A Prayer for Fresh Endurance and Encouragement

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Rom. 15:5–7)

Well we have completed another week in our journey. Today’s prayer is another one from the collection written by Pastor Scotty Smith in Everyday Prayers -365 Days to Gospel Centered Faith:

Heavenly Father, I’m like a hungry little bird with my mouth wide open this morning. I’m glad you’re the God who gives endurance and encouragement, for I’m starving for both. Bring an abundance of both, Father—“good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over” (Luke 6:38)!

I praise you for these twin sisters of grace. One without the other would simply not be enough. Endurance without encouragement can atrophy into heartless stoicism. Encouragement without endurance can wither into short-lived enthusiasm. Give us both, bunches of both.

Father, I’m not just praying for me but for the whole family of believers with whom I’m so privileged to walk. Along with endurance and encouragement, I ask you to give us a fresh supersized order of unity. How else will we be able to glorify you with one heart and one mouth? How else will we even want your glory above our own preferences and priorities?

Our church family is so much like the churches Paul was addressing in Rome. We come from many different backgrounds. We’ve been rescued from nonreligion and gospelless religion. We have different perspectives and varying passions. We are at different stages in knowing how to follow Jesus and knowing what following Jesus actually means. All in all, we are prime candidates for a fresh visitation of the Holy Spirit, for he is the true Spirit of Unity.

Father, whether or not we actually get to experience a full-bore revival, help us to accept one another just as Jesus has already accepted each of us. This brings you great praise. The gospel we already have is all the gospel we actually need. Our city and the nations of the world are desperate to see Christ-followers who know how to love one another when it’s easy and when it’s not. Let us be just such a people. We pray expectantly, in Jesus’ mighty and merciful name. Amen.

Smith, Scotty (2011-09-01). Everyday Prayers for a Transformed Life: 365 Days to Gospel-Centered Faith (Kindle Locations 7214-7232). Baker Book Group. Kindle Edition.

Thanks for joining me this week, my brothers. God bless you. – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Team YOU: Isaiah 63-64; Proverbs 19; 2 Thessalonians 2

Motivations: To put your trust in the world or in worldly men is to build your house upon the sand, for today they will raise you aloft and tomorrow will so cast you down that there will be no trace left of you, for they are in all things unstable. Sadhu Sundar Singh

Practice to Remember: Level 1:James 2:5; Level 2: James 2:1-5

Powered Up:  A prayer offered by the humblest and most obscure saint on the ground of the Redemption of Christ demands the complete attention of God and the performance of His program. Oswald Chambers