The Nugget:
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
My Comment:
In my continuing study of the prayer life of Paul (of which this is Part 3), I want to demonstrate for every reader here a way to dig deeper into this subject.
At Colossians 1:9 there is given a cross reference in The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury (UCRT) and also The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (NTSK) for the key words “do not cease” a cross reference to Romans 1: 9. I have placed the symbol “+*” before the reference (NTSK) or “+” (UCRT) to indicate that more references to Paul’s prayers may be found at Romans 1:9.
From the UCRT for Colossians 1:9
do not cease. **1Sa 12:23, *Act 12:5, *+Rom 1:9, Eph 1:16, Php 1:4, 1Th 1:3; +*1Th 5:17, *2Th 1:11; *2Th 1:12, 2Ti 1:3-4, Phm 1:4.
The plus sign means “find more here.”
Going to the cross references given at Romans 1:9 the following cross references are given:
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
without ceasing. **1Sa 12:23, *Luk 18:1, Act 6:4; *Act 12:5, Eph 1:15-16; *Eph 6:18, 1Th 1:3; 1Th 2:13; *1Th 3:10; +*1Th 5:17, *2Ti 1:3.
Also relevant to the study of Paul’s prayer life are the cross references at Romans 1:9 from the UCRT for the key words I make mention, where the cross references lead to passages which contain Paul’s prayers:
I make mention. *Eph 1:16-19; *Eph 3:14-21. *Php 1:3; *Php 1:4; *Php 1:9-11, *Col 1:9-13, 1Th 1:2; 1Th 3:6, +2Ti 1:3, *Phm 1:4.
Here are the texts of the reference passages given for the key words “I make mention” as they are given in the UCRT (The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury):
Ephesians 1:16-19
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
King James Version
Ephesians 3:14-20
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
King James Version
Philippians 1:3-4
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
King James Version
Philippians 1:9-11
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
King James Version
Colossians 1:9-13
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
King James Version
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
King James Version
1 Thessalonians 3:6
6 But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
King James Version
2 Timothy 1:3
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
King James Version
Philemon 1:4
4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
King James Version
The above Bible texts let you see at a single reading what prayers of Paul are recorded in the New Testament. Each prayer, and each part of each prayer, are worthy of further study for our own instruction about how to pray, for whom to pray, how often to pray, and suggestions regarding what to include in our own prayers. These topics, Lord willing, will form the subjects of future posts on the prayer life of Paul.