Saturday September 12, 2015

Read Philippians 1:9-11

As churches and as individuals I suspect that we rarely think about why we pray certain things. We accept the superficial reasoning - I pray because there is a need. Rarely do we tell God and each other why we are praying such things.

Think about the example on Wednesday of the person who lost his/her job. As you commit to praying for this person, in whatever way you choose to pray, would you tell God (in your prayers) or that person why you prayed what you did? If you prayed for a new job would you tell God or that person why you are praying for a new job? If you prayed for a rich closeness to God, would you tell that person and God why you are praying this? This ‘why’ factor is seriously lacking in all our prayers.

Consider Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in Vs 9-11.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, “10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul tells the Philippians and us why he’s praying for their love to abound in knowledge. The italicised, underlined and bold text show the several purposes of his prayer for the Philippians. The bold text shows the overarching purpose of his prayers. As a brief aside, one can assume that when Paul actually prayed for the Philippians that he prayed V 10 and 11 as well. There is no indication that he would have omitted Vs 10-11 as he petitioned God for the Philippians.

The first reason Paul gives for his prayers is in verse 10 (see italicised text) - so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. As the Philippians know God better they naturally grow in love for Him. As they grow in love for God they will be more apt to discern what is best for their lives and for their day to day worship of God. Out of this they will more willingly choose to be pure and blameless as they walk forward to the coming day of the Lord Jesus Christ (see underlined text).

The second reason for Paul’s prayer is given in  V 11 - filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ (italics and underlined text). Paul wants the believers to be increasingly filled with the fruit of righteousness, through the work of God’s Holy Spirit. Paul doesn’t want our growth in holiness and Christ-likeness to be guilt driven or duty driven but rather to be love motivated. Paul wants the believers to growing in love for God which is a direct result of growing in knowledge of God.

The third reason Paul prays is given above in bold text – to the glory and praise of God. Paul wants the lifestyle of the Philippians to bring glory and praise to God their redeemer. He wants the answered prayers to bring glory and honour to God.

So as you pray let me encourage you to think about why you are praying the things you pray. Let me encourage you to tell God and the person or people you are praying for why you are praying as well. It’ll revolutionise your prayers. It’ll bless those you pray for and it’ll bring glory and honour to God.

Prayer:

Using today’s Bible passage and notes write down points for

Adoration:

Confession

Thanks

Supplication:

· Can you pray Philippians 1:9-11 for 15 people or families in your congregation.

· Think of the prayers you need to pray for people in your church and jot down their needs, the prayer you would normally pray and why you are praying that prayer for them. Pray this prayer including the why factor.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. In your prayers, do you tell God why you are praying what you do? Why or why not?

2. What does telling God why we are praying achieve?

3. Why should we tell others why we prayed what we did?