But I urge you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you fight together with me in prayers to God for me,
Truth to Learn
Christians should ask for prayer help when they need it.
Behind the Words
The Greek word translated “I urge you” is parakalō. It is made up of para, meaning “to the side of” and a form of the verb kaleō meaning “to call.” So parakalō literally means, “to call someone alongside.” This word is sometimes translated as “exhort,” “urge,” or “encourage.” In John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is referred to as our paraklētos (comforter or helper). In the current verse, however, I think that the literal meaning makes a lot of sense.
“Fight together,” is translated from the Greek word sunagōnidzomai. This is another compound word made up of sun, meaning “together” and agōnidzomai (from which we get our English word agonize), meaning “to strive, struggle, or contend for victory.” It generally refers to fighting or wrestling, but figuratively it is the task of faith in persevering amid temptation and opposition.
Meaning Explained
Paul knows that he is soon to be on his way to Judea to deliver the gift from the Greek Churches to the poor saints in the church in Jerusalem. He knows that the journey and the time of visitation in Jerusalem will be dangerous. Just how dangerous he may not have known, but on his way there, having stopped at Caesarea, he received a message from a prophet named Agabus. Here’s what he was told:
and he having come unto us, and having taken Paul’s belt, he bound his hands and feet, saying, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, The man whose belt this is–so will the Jews in Jerusalem bind, and they will deliver him up to the hands of Gentiles.” (Acts 21:11)
I’m sure that Paul believed the prophetic message, but he was not deterred in making this trip because he believed that God was leading him there. However, knowing that there was potential danger, he asked the Christians in Rome to pray with him. He starts out this current verse with, “Now I call you alongside, brothers.” Paul was asking the Christians in Rome to spiritually come alongside him and join him in prayer.
But he was not just asking them to offer up a couple of sentence prayers for him. He asked them if they would, “fight together with me in prayers.” So we see that Paul was asking the Christians in Rome to join him in fervent, heartfelt prayer, fighting against the forces of Paul’s opposition.
We will see in the next verse that Paul understood what he would be up against in Jerusalem and wanted all the prayer support he could get. The thing that amazes me is the fact that the great Apostle Paul, who repeatedly demonstrated the power of God and the goodness of the gospel of Christ, wasn’t afraid to ask for prayer support.
Application
Is that what you do when you are in the midst of spiritual battles? Do you ask your Christian friends and members of your church to pray with you and for you? Or are you afraid to ask? Paul wasn’t!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved