Announcement: 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, where we celebrate and explore the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tune in to the Waking Up to Grace podcast on every major platform. You can also listen to our episodes and read our full transcripts at wakinguptogracecom. And now here's Lenny.

Lenny: 0:22

Today we're going to be talking about prayer. And now here's Lenny. Today we're going to be talking about prayer. I think it's safe to say that, as Christians, we all have an idea in our minds what prayer looks like. Most of us would probably say we would like to pray more often. Having a clear mind is not an easy thing to maintain in our daily lives, and without a clear mind it's pretty hard to feel that meaningful connection with our Lord. Other times we reach a point of distress that seems to bring us outside of our suffering and into his grace and peace. I'd like to take a closer look at prayer today and examine what exactly prayer is. Does it have to be done a certain way? Can we do it incorrectly? Are there things that we can pray for that do not honor our Heavenly Father? What's the ultimate purpose of prayer? Can prayer actually help us to mature as Christians and further wake up to the wonders of grace? I think there's a lot to learn just from the insight that Paul leaves behind in his first chapter of his letter to the Romans.

Lenny: 1:26

Before we continue, I want to briefly mention that I did this episode a little different. You'll have to let me know what you think Maybe you guys like this and you know, don't be afraid to reach out and let me know if you liked this way of doing things. So I put together a study guide and this study guide basically has some questions in it following the verses. We're kind of going through the verses in this passage and going through questions and kind of answering those questions. So if you want at wakinguptogracecom and there's a link to that exact episode page for this episode in the description part of the podcast down below, you'll find it at the very bottom and you can just click on that link and it will take you right to that episode page. Otherwise, you can just find this episode on my website at wakinguptogracecom and click on it and there you'll find the study guide and you can copy and paste it if you want. You can go through it yourself. You can listen or read the transcript later and see how the answers fit for you. So I thought that would be kind of cool and we'll see how it goes.

Lenny: 2:32

The Romans passages we're looking at today come from Romans 1, verses 8-15. The full passage reads First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world, for God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit, in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow, by God's will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you but thus far have been prevented, in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to the foolish, so I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. In verses 9 through 10, paul writes without ceasing I mention you in my prayers always.

Lenny: 3:39

What are some things that come to mind when you think about this statement made by Paul? What are some things that come to mind when you think about this statement made by Paul Without ceasing in my prayers always? Was Paul's thought life included here. I'd say it would have to be included in this Without ceasing and always mentioning them in his prayers. It just seems to me that it's kind of about grace living. He's always got his focus on Christ. He's always got his focus on Christ. He's always got his focus on God, and so in his thought life he would always have them on his mind. He'd always be thinking about them. So that's what we might take from without ceasing. Now, in my prayers always, we might think of something more along the lines of he might be always literally taking some quiet time and sitting down and praying to God.

Lenny: 4:31

Do you think Paul intentionally made quiet time to focus and talk to the Lord? I would say absolutely. When we read all through Scripture, there was definitely sit down or bow down, and posture probably was a big thing on how they prayed. They would kneel down before the Lord, but there was time committed to prayer. You know, however they did it there's no rule as far as exactly how we do it right, but there was time committed for sure, and I think just reading that passage we can take that from what was on Paul's heart. Would you say that Paul had a strong sense of spiritual focus and discipline. Yeah, I would say absolutely yes.

Lenny: 5:15

So, continuing on in verse 8, paul writes First I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. This was written before Paul began discussing his prayers for them. Do you think Paul's choice to open with this statement displays how he might have opened his own actual prayers? I would say that that would make a lot of sense. He was expressing thankfulness before he prayed. I think that's important to do before we think of ourselves and our needs. Wouldn't it be honorable to just thank God for what he's done, thank God for everything he's given to us in grace? I mean, it's just incredible and there's always something to be thankful for, isn't there? And I think that thankfulness, it just penetrates deep, you know, in our hearts. And next thing, you know you might even forget what you were praying about. Would you say that Paul was quite proud in Christ about the faith that the Roman church was displaying to the world? I mean, I would say absolutely. He's thanking God through Jesus for all of them, because their faith is proclaimed in all the world. Everybody was talking about the faith of the Roman church. That's pretty cool. He was absolutely proud in Christ, expressing his joy for the maturity and their learning and their knowledge and their love.

Lenny: 6:44

Why do you think that Paul says he thanks his God through Jesus, which you could say thanking Yahweh through Yeshua. Why do you think he says that? I think it's an emphasis of the fellowship that he has with God? Because of Christ, because because of Christ, we have this perfect union with God now that we can come to him for things, we can come to him for all things. We can be ourselves with God. We can be honest with God about who we are and we can be honest with God about everything. He knows everything about us, and not only does he know everything about us, but he reconciled us to him. He let us know that through the scriptures, through Christ, that we're right with him now, so we can be real. We don't have to fake it with God. So I think that's why he said, through Jesus or through Yeshua, that he thanks his God, because it's Christ who allowed us to have this perfect relationship with God.

Lenny: 7:50

Now, what do you think Paul meant by in all the world? I mean, wasn't there places that had not been discovered at that time? I mean, did they even know about America. What did they mean by in all the world? I think it'd be easy to get hung up on this. You know the way we think today. We're thinking that the whole world well, that's a big place. They would have to travel all around, all around the face of the earth looking for all these people. But really what he was meaning is all the Gentile nations, not just the Jewish nation. It was everybody, this was for everybody, not just the Jews. So in all the world is meaning to all the nations.

Lenny: 8:32

And then, going back into verse 9, we read For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit and the gospel of his Son, that, without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers. What do you think Paul means by? For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit and the gospel of his Son, god is his witness. He's basically kind of like hey, I swear to God, I'm serving the gospel of Christ with my spirit. My spirit meaning my life force, which is actually the next question. What do you see to be the context of with my spirit? What would spirit mean here? I think he's talking about the very essence of his life, his ability to breathe and every element of his being was serving the Lord, serving the gospel of Christ. And he's saying God is my witness. That's pretty incredible, and would you say that Paul's mindset regarding himself and his life purpose was servant of God. He's saying I serve. I serve with my spirit and the gospel of his son. He's serving the Lord. He saw himself as a servant, didn't he?

Lenny: 9:47

Now, if one has an attitude like Paul, seeing themselves as a servant of Yahweh, would prayer naturally take place in the thought life of that person? I mention this only because I think prayer is definitely an intentional thing. It's definitely very honorable and meaningful to sit down and make time to pray. I also think that the other element of it, where it's our thought life, it's what's on our mind throughout the day. What are we thinking about throughout the day? What's our focus on? Are we thinking about God throughout the day? Are we trying to serve God throughout the day? Are we honoring him just in our minds, in a thankful heart, just being grateful for being his children and thinking of others who that we could maybe help spiritually, praying for others who could use some spiritual pick-me-up and a boost in grace? So I think that's important. I think Paul was definitely praying in both of these ways. So would this thought life prayer exclude moments of intentional and meaningful conversation with the Lord? That would be the next question I have here and I would say no, it doesn't exclude that, it would be including that. I think these are both ways of prayer. I think it's holy and honorable to the Lord to pray in both of these ways, to be praying in our thought lives throughout the day and praying intentionally and making time to pray intentionally, I think, is an excellent practice, an excellent discipline to have something good to make time for. So my thinking is that Paul had a very good balance with both of these things and I think he's a good model for that. Continuing in verse 9 up to 13, we read I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow, by God's will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you.

Lenny: 11:46

What was Paul's primary desire in his prayers about the church in Rome? He wanted to see spiritual growth. He wanted to see spiritual encouragement. He wanted to share faith. He wanted them to share faith with one another. He wanted them to be strengthened in Christ. Would you say that Paul was far more concerned with the spiritual well-being of the people than their physical well-being? I would say when we read all throughout scripture with Paul's prayers, it just doesn't seem like he's praying for the things that we often hear prayed for today. It seems like Paul was most concerned with their spiritual well-being. I just see Paul being a man who wanted the church to be spiritually strong.

Lenny: 12:42

Why do you think Paul is so concerned about spiritual gifts, faith and encouragement? Why do you think that would be his primary thoughts in prayer? Why wouldn't he be saying I pray that your ailments are getting better, I pray that you guys are getting fed, and things like that? Why wouldn't that be his primary focus? I know that a lot of these churches were struggling and there were some issues at hand in those regards in some of the letters, but when he prayed it just didn't seem like that was his primary thought. And the reason why I think that was why do I think that was that he was so concerned about that is because when we are focused on spiritual things, when we keep our mindset on those things, we're kind of outside of ourselves. It keeps us from being selfish, makes us be more selfless, and in that way we're focused on the spirit. Because that's what happens when we focus on the spirit the spirit's inside of us, but our focus becomes outside of us and we're expressing our love, aren't we? That's the best way to get things done. It has to start on the inside and work its way out, not the other way around.

Lenny: 13:55

Can we conclude that Paul's prayers were not at all self-seeking, and what could we learn from that? I don't think Paul's prayers were self-seeking at all. I just think it's incredible the way that he prayed. He was so intentional about the things that he prayed for. And what can we learn from that? Maybe we should be thinking about that in our lives and in the lives of others. If somebody is not a Christian and we're praying for something worldly for them, maybe we should be thinking about something more spiritual first. I mean, isn't it more meaningful to have a relationship with God, to have eternal life, than to have that person live on in a worldly abundance, the way that we would like to see them with our eyes? Shouldn't we focus more on the unseen realms? See them with our eyes. Shouldn't we focus more on the unseen realms. I know, the more I read scripture and the more you read Paul's writings, you just keep realizing more and more Every day, just like, wow, the spiritual aspect of things is so much bigger than anything else. These are the things that Paul prayed about. I think that speaks a lot about the things that should be on our hearts.

Lenny: 15:05

I don't think you can help but realize that praying for spiritual things was all that really mattered to them. That was their primary focus. I'm sure they cared about the well-being of others. Don't get me wrong. They weren't just completely unmindful about people's needs. He wanted to make sure they were fed and things like that. But the spiritual end of things was a big time focus, wasn't it? It was the primary focus.

Lenny: 15:34

As we read on, paul writes I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you and in parentheses but thus far have been prevented, in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. Are you seeing that Paul's prayers were not being answered when and how he wanted them to be? I'm getting a sense that that's what was going on. He intended to come to them, but then was being prevented. He wanted to come to them in order that he may reap some harvest among them as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. So he wanted to see some spiritual growth and then, among the rest of the Gentiles, wanted to proclaim the gospel and save some souls. But he was being prevented. His prayers weren't always answered. That's what I see from that. He doesn't come out and say that but don't you think he was praying for that? I think he was. See from that. He doesn't come out and say that but don't you think he was praying for that? I think he was praying for that.

Lenny: 16:26

Were Paul's desires and then, when we look at that, were Paul's desires that didn't work out. Holy desires. I mean, he was desiring holy things and he was being prevented from that happening. Isn't that kind of interesting. So you have an apostle sent by the Lord and he's got these holy desires and they weren't happening the way he wanted to or when he wanted them to. But did Paul ever see that as the Lord not hearing him? Did he ever proclaim that it was because he was out of fellowship with the Lord, for example, or he had done something wrong, that the Lord was upset with him and turned away from him. I don't think he ever gives us any kind of indication like that. I'm certain of it.

Lenny: 17:14

So do you think God was teaching Paul wisdom through his prayers in this way? I think he was definitely teaching him wisdom. I think he was teaching him his sovereign wisdom. Paul, you're not going to get everything you want, even though it's holy, because I've got a plan that's greater for you and I'm going to make sure to carry you through that plan, and I know that Paul had a strong sense of peace in that. But we're all human. We have our own plans, don't we? We have our own sense of direction. One of the Proverbs that we read says a man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So Paul's thinking one thing and the Lord's directing him another. Isn't he Pretty cool? Do you think Yahweh was teaching Paul to see blessings that come through suffering? Yahweh was teaching Paul to see blessings that come through suffering. I would say absolutely. You struggle, you suffer, you wanted to go here but you got prevented. But there would have been blessings coming from all that. I'm certain of it, and I'm certain that Paul was in tune to that.

Lenny: 18:21

In John, chapter 14, yeshua makes a series of statements. You do not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works and, continuing on, he says Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14,. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. And then verse 16, what do you see to be the primary truth that Christ is proclaiming here? When I read these passages, I don't think he's saying that you just ask me anything like a genie in a bottle and I'll do it. Don't think he's saying that you just ask me anything like a genie in a bottle and I'll do it.

Lenny: 19:09

I've heard takes on this where people came to the conclusion that he was probably talking directly to the apostles when he said this. It was for their age and for their era, because they were apostles and he was going to do anything they asked. But that can't be true, because Paul didn't seem to be getting everything that he was desiring and I'm pretty sure he would have been praying about that If you ask me. Paul wasn't getting all his prayers answered, not to mention we're going to be getting into it in a later study the thorn that didn't get removed. Paul didn't get that either. So he asked and he didn't do it. So what does he mean by this? This could be a confusing passage. Ask me anything in my name and I will do it.

Lenny: 19:51

I think the primary purpose and truth that Christ is proclaiming here is found when we realize that it's all evolving around the Holy Spirit being given to them. So I'm not saying the Holy Spirit came and then gave us everything we wanted. What I'm saying the Holy Spirit came and perfected our fellowship with God. It gave us an unbreakable fellowship with God. It reconciled us with God when we received the Holy Spirit. We are now right with God. We can come to him for anything. We can ask anything in Christ's name and we go right to the Father Because of Christ. We can go right to the Father. Our relationship has been perfected. I think that's all that he's saying here. It's as simple as that. You can ask anything because he was the perfecter of our relationship with God. So I kind of already spoiled this one.

Lenny: 20:48

But what is the helper and why is that so significant to what Yeshua is telling them? The helper is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was the one that put us in this perfect union with God, where that we could ask anything in his name Basically ask anything. He's always going to be listening. His face is always shining upon us. We don't have to worry about him not listening. We don't have to worry about him not hearing. We don't have to worry about him turning his head away from us and saying I'm done with you. Those days are over. Our Lord's not mad at us like that anymore. That doesn't happen. We've been reconciled.

Lenny: 21:28

Would you consider the finished work on the cross that had not yet taken place at the time of this teaching to be a substantial point to recognize about the name or character of Christ? So what I mean by that question is what's the significance of him saying ask anything in my name and I will do it. Put yourself in their position. Before the cross, before the resurrection, how much did the apostles, how much did the disciples know about what Christ was going to do for them? How much did they know about the Holy Spirit? They didn't know anything. They didn't even know the character of the Lord. Yet they were walking with him. He was walking amongst them, he was in their midst, so they knew him, they walked with him. But did they really know him until they received the Holy Spirit? Could they really understand his character and his name? Until they witnessed the finished work, until they received the Spirit of God to open their eyes? And the answer is no. They hadn't asked anything in his name yet, and we're going to get to that in a passage soon, actually.

Lenny: 22:46

So next question is prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, was anyone reconciled to God? Now, if you've been listening to my podcast a while, you should know the answer to this one, but I'm not mad if you don't. It takes a little while to catch on sometimes. Prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, nobody was reconciled to God. The Spirit that Christ gave us with his life through his sacrifice at the cross, his bloodshed on the cross, that's what reconciled us, that's what washed us clean, that's what made us right with God. There was no reconciliation with God before the cross. Even the Old Testament believers had to wait for the cross to be right with God and then to be brought up to heaven at the second coming.

Lenny: 23:35

So would unreconciled sin affect prayer requests is the next question. If you were living in the Old Testament, if you were living under the Old Covenant, the first covenant of the law, would unreconciled sin affect your prayer requests? You bet it would. It's definitely going to affect your prayer requests. When you read the Old Testament, you'll find the answer to that one real quick. That just strengthens the argument of the fact that Christ is just telling them you can request anything. Now you are clean before God, your prayers aren't going to be hindered. The only thing that hinders our prayers now is our own distractions, our own stupidity and ignorance. When we get caught up in sin. That's going to hinder our prayers. But God's waiting for us to pray at any time. He's leading us through prayer, he's guiding us through prayer. He's developing us and growing us and waking us up to grace through prayer.

Lenny: 24:37

So let's look at a few more passages in John's gospel. This time we'll go to chapter 16. Leading up to his point, yeshua sets the context of what he'll be explaining to them Now. This would not be understood by them until Pentecost, when they received the Holy Spirit and their eyes were opened to all that Christ had told them. Yeshua explains that he'll be leaving them for a while, and that that was a good thing. In John 16, 7, we read Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go I will send him to you. So we establish a context here of the Helper being the next big thing that Christ was going to accomplish for them and that they would receive.

Lenny: 25:28

In verse 23, he makes a statement that baffles many. We read what does Yeshua mean by you will ask nothing of me? Well, to me this is pretty clear. He's saying that you're not going to be asking me anything anymore because I'm not going to be here, I'm going away. But what day is he describing when he says in that day you will ask nothing of me? What day is he describing, I would say absolutely being that all these passages evolve around the context of receiving the Holy Spirit? It would be Pentecost. It would be when they receive the Holy Spirit. They're not going to be asking physical Jesus anymore, human Jesus anymore, but whatever they ask the Father in his name, he will give it to you.

Lenny: 26:36

And kind of circling back to what we were talking about earlier. Why had they asked nothing in his name? Why does he say that Until now, you've asked nothing in my name? Because they didn't understand the cross, it hadn't happened yet. They didn't understand his sacrifice that would be made. They didn't understand the resurrection life that he'd be giving to them at Pentecost. And at the end of the passage he says asking you will receive that your joy may be full. What were they to ask for? What were they going to be asking for in his name, the Spirit of God, the Helper?

Lenny: 27:10

When they received what they asked for, what would the result be in terms of their fellowship with God? The result would be perfect fellowship with God, reconciliation with God Prior to receiving the Spirit. Did anyone have this kind of fellowship with God? Again, no, they didn't have that. Yet. In order to have this spiritual union with Yahweh, what needed to take place? Through what are we able to become reconciled and free from the bondage of sin? Could this passage be describing the perfect union and unbreakable fellowship that you get to enjoy with God because of the cross and the life of Christ that lives in you now through faith? That answers a great big yes, isn't it? Both of those questions yes and yes. And then Yeshua continues. That day you will ask in my name and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf Is Christ Yeshua describing a new love relationship that you have now directly with God because of the Spirit that lives within you? Can we now go right to the Father in our prayer? Can we go right to Christ in our prayer, or does he count himself out?

Lenny: 28:35

In these statements, I think we can conclude that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all at work in our lives, guiding us by grace. Is it wrong to pray to one and not the other? Absolutely not. They're three persons in one being. We don't have to complicate it. We don't have to get confused about it. We don't have to complicate it. We don't have to get confused about it. I mean, we know yahweh, we know yeshua, we know the holy spirit. They're all lord to us. So if you want to simplify it in your prayer just say lord. He knows who you're talking to. I'm not saying to downplay the power of the names yeshua, yahweh. I think it's excellent and we can proclaim those absolutely. But it's kind of cool to think that you can just say Lord, and you're talking about all three of them. That's pretty cool, isn't it?

Lenny: 29:27

Paul concludes this section of writing by saying I'm under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish, so I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Was Paul being forced by God to preach to Greeks and barbarians, the wise and the foolish, or was it a mission that he accepted in his heart and committed his life to? It was a spiritual calling. Yahweh chose him for that purpose. Paul's heart was changed. He didn't feel obligated at all. He was on fire.

Lenny: 30:04

If he was under some kind of forced obligation, would he say so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome? I don't think so. God changes our heart. He makes us want to do things. Paul's letter to the Romans is addressed to the saints, which is another way of saying Christians. So why would he make these two statements I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome, and in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Lenny: 30:39

When we think of his eagerness to preach the gospel to those also who were in Rome. He might have been referring to other people that he wasn't writing directly to. He might have been referring to just the people of Rome as a group. He could have also just been very eager to preach the gospel for spiritual growth. I definitely see both of these things going on here. I mean, let's face it, when we're worshiping the Lord and we're studying his word, we're growing deeper in the gospel every day, aren't we? I mean, the gospel is so simple and yet it's so deep at the same time. It's just an incredible truth. So we can study the gospel to grow deeper in it. We can hear the gospel at first, just to have our eyes open. It's incredible like that. And when he says, in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles, he's definitely talking about spiritual growth. So I think that kind of ties in. He just loves to preach the gospel and strengthen people in the gospel, doesn't he? So that's what we got for today, guys.

Lenny: 31:44

If you'd like free access to this study guide for your own use, you can get there right from the link at the bottom of this episode description. The study guide is on our episode page at wakinguptogracecom. And, while you're there, drop us a line in the comments section. Let me know what's on your heart. Did the study help you in any way? I'd love to hear from you. You can also help in a big way by giving us a positive review on your favorite podcasting platform. If you're listening on a podcast platform and you're enjoying us, it would mean a lot to me if you would submit a review. Just find the section in your app where you can submit reviews and send it off. Your reviews help others to find us in this enormous world of Christian information. May God bless you guys in your week Until the next time when we meet again.

Announcement: 32:34

Thank you for listening to the Waking Up to Grace podcast brought to you by the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you enjoyed today's episode, we would love to hear from you. You can send encouragement our way right from our episodes and transcripts page or reach Lenny privately from the contact form at wakinguptogracecom.