Monday, August 3, 2026

Romans 1:8-15 

Prayer of Thanksgiving 

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened— 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as I have among the rest of the gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, 15 hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 

One of the odd ways our brains are wired is with a bias towards negativity. We are 14 times more likely to be negative than positive. Paul, a believer just like us, often talked about a “thorn in his side.” While many scholars have speculated what that thorn might be, I wonder if for our purposes today, it could be that he wrestled with this bias towards negativity.  

Like many things that are inclined to do, it takes real persistence to practice a new way of being. Paul says that he prays for his friend “unceasingly.” Each and every day, Paul chooses to lift the Roman church up in prayer and thanksgiving to God. 

I know this may come as a shock (or it might not!), but pastoring a community is hard work that often puts in in close proximity to people who need a whole lot of grace. It can be a challenge to remain compassionate, kind, and positive in some of the regular situations that come with shepherding a community.  

I think that is why Paul prays. Not just for them, but for his pastoring of them. In the same way that God constantly pours grace into Paul’s story, Paul is passing that gift along to his church plants and being changed in the process.  

I’m sure that you can name a list of people you struggle to love.  

They may just be the people Paul is inviting you to pray for today.  

– Pr. Jason 

Jesus, thank you for forgiving me day after day. Help me to show the same grace to the people in my life. Shape me through the gift of prayer so that I can make room in my heart for not just the people I like, but all the people you love. Amen.