Suffering and The Role of Prayer

Today we begin a nineteen day trek through Paul's second letter to the Corinthian believers. I hope you will join me on this journey. Each day I will post a link to the full reading and then highlight a couple of verses to ponder carefully. May God teach us to depend on him through his word. Feel free to add your thoughts, questions, and/or observations in the comment area on the website (www.bjprice.blogspot.com).

Today's full reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

"We [Paul and Timothy] do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers." (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 NIV)

Have you ever thought about becoming a missionary? Have you ever thought about the importance of praying for missionaries? We can only imagine the difficulties that Paul and Timothy endured. What was it that took them to the point of death? Whatever it was, we know that it ultimately caused Paul and Timothy to place there full dependency on Christ.

They were now writing this second letter to the Corinthian believers to spur them on in their faithful prayers for God to work on their behalf. For whatever reason (which seems somewhat crazy) God has chosen to work according to our prayers. This is a truly amazing thought! No, prayer is not like a drive through window where we order God around. Nevertheless, God does want us to pray and thus join his work in the world.

Today, as an act of worship, carefully examine your own attitude toward prayer. Do you consider yourself a prayer warrior? Ask God to show you how your prayers make a difference in the work of the Kingdom. "With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18 NIV)