751 Hope and Prayer - Romans 12:12

Do you consider yourself a hopeful person?

Hi, I'm Mike Henry Sr. with Follower of One. Thanks for joining me again today on the Follower of One Podcast. I'm grateful that you're here.

We're talking through a series in Romans 12. We're talking about the interactions we have with other people. And in this section of Romans 12, Paul gives us this rapid fire succession of things that we can do in our interactions with others that glorify God. And we're in Romans 12:12 today. The passage reads from the English Standard Version, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

I think it's interesting how Paul contrasts hope and tribulation, or affliction as it states in some of the other translations. We can rejoice when we have a positive idea about what's happening or about to happen. But we sometimes can get discouraged if we're undergoing any kind of difficulty or trouble.

So it's like Paul is saying, if you're hopeful, great! Experience your joy. But if you're facing trouble, be patient. The New American Standard says "persevere." We have to push through or hang on or persevere through our trouble, our tribulation. When we're experiencing good times, enjoy them. But when we are facing trouble, let's be patient and persevere.

And in all of these situations, in good times and bad, let's be constant in prayer. I think that to me is the greatest challenge from this verse. It's easy for me to rejoice about hope. It's a challenge to be patient in trouble. I often get urgent, or whiny, or complain to God when I'm facing difficulties and troubles.

But if I can be patient in those, the answer to my situation (both good or bad) is always to be constant in prayer. In good times and in bad, when I'm consistently praying, I see God work. He makes a difference in the lives of the people that I interact with every day.

When I'm constant in prayer, God changes me. He makes me fit for the circumstances. He puts me to work in everything that I do, and he will do that for you as well.

So today I want to challenge us as marketplace Christians. Let's enjoy the positive times. Let's persevere through the difficult times, and let's be constant in praying to God through all times.

That's this reminder for us today. We become a marketplace minister when we let the Bible inform us. And here in this one compact little verse, we have this easy to memorize: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Let's practice those things today and see how God uses us in our workplace.

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