The Big Idea: Pray the line but trust the curve.

Day 1

Featured Verse: Romans 15:30
- What does it look like for you personally to “join in the struggle” or “strive together” with someone in prayer, rather than simply offering a casual request?
- How does the idea of striving in prayer challenge or encourage your current prayer habits, particularly when it comes to interceding for specific needs or people?
- What practical steps could you take to more intentionally “strive together” in prayer for those who, like Paul, are facing opposition or carrying a difficult ministry burden?

“That ye strive together with me in your prayers — The word here employed signifies the strongest exertion, alluding to the struggle of wrestlers in the games. Prayer, then, is not a formal exercise. This shows the great importance at all times, to the Lord’s people, of an ardent spirit of prayer. It is through prayer that the Lord is usually pleased to bestow His favors. He requires to be asked, and asked repeatedly and earnestly, for the things which He has promised to bestow.” - Robert Haldane

Day 2

Featured Verse: Romans 15:31
- In what ways has praying for someone’s protection or for the success of their ministry deepened your own sense of partnership with them and with God?
- How do you wrestle with the tension of asking God to restrain opposition or soften hearts, while still trusting His sovereignty over outcomes that may not match our hopes?
- Who in your life or circle of influence is currently carrying a ministry burden that needs prayer for both safety and acceptance, and what would it look like for you to join them in that struggle.

“Observe what kind of prayer he asks for: ‘That ye strive together,’—that ye ‘agonize,’—that is the word. You have before you in this expression a reminder of that great agony in Gethsemane… ‘Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly.’ … ‘I do beg of you, my true brothers, if you be so indeed, to agonize together with me in your prayers to God for me.’” - Charles Spurgeon

Day 3

Featured Verse: Romans 15:32
- What does it look like for you to experience genuine refreshment or mutual encouragement in the company of other believers, and when have you tasted that most deeply?
- When have the prayers of other Christians renewed your strength for ministry or faith, and how did you experience that renewal?
- How might you more intentionally pray not only for protection or success in someone’s work, but also for the joy and mutual refreshment that can result when God’s will is accomplished?

“He longs for two things from his friends in Rome: He wants them to join him in wrestling, and he wants to join them in resting. Wrestling and resting. Almost everything he wants from these relationships can be summed up under one or the other of these two desires: Wrestle alongside me for my safety in Jerusalem. And may God grant that I will be able to rest joyfully alongside you in Rome. Partners in wrestling. Partners in resting. … Between the battles, and even in the battles, there is rest—together. God loves to refresh his people through his people.” - John Piper

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