Living for Jesus and serving Him is an adventure; we never know what will happen next!  It is also a battle against the world and the devil: and it is a personal struggle as we wrestle with temptation and tiredness, wilfulness and weakness.  It is hard to tell where the next challenge will come from.  It might be a demonic attack, a personal attack, worldly pressure or fleshly temptation.  We also need help!

The Apostle Paul's experience was no different.  Paul recollected some of his most challenging moments in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33.  He certainly needed help and God came to His rescue (2 Timothy 4:16-18).  In today's verse, his simple request for prayer is a helpful example to us.  Firstly, he recognised that he was not on his own.  Although separated by many miles, the Christians in Rome were also part of God's family; as brothers and sisters together, they could pray to God, as Paul also prayed and struggled.  Like Moses who was supported by Aaron and Hur to lift up God's authority to defeat the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16), Paul asked his friends to pray with him.  Dependent on all three Persons of the Holy Trinity, Paul relied on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling love of God known through the Spirit.

Paul was not too proud to admit his weakness and dependency on God’s power.  In his letters from prison in Rome, Paul continued the habit of his spiritual life – to ask for prayer.  In Ephesians 6:19-20 he wrote, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”  In Philippians 1:19 he wrote, “… for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance”.  In Colossians 4:18 he wrote, “I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”

If the great Apostle Paul should request that people pray for him, why are we shy of doing so?  Do we think somehow that we can live for Jesus by ourselves?  No, we are a team together.  God mercifully hears the prayers of our brothers and sisters for us, and answers by giving us power to continue to struggle until the battle is won.  He responds to prayer by giving us endurance and wisdom when we feel worried or want to give up; and by giving us confidence in Himself despite the uncertainty.  Asking somebody else to pray for you will help you both to grow as Christians.  As you receive God's answers, you will know His love and appreciate the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will be glorified as we win through in our struggles.