Romans 1:8-12, Prayer for an Open Door to Ministry

For whom is Paul praying? “to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (v7)

Paul had never visited Rome.  Romans is written from Corinth (Rom. 16:23, Paul is at the home of Gaius, who is from Corinth, 1 Cor. 1:14).  Paul did not arrive in Rome until the end of Acts.  It is a prayer of intercession; he prays “for you all.”  The word “for” is huper, meaning “on your behalf.”  He stands in their place.

To whom does Paul pray?  “my God through Jesus Christ”

He is praying in Jesus’ name.  That is what he is saying here.  We come to God through our High Priest who entered the holy of holies on our behalf.

What word, phrases, titles, names, etc. are applied to God by Paul?

First, he gives thanks to “my” God.  Of course He is also the God of the Roman believers.  But he begins with thanksgiving, and is thankful for them.  He makes it clear that it is thanks to God for what He has done in their lives.

Second, God is “my witness.”  In other words, to God is the ultimate and only true accountability.  God knows Paul’s heart as he prays.  What an important thought for us as we pray. 

Third, God is “whom I serve.”  This prayer is about a desire Paul has in his ministry.  God calls us to ministry; thus we call upon Him knowing that if He gave us the ministry He will certainly want to bless that ministry.

What moves Paul to pray? “I long to see you”

Are there Christian people, not biologically related to you, that you long to see?

For what is Paul thankful? “for you all, that your faith is spoken of”

He is thankful for “them,” and that his God had so worked in them that their faith was declared throughout the world.  There are three great qualities of a church: faith, hope love.  The Roman Church was known for their faith. 

What requests does Paul present?

There are three connected phrases to note:

I long to see you

(for this purpose): that I may impart to you some spiritual gift

(to this conclusion): that you may be established.

The thing to note is that ministry requires bodily presence.  We have been going through this “pandemic” situation for over a year now.  In some places in the USA churches have gone to court for the right to meet together.  It is essential to the nature of the Body of Christ and it’s “local church” concept.  Paul sent letters, that were valuable and are to this day.  But still, with the Scripture. we must be face to face with each other.  Paul was praying for an open door, and we will take that up in our next post.