Romans 8:24-28
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Last week I was on an assignment to send short, but effective daily posts through social media to the World Wide Web. After some consideration, I decided to create daily prayers for very specific groups. I prayed for children on Monday, the incarcerated on Tuesday, the sick on Wednesday, Thursday, the brokenhearted, Friday the unsaved nonbeliever, and yesterday the persecuted church. To be honest, I never dreamed that this exercise would yield such grand results. And I’m not talking about the number of people reached. I’m talking about what it did for me. In me! The discipline of compacting your thoughts into one clear and concise message is rewarding all by itself. But there’s more.
The Apostle Paul tries as best he can to express the blessedness of the hope of salvation in his epistle to the folk in Rome. He gives them some of the grandest arguments you will ever find in scripture. The Book of Romans is riddled with gems of tremendous spiritual value. And none more significant than the verses we read this morning.
Check out what he does to us in these verses. Paul uses our blessed hope in the infallible Word of God to establish why we must maintain our dogged determination to hold on to our faith…no matter what! But in the same breath his acknowledges that holding on is difficult, because it exposes our weaknesses. I don’t care who you are; pressing, persevering, praying, preaching and yes, even posting can become spiritually exhausting. That’s because you’re looking for something to happen. You’re relying on God to answer your petition, verify your calling, deliver you from something or someone. And the longer you wait to see the fruition of God’s promise, the more tired your spirit becomes. But then Paul picks us up!
We don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have to find flowery words and descriptive adjectives to impress God. In matter of fact, what our souls truly desire is not even in a language humanity can understand. What a mighty God we serve.
So here’s the takeaway from this morning. Your best effort is all the effort necessary to engage the Lord in pray filled fellowship. It’s not about the words. It’s about the relationship. It’s about the effort, perseverance, press and drive.
Want more good news? And after you’ve done all you can, God takes that effort and makes it for your good. Not just some things. But all things. It’s truly unimaginable, but true anyhow.
One last thing. I didn’t create a prayer for today. Todays prayer is for you and me. I’ll start it off by simply saying, “Thank you Father”…and turn it over to the Holy Spirit from there!
God Bless
