Insight for Living

Pastor Chuck Swindoll: As we near the conclusion of Paul's magnificent letter to the Romans, the Apostle reveals something stunning. Most of us have never learned to truly pray. We may have mastered religious vocabulary and polite requests, but we've missed the raw, urgent, faith-filled prayer that moves mountains and breaks spiritual strongholds.

Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll exposes the gap between what the Bible teaches about prayer and what most believers actually practice. In Romans chapter 15, we learn how to transition from casual conversations with God to praying with our whole heart.

We turn to the city of Corinth where Paul is sitting with Tertius, his scribe.

Paul pauses at this moment toward the end of the letter and decides to be very vulnerable, very honest.

Now he begins, "I urge you." Same word used here as Romans 12:1, "I urge you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies." Except this isn't presenting your bodies. I urge you, same word.

It's like the term summons. It's a military term. "I draft you." If he could take them by the shoulders, "I would like to shake you awake. I'd like to get you engaged. I urge you, brothers and sisters."

There's a need here. As I read through the verses we're going to be looking at, four things stand out to me. And all four make prayer come to life. First is an awareness of the need.

What's the need? Well, he's mentioned it, but you may have forgotten, verse 22 of this same chapter, "I have often been prevented from coming to you."

So, he has a need to get past the obstacles. Pray for that.

By the way, there must be also a willingness to get involved. That's also in verse 30.

"I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." I call that being involved.

You're not just tossing up a name to heaven. You're identifying with the person you're praying for. You find out enough to know what they're going through. You feel with them the ache, the void, the hurt, the need, what seems to be the impossibility, the emptiness, the pressure, and you take it on.

And you agonize with the other one who is in agony.

You say, "Well, you know what, if I want to be like Jesus, I don't have to agonize in prayer." Check out Matthew... I was ahead of you. Matthew 26:37 where we read in Gethsemane, He grieved and was distressed.

Oh, you agonize in prayer. In fact, He prayed as it were, as He did great drops of blood formed on the pores of His skin. That's agony, friends.

Our God hears our prayers, every one of them, every single one of them. He takes note of them. He hears the agony.

Paul finished his life, 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight." Same word, agony. "I have agonized the good agony. I've spent my life agonizing over these churches, over these individuals who have given me grief."

Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, there are times when in prayer we break the grip of the adversary.

The grip of the adversary is wrapped around a victim. Our friend, the one we love, our pastor, our neighbor, the lady who's just learned she's a widow, the parents of the wayward kid.

The enemy has come. And when I enter into that situation, I agonize with the one who's going through it.

Paul says, "Don't just toss up my name. I need more than that."

Pray about the obstacles. And because they would, he names three specifics. This is one of the things I love about Paul.

Look closely at the preciseness of specific requests, verses 31 and 32. Number one, "Pray that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea."

Some see me as a turncoat. Some were once my fellow Pharisees. Now they're my enemy. Some used to hunt down Christians with me. Now they hunt me down. Pray that as I get to Jerusalem, I'll be able to survive.

Pray that when I'm with those who are disobedient to the truth, pray that God will win the way.

Second, "Pray that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints." What is that mean? He's collecting money through his trip across Europe.

He came to Troas, then he crossed the Aegean, remember, we saw it on the map, and then he came to Philippi. Then he came to Berea. Now he's, and then he came to Athens. Now he's come to Corinth. And he's on his way back across the sea to Ephesus and finally to Tyre, and then back to Jerusalem, to take money to the people who don't have enough food to eat.

Pray that I'll get there with the money, that I won't be mugged. Pray that I'll be able to find success in meeting the needs because the need is real. The offering is important.

And pray, verse 32, "that I may come to you in joy by the will of God."

By the way, if I could go back to that first one in case you think it might have been a little exaggerated for him to pray that he'd be able to be rescued. Let me show you what he had in front of him. Go back to Acts again, chapter 20.

Acts 20 verse 22. I don't hear many pages. Acts 20 and verse 22. Okay?

"Now behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. Except the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city saying that bonds and afflictions await me."

Don't let the old English or the characteristic biblical English take away the difficulty of it. Bonds and afflictions mean exactly what they say.

I'm going to be shackled. I'm going to be tortured. I'm going to be going through mock trials. Verse 24, how could he do it? "Because I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God."

How wonderful of Paul to have that mentality. Look at 21, verse 3.

"When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria." Oh, want to look at a map so bad. "And they landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo."

"After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days, and they kept telling Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem."

Real stuff. When we pray for a missionary that goes in a tough area, and I'm thinking of one of our friends that went to Indonesia, pray for that he'll survive.

Pray that he'll make it. His family will not be tortured and killed because they're believers in this Muslim country.

Friends, this is real stuff. This is where we are today. And if you're not careful, the comfort and the joy that we enjoy in this place will dull your senses.

There are people hanging between life and death. Persecution everywhere in those dark places.

The Apostle says, "Agonize with me in prayer." I'm going to add to that, pray for your pastor.

Pray for our staff. Pray for our board. Pray for our church. We can't make it without the prayers of the saints.

I'm not energetic or sharp enough and neither is anybody I work with to do that. Pray for those who serve alongside us. Pray for those in volunteer places that touch the lives of individuals. Pray for those who are working with those with addictions. Pray for those who serve those who are struggling in their marriages.

We won't make it without the prayers of the saints.

By the way, when you pray, you get real specific. Isn't it wonderful how God answers in specific ways? Remember last week, Mark Young, the hot water bottle and the dolly?

You go, "What?" That was last week. Mark Young told us the story of a group of missionaries. Helen Roseveare, medical missionary, she and a group of kids, because the little baby was going to die that had been born prematurely and the mother had died, and the only way the baby would make it is for a hot water bottle.

And they're at the equator. Who's going to send a bunch of missionaries a hot water bottle? And a package comes that was mailed five months ago. I love this story. That's why I'm telling it again.

So the package arrives, and Helen Roseveare and the little kids start opening up all the things, and they pull out the sweaters and they pull out the bandages, and the little girl's standing there looking for the hot water bottle. Why? Because she prayed for a hot water bottle. "She's the hot water bottle." And she reaches in there, "Who would ever thought to send a hot water bottle to us in the middle, especially five months ago? We're on the equator."

And the little girl says, "Dolly's got to be in there somewhere." So she reaches in there, there's the dolly. How good or what?

And I thought of Isaiah 65:24. "It shall come to pass, before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

God knew exactly what the need was five months before the baby's even born. Well, of course, He's God.

Agonize with that young, precious life struggling between life and death. God, send a hot water bottle. And just for good measure, put a dolly in there.

You know why it's good? Because when He does, you just fall on your face before Him, and you thank Him, and you thank Him, and you thank Him for a little dolly, for a little hot water bottle.

"That I may come to you in joy by the will of God, and find refreshing rest in your company." Isn't that great? The Apostle done so much traveled, got gnarly old hands and beat up body and probably ugly feet, been all over the country, traipsing along.

And he says, "I look forward to sticking my feet up on the table and hanging out with some of you folks in Rome, and realizing, God did it."

How good is that? God did it.

Refreshing rest in the will of God.

By the way, the way the Lord answered this prayer, these prayers are very interesting. He said no to the first one.

He said no. So, those who were disobedient, he wasn't rescued from them. They got him in shackles.

The answer to the next one was not what he had hoped for. And the answer to the third one was a qualified yes, not as you expected.

He got him to Rome, but he had him in chains. And you know the good story of that. Under house arrest in Rome for two years, Caesar had to keep sending soldiers who would be chained to him.

All day with Paul. "Now that you're here, Frank, I've got something I'd like to tell you." "No, I don't want to listen." "Well, that's too bad, bud, you're chained to me. Just sit and listen."

One after another, after another, after another of saints in Caesar's household because he was in Rome. Only God could do that.

We'd spend our time fussing about the chains.

"Well, it's not quite the place I expected." "Gosh, got to go outside and go to the bathroom. This isn't very comfortable. It's cold at night."

"Hey, relax. God's at work."

See, when you pray, your attitude changes. Your expectations fly out the window. It isn't about you, who cares what you want?

It's about God. And we care what He wants. And when we care what He wants, the struggle stops, and we go, "Thank God."

And I just say, "Praise God." Just praise God. Just praise God.

He said, "Wait." Well, I'll just say, "Praise God."

Over in 1 Timothy chapter 2, and I don't know what time it is. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 2, the first two verses of 1 Timothy 2.

I want you to remember these three little simple things when you pray. Please remember these three. First, prayer deserves top priority.

That's why the word first appears in the sentence. "First of all, pray."

Top priority. You go to your doctor, you wait for the report, you pray before the report comes. He gives you the report, you pray before you respond to the doctor.

You're waiting for this loan to come through, before the loan comes through, you pray. Before you get, when you get the envelope, you pray. You open the envelope, you pray.

You pray because you are putting your mind in gear with the Father's plan. You don't call your attorney, you don't call your physician, you don't call some hospital, you don't call your friend to gossip. You don't whine to your pastor. You go to God.

And you pray. And you say, "Lord, I'm yours. You're mine. I lay this before you. First of all, it's yours. It's your battle, your struggle, your work, your church."

"That's an enemy of you, not me. It's yours."

First of all, prayer deserves top priority. Second, prayer is essential. "I urge you." Here he is again. "I urge you."

Not after you've tried everything else, shoot up a prayer. Not after you didn't get what you want, pray. No, pray knowing it's essential.

And third, prayer is the ideal tranquility. Prayer will give you rest like nothing else. "That I may lead a quiet and tranquil life," verse 2 concludes, "even with dignity."

Relax.

Now I want to close by addressing something that's very, very serious. I don't want you to miss a word of this.

I've been thinking about this for about two or three weeks, but I didn't know about this particular ending until middle of last week. That's when it all came clear.

I want to remind you that the enemy knows us better than we know ourselves. He's been studying you since you were born. You've only known you since you became self-aware.

Maybe last week, or when you were in college, or when you finally figured out what life is about after a divorce or two. You finally discovered who you are. He's been studying you from get-go.

He knows you so much better than you know yourself. And by the way, he isn't, he isn't violent. Not usually, he's very, very, very patient.

Your enemy is really, really smart. He knows how to work on you.

That's why this that I'm going to read to you meant so much. To bring us down, he wears us out. To bring us down, he wears us out.

Just wears us out.

I was at a grocery store the other day and a mother had a kid with her in the grocery cart. And he was just old enough to reach the Tic Tacs. "Mom, I want a Tic Tac." "Uh, no, we're not having Tic Tacs. You've had." "Mom, I want a Tic Tac. Mom, I want a Tic Tac. I want a Tic Tac. I want a Tic Tac. Mom, I want a Tic Tac."

And I'm watching this kid. "I want some Tic Tacs, mom." So she turns him, goes to another lane. "I want some." They had Tic Tacs over there. "Mom, I want some Tic Tacs. I want some Tic Tacs. Mom, I want some Tic Tacs." "Okay!" She buys a box of Tic Tacs and gives them. What happened? He wore her down.

Smart kid. If she hadn't given him, I would have given it to him, I tell you. You can just take so much.

Okay, here it is. Here it is. Listen up.

Satan has in fact a plan against the saints of the Most High, which is to wear them out.

What is meant by this phrase, "wear them out"? It has in it the idea of reducing a little this minute, then reducing a little further the next minute. Thus the wearing out is almost imperceptible.

A little today, a little tomorrow. Nevertheless, it is a reducing. The wearing down is scarcely an activity of which one is conscious, yet the end result is that there is nothing left.

Nothing left. He will take away your prayer life little by little and cause you to trust God less and less and yourself more and more, a little at a time.

He will make you feel somewhat cleverer than before. Step by step, you're misled to rely more on your own gifts. Step by step, your heart is enticed away from the Lord.

Now, were Satan to strike the children of God with great force at one time, well, they would know exactly how to resist the enemy, since they would know immediately, recognize his work.

He uses the method of gradualism. There it is. Never read that before.

He uses the method of gradualism to wear down the people of God. Many of you are victims of gradualism.

You're just worn out.

So you shrug and the enemy gets his way. You take the easy way out and the enemy gets his plan unfolded. I'll tell you from experience, it takes strength to stand against the enemy. I'm going to tell you that.

You expect me to do it, I will do it. I expect you to do it as well.

Stand against him. Don't give him an inch. And when we together stand against him, God prevails, has His way. Victory is won.

Bow with me, please.

If you've never met the Savior, some of this is kind of like talking in riddles. You want to do it, you want to believe it, you want to go where we are, but you can't get there. The reason is, you've your first step has not been taken, that's to come to the cross.

That big old cross that stands up in history in years past where God won the victory over sin. And His Son paid the complete penalty for you and for all the sins you have ever committed.

And He's available to you if you will come to Him by faith. That is the Gospel.

Believing that Jesus Christ died for you and was raised from the dead, by placing your faith and trust in Him, you are given the gift of life eternal.

And for you who are worn out, find refreshment and hope in the instruction of God's Word and begin this day to pray with your whole heart.

Thank you, Father, for lifting us free of the chaos of the world outside, giving us a few quiet moments together to praise You and to hear from You.