Stepping out of our comfort zones and engaging the Lord in a such a way that we pass along communion with God to the next generation is vital. Let’s join Paul in praying out loud. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for those who have modeled prayer for me. Amen.