“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong”

Why does Paul what to visit the believers in Rome? He wants to give them something. Paul wants to be available; he is interested in making them strong. Is this Paul’s vanity? He has never met these people. No, If it were vanity the gift would be Paul’s visit alone but the gift is a spiritual one. Paul is interested in giving them a gift from God.

Paul longs to see them. A longing comes from a please deeper place than a want. Longings keep us up at night, they make us restless. Paul is a man consumed in prayer that God might will for him to visit these believers, this is longing. What do you long for? When was the last time you were really consumed with the needs of someone else? I know that more me the reality is that I am not often consumed with anyone but me.

Paul’s interest in these strangers welling being is such, that it is not enough for him to simply pray for God to strengthen them by sending someone to them. He offers himself as an answer to his own prayers. When we pray for others are we thinking about how we can be involved in the answer to that prayer? I honestly will often pray for someone’s need then go on and not giving it another thought much less ask God to use me in the answer.

We should long to see others (even strangers!) strengthened by God and we should offer ourselves as participants in God’s response. What we bring and everything we have comes from God. So it should come as little surprise that He might desire to use us to answer our prayers for others. When I pray I want to be asking God how he wishes use me to answer that prayer.