stephen R Harrison

(Read Philippians 1:4, 9-11)

How often do you pray for others?  It’s easy to begin our prayers with “God help me” and “Here’s what I need.”  Fellowship with other believers includes praying for them.  Paul said this brings him joy (v. 4), a significant theme in this epistle.  To pray for other believers, you must be in fellowship with them.  How else would you know how to pray for them or when that prayer request has changed or come to pass?  I’m not talking about what you want to pray for them, but the prayer needs they have already expressed.  

It seems the Philippians were a loving church body. The structure of Paul’s prayer resembled that of prayers for the Colossians (1:9-11).  Paul observed their love at work (Philippians 2:25-30; 4:10-20), so he prayed their love would abound (v. 9).  Love is crucial to Christianity (Deut. 6:5; Luke 10:27; John 13:35; 1 John 2:7-11).  They had a degree of love, but Paul wanted it to explode exponentially, so he took it to God in prayer.  Love comes from God (1 John 4:7) because God is love (4:8).  

How does love grow? How do you implement it? Paul prayed for their “knowledge and depth of insight” (Philippians 1:9).  They needed to know how to love.  He prayed they would “discern what is best” to grow (v. 10).  They needed to know when to love.  He also prayed that their purity and blamelessness would flourish given Christ, Who would return (v. 10).  They needed to understand what love looked like.  Paul didn’t stop there as he prayed the Philippian believers would be “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (v. 11).  They needed to know why to love.  

“In all my prayers” (v. 4) shows us that Paul didn’t pray sparingly for his fellow believers.  His prayers weren’t wimpy – they were beefy!  He wanted the Philippians to mature, developing the character of Christ.  Paul lifted power-packed prayers often for all those he loved.  Paul’s motive wasn’t well-polished prayers to impress his hearers.  He only had one audience: Jesus, one motive: for God’s glory (v. 11), and one mission: the Philippians’ spiritual development.  

Questions for the Head (Think)

• Do you consistently pray for your fellow believers in the same manner as Paul?

Reflection for the Heart (Worship)

• Stop now and pray that God will give you a heart of compassion, concern, and love for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Action for the Hands (Do)

• Write down the names of ten people in your church for whom you can pray.  Pray the points Paul did in Philippians 1:4, 9-11 for each of them.