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. 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 15:30-32)
Paul ends chapter 15 with a urgent prayer request. “Pray for me that I will be rescued from unbelievers in Jerusalem, be accepted by the believers in Jerusalem, and eventually come to Rome with joy.”
Paul knew that his mission of mercy to Jerusalem was dangerous. He was a former Pharisee now preaching a gospel of grace to the Gentiles. He was considered a traitor and a blasphemer by the religious establishment in Judea. To go back to Jerusalem was risky. A prophet named Agabus had even warned Paul that his journey back to Jerusalem would lead to his imprisonment (Acts 21:10-14). But Paul felt compelled to deliver a financial gift to the saints in Jerusalem. He wanted to help bridge the gap between Jews and Gentiles…show the Jewish believers how much the Gentile believers loved and appreciated them. It was a mission of mercy and hopefully of continued reconciliation.
When Paul arrived in Jerusalem he was welcomed warmly by the Jewish believers there. However, eventually he was arrested after a group of Jewish unbelievers created a ruckus around him. He spent the next few years facing court trials, murder plots, lonely nights in prison, and a host of other problems.
So in the end Paul’s pray for safety in Jerusalem was not answered….or at least not answered in the way Paul expected…which raises some interesting questions.
- Was Paul simply being stubborn and disobedient in insisting on going to Jerusalem despite the warnings he received?
- Did the Roman believers fail to pray faithfully?
- Did God simply answer “no” to Paul’s prayer?
Whatever the case, it is obvious that not every prayer is answered in the way we want or expect. Paul prayed to be rescued from unbelievers in Jerusalem. He even enlisted other believers to pray toward this end. And God chose to act in a different way. God had a different plan.
What is interesting is that the last part of Paul’s prayer was answered. Paul’s ultimate goal was to make it to Rome. Of course, he was hoping to make it to Rome as a free man with freedom to interact with the Roman believers and travel around Rome preaching to whomever would listen. Instead, he got a free trip to Rome as a prisoner and spent at least two years in Rome under house arrest chained to a Roman guard. It wasn’t what Paul expected. It wasn’t what Paul wanted. It wasn’t what Paul would have planned. It wasn’t what Paul prayed. But God used it.
Philippians is written while Paul is under arrest in Rome. And in Philippians Paul begins to explain how God took an unanswered prayer and turned it into something good. While in prison, Paul had a chance to interact and impact people he would have never had a chance to meet apart from being arrested (Philippians 1:12-13). Paul made his plans, but God directed his steps.
Today we have the benefit of seeing Paul’s life in perspective. However while Paul was going through things day to day I am sure he doubted and struggled at times. Why didn’t God answer my prayer? Why did He allow this to happen? Why did He stick me in prison when I could be out preaching His Word to others? What is God up to? Is He even listening?
In the end I think Paul learned (and would teach us) that prayer is not trying to get God’s will to align to our will but rather learning to align our will to God’s. Your kingdom come. Your will be done… Or as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane…O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39). That is the most difficult and the most powerful prayer to pray.
Lord, teach me to trust You when my prayers are not answered and when circumstances in my life do not turn out the way I want.