In America, many Christians often pray, “Lord be with my brother while he goes through” or “Lord be with us today as we” or “Lord be with my mother in the hospital as” do this or that (etc.). But should we ever pray this prayer?
This raises an important question. In what sense is the Lord Jesus “with us?”
First, God is omniscient and omnipresent. God is everywhere! God is with everyone, even non-believers. See Amos 9:2,3 (God present even in hell though he does not reveal his presence; rather he hides himself); Jeremiah 23:23,24; Proverbs 15:3; Psalm 139:7-12; Acts 17:27.
Second, the Lord (the Man-God, Jesus Christ) was with the disciples physically (cf. Jn 7:33; 12:8; 13:33; 14:25; 16:4; as well as many other verses in the Gospels).
Third, the Lord is always with and in believers through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of Christ, Rom 8:9; cf. 1 Pet 1:11; Spirit of Jesus, Ac 16:7 & Phil 1:19). Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Lo, I am with you always.” In John 14:16-17, Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit is coming to reside with and in us. In Eph 1:13-14, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Unlike the OT believers and anointed, we have the promise that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5).
Fourth, the Lord is with a group believers (two or more) in a special way. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” The only prerequisite is that they must “gathered together in My name.” Maybe this is why we should not forsake the gathering of believers (cf. Heb 10:23-25).
Rom 15:33 and Phil 4:9 says, “And the God of peace shall be with you,” and likewise in 2 Cor 13:11, “the God of love and peace shall be with you.” In both Phil 4:9 and 2 Cor 13:11 use a finite indicative verb with an emphasis on the subject, God. Futhermore, in both instances the verbs are in the future tense hinting that this is a mere final prayer or wish (similar to Paul’s prayer/wish in 1 Cor 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus”). Both of these statements are connected to the previous statement(s) through the coordinating conjunction “and” almost in a result-oriented or sequential fashion. It seems as though Paul is saying DO THIS and then as a result the God of peace shall be with you. So does that mean that God is not with us if we do not “rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace” (2 Cor 13:11) or “practice these things,” that is, those things that Paul modeled (Phil 4:9)? However, these statements could be modified statements found elsewhere. Elsewhere, in 2 Thess 3:16, Paul prays, “The Lord be with you all!” He also says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” in Rom 16:20, 1 Cor 16:23, Col 4:18, 1 Thess 5:28 and 2 Thess 3:18. In 2 Cor 13:14 there is an expanded version of this same prayer, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
In conclusion, Paul did in fact pray that the Lord would be with the believers at Rome and Corinth. However, this was definitely not the bulk of his prayer for the believers as is often found among us American believers. Instead it was often a final wish or closing prayer. Our prayers should reflect more depth and intimacy.
A better question is, What do we mean by “Lord be with” such and such as they do this or that? If we mean that the Lord is not with them until we pray this prayer, then we are surely wrong. However, if we simply mean, Lord watch over such and such as they do this or that, then surely this is biblical. But then why don’t we simply say that?
It is much easier to pray vaguely and generally than it is to show concern and put forth effort and labor in prayer. So in conclusion, I now believe that it is a biblical prayer in the sense that Paul used it as a final wish or a closing in prayer, but it should not be over-used as it is in American Christian culture. To me, it shows a lack of spirituality and intimacy with the Triune God as well as a lack of experience in prayer.
