Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer
Romans 12:12 says “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
I was reading the Bible today morning and came across this verse. Though I have read this many times before I really never gave a chance and thought over it. What does Paul mean from this.
Be Joyful in HOPE –
What kind of hope does he talk about in this verse? We always say ‘I hope I got a good job or a good house or a good education or I hope that my child will grow up to be this and that…’ But is this HOPE. No for a Christian I think Hope means Hope of having an eternal life. Hope of being in the place that God is preparing for us along with Him in Eternity. That should be our hope and not the hope of having this or that in the material world. And that hope should keep us happy and going on forever. But believe me that is very difficult. For me it is, I tried many times to be happy in the midst of my troubles but I failed. I never think of this hope and be joyful in it when I am down. It’s impossible for any one without the grace of God. Only if that grace is fully in us we will be able to be joyful in hope.
Patient In Affliction –
That is now even more difficult. Just imagine that you are so well educated but you don’t have a good job and you’re not able to finance for your family, on top of that you have a lot of debts. Or think of any situation in which you are so troubled from all sides and still you are able to stay calm, with full of faith and confidence that your God will make all straight for you. You don’t get upset on others due to all your tensions and you are able to rejoice even in the midst of your oppressors. Then, yes, then that is what is called being “Patient in your afflictions”. This can never be possible for a normal human being in whom there is no grace of God or by a person who does not have a wonderful relationship with The Almighty.
Faithful in Prayer –
What I think of being faithful in prayer is that when we pray we should humble ourselves before God and we should repent for all our sins as said in the parable about the Pharisees and the poor tax collector who came to pray in the house of the Lord. The tax collector accepted that he is a sinner and bet his chest and cried out to the Lord to have mercy but the Pharisees just thanked the Lord that he was not like the tax collector. We should not judge while we pray cause our Lord knows our hearts and all our sins even more than us and its Him to decide if we have any good in us. Moreover we should maintain a good prayer relationship with God and should continuously pray for others who are in pain and suffering. If we have to say about prayer it will not end. Prayer is the best way by which we can cast all our cares out on Him and it’s the best method of communication with The Almighty.
Prayer: -
Lord we thank you for this word that you have given. Lord help us to be so full of your grace and spirit that we can be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Lord we understand that nothing is impossible for you and that you can make all right for us in the right time. But still many a times we have fallen short of your grace and have moved away from your word. We have doubted and grumbled. Forgive us Lord. We are unworthy and sinful. Please have mercy on us and help us to depend on your promises. Help us to trust you in any situation. Help us to believe that if we have any challenging situation in our lives you are there to show us a way. God help us to smile in the midst of our troubles and to wait and see your miracles taking place in our lives. Thank you Lord for your mercy and for forgiving us our sins. Thank you for going to use us for your works. Thank you for hearing our prayer. All this we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!
I was reading the Bible today morning and came across this verse. Though I have read this many times before I really never gave a chance and thought over it. What does Paul mean from this.
Be Joyful in HOPE –
What kind of hope does he talk about in this verse? We always say ‘I hope I got a good job or a good house or a good education or I hope that my child will grow up to be this and that…’ But is this HOPE. No for a Christian I think Hope means Hope of having an eternal life. Hope of being in the place that God is preparing for us along with Him in Eternity. That should be our hope and not the hope of having this or that in the material world. And that hope should keep us happy and going on forever. But believe me that is very difficult. For me it is, I tried many times to be happy in the midst of my troubles but I failed. I never think of this hope and be joyful in it when I am down. It’s impossible for any one without the grace of God. Only if that grace is fully in us we will be able to be joyful in hope.
Patient In Affliction –
That is now even more difficult. Just imagine that you are so well educated but you don’t have a good job and you’re not able to finance for your family, on top of that you have a lot of debts. Or think of any situation in which you are so troubled from all sides and still you are able to stay calm, with full of faith and confidence that your God will make all straight for you. You don’t get upset on others due to all your tensions and you are able to rejoice even in the midst of your oppressors. Then, yes, then that is what is called being “Patient in your afflictions”. This can never be possible for a normal human being in whom there is no grace of God or by a person who does not have a wonderful relationship with The Almighty.
Faithful in Prayer –
What I think of being faithful in prayer is that when we pray we should humble ourselves before God and we should repent for all our sins as said in the parable about the Pharisees and the poor tax collector who came to pray in the house of the Lord. The tax collector accepted that he is a sinner and bet his chest and cried out to the Lord to have mercy but the Pharisees just thanked the Lord that he was not like the tax collector. We should not judge while we pray cause our Lord knows our hearts and all our sins even more than us and its Him to decide if we have any good in us. Moreover we should maintain a good prayer relationship with God and should continuously pray for others who are in pain and suffering. If we have to say about prayer it will not end. Prayer is the best way by which we can cast all our cares out on Him and it’s the best method of communication with The Almighty.
Prayer: -
Lord we thank you for this word that you have given. Lord help us to be so full of your grace and spirit that we can be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Lord we understand that nothing is impossible for you and that you can make all right for us in the right time. But still many a times we have fallen short of your grace and have moved away from your word. We have doubted and grumbled. Forgive us Lord. We are unworthy and sinful. Please have mercy on us and help us to depend on your promises. Help us to trust you in any situation. Help us to believe that if we have any challenging situation in our lives you are there to show us a way. God help us to smile in the midst of our troubles and to wait and see your miracles taking place in our lives. Thank you Lord for your mercy and for forgiving us our sins. Thank you for going to use us for your works. Thank you for hearing our prayer. All this we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!
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