The prayer is, of course, in vs.5-6. Verse 1 gives us the context. In Rom. 14:1-15:6 he is dealing with a conflict arising from the relationship of “strong” Christians (i.e. mature, on the road for a while) and “weak” Christians (i.e. still in spiritual infancy, still learning what Heb. 5:12 calls the first principles of the oracles of God).
For whom is Paul praying? The local
church in Rome.
In Rom. 1:7 he described them as, all who
are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.
To whom is Paul praying? “the God of
patience and comfort”
These two attributes of God are critical to
the issue. We need patience with our
brothers and sisters in Christ. A
healthy church is made up of believers of all ages. As in a home, the older children often help
take care of the younger ones. That
requires patience. You can’t expect
three-year olds to act like twenty-year olds.
Furthermore, everyone needs encouragement
(comfort). That is standard for all in
the Body of Christ. We need someone to “come
along side” us; that’s what the word means.
The issue at hand is one of discretion.
Paul has said, for example in the matter of which is the most important
day of the week for Christians, that one is not more important than the
other. For some, this is upsetting and
they need time to get past what was a settled matter before they came to
Christ.
Therefore, since we need patience and comfort
in our relationships, he prays to the God of patience and comfort, knowing that He is patient with us and comforts us in all our troubles (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Furthermore, did you see v4? The OT was written for our learning that we, through
the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
May I just say, when we come to God in prayer,
we need to pray like this. We need to
meditate on God, and as we address Him, address Him according to who He is in
connection with the problem we are facing.
What other words, phrases, titles, names, etc. are applied to God by
Paul? “the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ”
Meditate on this for a minute or two. He is the God of His Son; He is the Father of
His Son. In this we see Jesus, both in
His submission to the Father and in His oneness with the Father. The issue we are dealing with involves the
Body of Christ. What a powerful way
to pray. We must know the One to Whom we
come. The Father has given Christians to
His Son, all of them. They are His. This is the love of the Father for His Son. The day will come when Jesus will submit all
that is His to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24).
We need to approach our church properly, as those who live to glorify
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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