Key Verse: He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. (2 Cor. 1:10-11)
Some people suffer by having a bone broken, and some suffer by having their heart broken. Some experience occasional pain, and some live with chronic pain. Some get pain from accidental causes, and some from bad habits. The apostle Paul suffered pain from persecution for his faith, and especially for propagating that faith. The pain Paul was willing to endure for the sake of the gospel is remarkable. He will describe it in great detail later in this letter (for example, 11:21-29). Here he gives no details, but his pain is clear: “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death” (2 Cor. 1:8-9)
One thing that sustains him in this kind of situation is the knowledge that suffering can have good effects. The effect he names here is that “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (9). Suffering can throw us back on God; it can shake us out of our independence. Intense suffering requires intense faith, and intense faith is a good thing.
This is all true, but the apostle goes beyond this and gives us a lesson in prayer. He writes, “On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.” The people to whom he was writing helped him survive the persecution by their prayers. Paul endured with God’s help, but here, he is saying, God’s help came, not only in answer to his own prayers, but also as a result of their prayers.
Just as Paul’s survival and his success in church planting would not have happened without his perseverance and work, it would not have happened without the prayers of these people in the city of Corinth. Paul recognized that as he traveled spreading the gospel he had teammates who worked alongside him. But here he recognizes that he also has teammates in distant Corinth. They were helping him in his work. They were working with him on their knees. They were calling down the blessing of God on him.
Not all of us can spread the gospel by preaching like the apostle, but we can all do it by praying for those who can. We can all call down the blessing of heaven on our knees. We can be part of the great work of spreading the gospel by prayer. The great evangelist D. L. Moody once said, “I’d rather be able to pray than be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” Are you praying? Are there some who are spreading the gospel whom you are supporting in prayer? They need that support. Will you covenant to pray regularly and earnestly for them?
Prayer: Lord, teach me the value of prayer. Drive me to my knees to pray for the spread of the gospel. May I have the privilege of being a praying teammate of some on the front lines of the gospel here and around the world. Burden me now to support others with my prayers.
Author: Lindsay Hislop was raised in southern Scotland and southern Ontario and now lives in the southern United States. He worked in the engineering field for 15 years (mostly in Canada) before pursuing an academic career. He has taught for over thirty years at Columbia International University. He also serves as an elder in his church, where he teaches and preaches regularly. He is married to a wonderful wife Pam and has two terrific children, Holly, who lives in Canada, and Doug, who lives in Columbia. His four grandchildren, Isaac, Madeline, Lindsay, and Dolan, are also pretty special. He likes doing carpentry and odd jobs around the house.
