1:9-10: For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers 10 making request, if by any means now at length I may be prospered by the will of God to come unto you. 
Paul spent a lot of time praying for the Christians at Rome. Verse 9 helps explain what Paul meant in 1 Thess. 5:17. McGuiggan (p. 64) lists items which sometimes hinder him from praying like Paul. These include:

* The sneaking feeling prayer really doesn’t work.
* Personal guilt that makes us feel unworthy to pray.
* A schedule which is too full to make room for habitual prayer.
* Ignorance about how to pray which leads to boredom during times of prayer.
* Ignorance concerning the specific will of God so the believer is unable to intelligently pray for many things.
* Realizing God already knows about the request and He is about to again hear our prayer.

McGuiggan (same page) also lists things which help him pray like Paul prayed.

* The word
* The example of Jesus.
* Answered prayers.
* Good study habits.
* An honest attempt to live a life pleasing to God.
* Being around praying people.

One of the items about which Paul prayed was a visit to Rome. The word translated “making request” (deomai) meant to “ask, ask please, to beg.” This term “indicates an intensity of petition and an earnestness of Paul the beggar” (Owen, p. 3). Paul wanted to be “prospered” (euodoomai). This is the word Paul used in 1 Cor. 16:2. Aside from Rom. 1:10 and 1 Cor. 16:2, this term is only found in 3 Jn. 2 (it occurs twice in this verse). Here, it means “whether I will finally succeed” (Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (2:81). Paul had a burning desire to see the Christians in Rome. “While all men of that time aspired to see the fabled capital city of the world of that day, Paul did not measure his longing on the basis of the outward magnificence of the great city; he longed to meet with his fellow believers. Some were his kinsmen, some had been fellow workers, some were prisoners, but all were his Christian brothers and sisters” (CBL, Romans, p. 23).
In spite of Paul’s intense desire, he left the matter up to God (verse 10, “by the will of God”). This is another lesson adults and young people need to hear regarding prayer. Our requests need to be stated in a way where we are always mindful of God’s will and what would be best. This is what Jesus did when He was in the garden. “To find the will of God is the greatest discovery. To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement” (CBL, Romans, p. 23).
If we do pray for God’s will to be done, we must be prepared for the possibility that we may not like heaven’s plans. God’s will may be something we do not want to do. It is not necessary to always like God’s will but it is necessary to do His will.
If we have difficulty ascertaining God’s will, McGuiggan (Romans, p. 68) offers these pointers:

* Where God hasn’t made himself clear, He takes full responsibility.
* God is not like a train; He is able to run on more than one track.
* There are times when the subject is not good or bad, but better and best.
* If we are uncertain and the decision does not need to be made right away, wait for a while.
* Major in the will of God.

The other item which needs to be mentioned comes from verse 9. Paul said he served God in his “spirit” (heart). This corresponds with Jn. 4:24. Christians are to put their heart and soul into serving God. The word translated “serve” (latreuo) is used to describe the priestly service in Heb. 9:9; 10:2. It was also used by Paul to describe the service given by the Gentiles to idols (Rom.