“Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed” Romans 15:31-32.
Paul asks the Romans to pray specifically for several things. It is interesting to see how they were answered.
The believers in Jerusalem welcomed Paul. However, as suspected, the Jews in Jerusalem did try to kill Paul. In fact, some vowed not to eat or drink until he was dead. Paul was rescued from this threat by his own arrest and two-year imprisonment. He did come to the Roman believers, but it was through appealing to Ceasar as a prisoner seeking justice. Paul came with joy but he also came via a dreadful storm, shipwreck, snake bite, and any number of other hardships.
Here’s what I notice. God answered the prayers of the believers in Rome, as well as Paul’s own prayers. Paul was rescued, and he made it to Rome. However, the path was not predictable, fast, or easy.
We, the fast-food generation, want–no–EXPECT predictable, fast, and easy. And if we don’t get it that way, we are speedily tempted to find fault with God. We don’t have the time or the stomach for suffering on the way to answered prayers. We’re into results rather than the refinement of faith. Answered prayers can certainly strengthen faith, it is true. However, God’s grace might also want to do something good in us on the way there. God, you see, ”answers” more than what we pray for; he also ”answers” what we need, because he knows that better than we do.
So, keep believing that God is working as you wait for answers.
Kip
