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Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:30

 

Prayer is the key that overcomes the enemy in battle. Hezekiah prayed on two different occasions and thus overcame tremendous struggles. First, he and Isaiah prayed against the invasion by Sennacherib (2 Chronicles 32:20), and God sent His angel to completely destroy the enemy’s army. Then, in a struggle for his life, Hezekiah sought God, and God healed him in answer to his prayer

(v. 24).

Manasseh, too, experienced the power of prayer to change a difficult situation. While in a Babylonian jail, he prayed to the Lord, and God miraculously delivered him and restored him to power. What powerful illustrations of prayer and its ability to release God’s deliverance these examples are!

Paul understood this principle of prayer when he asked the Romans to struggle with him in prayer that he might be “rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God” (Romans 15:31). David voiced a similar prayer: “Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for I trust in you” (Psalm 25:20).

Your spiritual leaders need your prayers. Pray diligently today for them to be protected, fruitful, and refreshed. Your prayers may save their lives!

2020-12-31T10:53:19-07:00

Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:30

 

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2020-12-31T10:47:26-07:00

For even Christ didn’t please himself. As the Scriptures say, “Those who insult you are also insulting me.” – Romans 15:3

Jesus spent His life bearing the insults of those who insulted God. King Hezekiah’s messengers received much the same reaction in the tribes of Israel when they presented the invitation to return to the Lord and celebrate Passover (2 Chronicles 30:10).

To the backslidden Israelites, the archaic idea of a Passover in Jerusalem was absurd. The messengers sincerely tried to turn the Israelites’ hearts back to God, but the results were the same in village after village: “But most of the people just laughed at the messengers and made fun of them” (v. 10). However, the Scripture records that “some . . . humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem” (v. 11).

If we just want to please ourselves, we will not venture out into the stream of evangelism where our feelings may get hurt. The burden of evangelism, however, belongs to God, and if we love Him, we will be willing to “bear the disgrace he bore” (Hebrews 13:13). We must realize that we are simply messengers delivering an invitation that others can either accept or reject. If Jesus was reproached, so must we be.

Rejoice if men ridicule you. You are bearing the insults of God!

2020-08-01T00:00:00-06:00
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