04/30/2024
This morning my devotional reading was about praying with heart and enthusiasm, I was taken to Romans chapter twelve for this lesson and I feel there was great purpose in its selection. In this particular chapter Paul is teaching us how to offer ourselves to God in our various gifts, and how to deal with several emotions. Let’s read as he teaches us to pray fervently in our key verse this morning…
“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;”
Romans 12:11 KJV
Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote that "Prayer, without burning enthusiasm does not help your situation, because it has nothing to give." He goes on to say that it has no heart and he tells us that Paul himself had a fervent spirit of prayer.
In chapter twelve we learn how to approach many of our gifts and some of our stumbling blocks, but they all require a full measure of prayer as we seek to attain or avoid them. We are instructed to dedicate ourselves fully to our faith and to do this through sincere and heartfelt prayer.
I encourage you to read this chapter in its entirety this morning, but I am going to visit the previous two verses (verses 9-10) and use one of the most profound emotions which God has given to us as an example this morning.
“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;”
Romans 12:9-10 KJV
I am selecting these two verses because they deal with love and it is no accident that this virtue is side by side with the scripture which reads "fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." Let's read two additional scriptures from first Corinthians thirteen to further understand the importance of this emotion...
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:2, 13 ESV
Love, it is an emotion that is bold and gives no room for any doubt. When love is present there is completeness and just like fervent prayer it demands our full attention. I find it interesting that the first thing that Paul says about love in Romans twelve (v9) is "Let love be without dissimulation." That word (dissimulation) means to conceal, hide, pretend, fake; in other words, let your love be genuine in its nature and not a pretense.
In our loving relationships we are told to love in several ways, romantic love, brotherly love, and godly love. (Eros, Philos, and Agape are the Greek words), but there is no distinction as to their sincerity and fullness. Each of these loves is to be complete and all-consuming in its own right... No pretense or hidden agendas, just unadulterated love... Complete and absolute.
Our prayers should be offered in similar fashion. We should pray with all our heart and with no motive other than to be within the will of God. When we allow love or prayer to become tainted in some way then we have nothing. Jesus speaks of purity of faith and emotion in these words...
“"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
Matthew 5:13 ESV
So this morning I ask that you join me in reading Romans 12, and I ask that you approach your prayers, faith, gifts, and loves with the fullness they require of us. Immerse yourself fully in the Word of God and with His help maintain the great passions, flavors, and tastes in your life.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for giving us the commandment to love you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Thank you also for giving us prayer which serves as the vehicle through which we can communicate that love to you, and hear your voice as you speak to us. Help us Lord to be fervent in our prayers, abiding in our faith, and consumed in total by our love for you. We abide in your Son Jesus, and He in us, just as He abides in you and you in Him. Let our abiding love for you both be like an all-consuming fire and let it increase us in our faith and belief with each moment we continue to dwell in you. Increase us in our enthusiasm as we walk further with you in our journey of prayer, and draw out the fullness of our emotion as we express the depth of our love for you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you who loves the world so much that you sent your only Son Jesus so that by our belief in Him we would be redeemed, and in Him we would not perish, but have eternal life. This is the fullness of love you not only feel for us, but command that we feel for you. Help us Father to live out your expectations, and to do so for all eternity. Let the blood of Jesus wash us clean of all our sin, and transform us in righteousness by so doing. Let Him be the one you see when you look on us in the moment of our judgment, not our own imperfect selves. We are undeserving Lord, but covered by your Son Jesus Christ we have been made perfect, and worthy. Be pleased in us Father, and call us your own. Through the love you have showed us in Christ, pour out your mercy and grace upon us, and seat us at your table forevermore. Praised be your name Father, and let all glory be yours forever.
Amen.
Rich Forbes