Hope For What We Do Not Yet Have
Therefore, brothers
and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live
according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if
by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
For those who are led
by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not
make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you
received brought about your adoption to sonship. And
by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of
God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order
that we may also share in his glory.
I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager
expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was
subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the
whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we
were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they
already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it
patiently.
In the same way, the
Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Romans
8:12-26
For those who follow
Jesus Christ, it is a mistake to view the remarkable as ordinary. Think about
prayer for instance. At any moment we can talk to the Creator God who spoke the
universe into existence! Not only are we welcomed into His presence, we are invited
to enter boldly.
God is
always available to hear the prayers of His children.
Our Daily Bread –