Endurance, Encouragement and Unity

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6

The prayer mentioned above sprang forth from a  man of God who was anointed and in deep relationship with the Lord. These words flowed out of a rich understanding that Paul had about who God is and how God wants unity in his family. 

We can learn from Paul’s prayers and also enjoy praying these prayers, but it’s important to realize that we are not called to merely copy his prayers, we are called to know God intimately and have a rich, full prayer life that overflows from our understanding of who he is as well. 

Every believer is called to live in endurance, yet feeling tired, weary or worn out can be a struggle. It’s important to know God is the God of endurance and the more you intentionally look to him for endurance, the more you will be filled. When temptations rise to make you focus on feeling weak or weary, we encourage you to focus on God who can give you all the endurance you need. 

Often times believers can struggle with feeling discouraged and they can also struggle with not knowing how to encourage others. In the Apostle Paul’s life, he endured much persecution and suffering and was often tempted with discouragement, but he knew the true source of encouragement and drew his strength by receiving from God, who is the ultimate encourager. 

Although all believers are called to encourage one another, unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. It’s important to never let a lack of encouragement from other people trump the encouragement from God. As you receive God’s encouragement, allow it to make you a radical encourager as well! 

God wants his family to operate in unity and that happens as we all follow Christ. As we all choose to follow him, that creates a unity of heart, mind and purpose, which results in God being glorified.