Footsteps #229

“God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart^[d] by spreading the Good News about his Son.” NLT (Rom.1:9)

V9 indicates a very important part of Paul’s life – he was an intercessory prayer. The apostle was well aware of the fact that prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He spent much of his time in prayer for other people and the churches he planted. 

“One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you” NLT (Rom.1:10)

V10 reveals the purpose of Paul’s letter, he was planning to move the focus of his ministry to Spain, but before doing that he wanted to visit Jerusalem and then Rome. He wanted to deliver the contribution of the churches to the Christians in Jerusalem that were experiencing difficulty. (Rom.15:23-28.) 

Those two forthcoming visits set the stage for Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. He had at least three goals in the letter. First, he wanted the Romans to pray for his ministry to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and that he might “be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea” (vs30, 31). It was no small thing for Paul to go to Jerusalem. The non-Christians there viewed him as a trouble maker and many of the Christians regarded him as a liberaliser who had been disloyal to their Jewish heritage. To accept a gift from such a person, who some evidently feared, might seem to be agreeing with Paul’s theological perspective. Thus the apostle asked for the prayers of the Romans. 

Beyond that, however, Paul also requested that the Roman church assist him in his mission to Spain (v24). The appeal for help provides the second reason for writing the letter. He apparently hoped that they would support his ministry in Spain with their encouragement, prayers, and finances. 

In order to gain that assistance, Paul felt that he needed to establish his apostolic credentials. As a result, he wrote a letter that set forth his view of the gospel. 

As he explained the gospel, Paul hoped to accomplish a third goal by healing the evident rift between the Jewish and Gentile Christians in the Roman church demonstrating that the good news of salvation was for all people (see Rom.1:16; 11:32). To the best of our knowledge, Paul never made it to Spain. But his letter to Rome has influenced the church for 2000 years.