“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 15:5)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)
“May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Rom. 15:33)
Gracious Father, your Word never ceases to astonish, encourage, and nurture our hearts. All 1,200 chapters of the Bible reveal your truth, goodness, and beauty—a trustworthy testimony to your greatness and grace. Romans 15 is a glorious example. In this one chapter, you come to us as…
The God of endurance and encouragement. We need both of these Abba—for we get physically weary, emotionally depleted, relationally exhausted, and spiritually drained. There are a bunch of hungry baby Robins nesting around my house right now—each with their mouth wide open waiting, chirping, crying out to be fed. That’s us, Father. Feed and fill us with endurance and encouragement.
The God of hope. In our complex, fragile, hostile world—we need fresh, palpable, supernatural hope, Abba. Thank you for being the God of hope, not just a hope-dispenser. Our hope is a Someone, not a something, so the closer we walk with you, the more our fears will fade and our worries will wilt. It’s a sense of your nearness that makes all the difference, Abba, so turn up the rheostat of your presence. If we’re feeling a 3 on a 1-10 scale, we’d love to be somewhere between 9 and 14.
The God of peace. Father, you’ve already given us eternal peace in Jesus. Through the Gospel, you have reconciled us to yourself, and you delight in us with unwavering acceptance and intense love. Thank you! But our present need is to have more of your peace rule in more of our hearts more of the time (Col.3:15). We lift our hands and hearts to you in glad, grateful surrender. So Very Amen.
