2 Corinthians 9:14

Prayer for you. Paul thinks of the praise that will ascend to God from the saints at Jerusalem when they receive the contribution.

Long after. Or, “yearn for.” An important by-product of Christian service is the resulting spirit of prayer and love. With the non-Christian recipient, attention often centers on the gift, but for the Christian, upon the giver. Prayer for another without love and yearning of heart is not much more than word and form. Love without prayer is shallow, and may not even be true love (see on Matthew 5:43, 44). But prayer motivated by love perfects both and leads to the transformation of character. In this instance, the hearts of the Jewish Christians would be knit with those of their Gentile brethren in deeper and truer fellowship.