One way of characterizing the life of the apostle Paul is by the word “agony” or “struggle.” In his own letters to churches he often referred to the intense inner angst and agony that he felt and experienced. Remember last week we mentioned Paul’s habit of “urging” his readers toward urgent activities? In Romans 15:30 we have such a combination: Paul’s urgent pleading for his readers to join him in his agonizing! Listen to this:
“I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”
“I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”
Paul is urging his readers to join him in his struggle; literally, Paul says “agonize with me.” It is a verb prefixed by the preposition “with.” This indicates to us how deeply Paul envisioned fellowship.
Our inner distress was never meant to be experienced in isolation. From what Paul is saying here, I see the following application to body life in the congregation:
1) My inner world of apprehensiveness must be shared with others.
1) My inner world of apprehensiveness must be shared with others.
2) We need to urge and plead with others to share in our prayer life and concerns of petition.
3) There is no struggle outside the purview of Christian fellowship and joint struggling in prayer.
It took my own father’s suicide 18 years ago for me to truly understand this.
My wife, Nancy, and my children shared this agonizing journey with me. My mother, my brothers, and my sisters shared this agonizing journey with me. My Christian brothers and sisters shared this agonizing journey with me. I understand the depth of struggling “with” others in their agony and inner troubles.
May God give each of us two desires: the wisdom to urge others to join us in our prayerful struggles, and the wisdom to respond when others ask us to join them! In Christian love, Curtis
