Philippians 1:9-11
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.
As employees, we are appraised by our superiors to gauge how competent we are in our particular line of work. As Christians, if we are to be evaluated on our prayer life, what would our mark be?
Personally, how would you rate your prayer life? If you had to give yourself a grade, would it be a 100%, 90%, 75% or would you choose the word "incomplete". Let's phrase the question into a multiple choice question:
Is your prayer life, A) Excellent, B) Above average, C) Average, D) Below average or E) "I need help!”? Probably many of us would choose E because we feel our prayer life truly does need help.
As we think about prayer, let's begin with three simple statements:
1. Prayer is both the easiest and the hardest discipline of the Christian life.
2. Almost everyone prays. Believers and non-believers, and almost everyone feel he can improve in this area.
3. Prayer presents us with both theological and practical problems.
"Prayer is the very sword of the saints," said Francis Thompson. If that is true, why do we often keep the sword in the scabbard? Lee Robertson called prayer "the Christian's secret weapon, forged in the realms of glory". Why, then, do we not use it more effectively? Often we simply don't know what to say when we pray. I'm thinking especially of those moments when we begin to pray for others beyond our most intimate circle. What do you do when you have a large list of people to pray for, including loved ones, friends, neighbors, co-workers, missionaries, and others whom you hardly know at all? Lord, bless uh..uh..uh “Lisa" then we go to the next name “and bless Jim" then we go to the next name: "Lord I ask that You really bless the missionaries in Africa" And on it goes.
As one man remarked, if we took the word "bless" out of our prayer vocabularies, some of us would never pray again. While I believe it is perfectly appropriate to ask God to bless people, I think we can move far beyond that and, in so doing, dramatically increase the effectiveness of our prayers. Let us look closer to Paul's prayer for the Philippians and use it as blueprints for powerful praying (with the aid and guidance of the Holy Spirit of course).
Paul's prayer includes three points: Three P's
1. PROSPER
V9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.
Abound in love:
The word ABOUND comes from the Greek word περισσεύω perisseuō (per-is-syoo'-o) which means to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel: - (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance, (be more) abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).
As a proof of his great affection for the people of Philippi, Paul puts this petition on their account; which supposes that they had love, as they must certainly have, since the good work of grace had begun in them, for wherever the work of the Spirit of God is, there is love. Imagine an empty cup slowly being filled with water. When the water reaches the brim, it begins to overflow down the sides of the cup. That’s the picture Paul has in mind- love filling the hearts of the Philippians until it overflows. If you would notice, almost all prayers of the Apostle Paul begin with a petition for love. That’s because love is supreme of all Christian virtues.
…And (grow) in Knowledge and in Judgment
The word KNOWLEDGE Gk ἐπίγνωσις epignōsis (ip-ig'-no-sis) meaning: recognition, that is, (by implication acknowledgement: - (ac-) knowledge (-ing, -ment).
Paul's prayer continues with a request that the Philippians might grow in their knowledge of God. This sort of knowledge goes beyond factual information. It is a kind of knowing that comes from a deep, personal, and intimate relationship with another person. In context, Paul is praying that their love express itself in an intimate knowledge of who God is.
JUDGMENT αἴσθησις aisthēsis (ah'ee-sthay-sis) means perception, that is, (figuratively) insight.
If knowledge is the accumulation of facts, judgment however, is an advance upon knowledge. Judgment is the correct use of the facts. In other translations, they used the word "insight", which in Greek speaks of moral discrimination, the ability to look at various options and say, "This one is good. That one is better.”
As a tiny rudder guides a massive ship, our lives often turn on small decisions and unexpected events. We like to think that these decisions don't matter, but they do because each decision is connected with other decision, like so many links in the chain of life itself. This one is best "This leads to the second point in his prayer.
2. PRUDENCE:
Prudence means the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason.
v 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent, KJV (that you may have the gift of true discrimination, NEB)
APPROVE δοκιμάζω dokimazō (dok-im-ad'-zo) means to test (literally or figuratively); by implication to approve: - allow, discern, examine, X like, (ap-) prove, try
There is a process of testing metals, such as gold ore and coins, to find out what they were worth. There is gold and "fool's" gold. It looks like gold to the naked eye, but it isn't, and it's not worth anything. Too many Christians settle for "fool's gold" in the choices they make.
EXCELLENT διαφέρω diapherō; (dee-af-er'-o) means to bear through, to “differ”, or (by implication) surpass: - be better, be (more) excellent, be of more value.
Paul prays that the Philippians old have such love and insight that they would continually make wise choices in life. He prayed that they would not be satisfied with the status quo or with spiritual mediocrity but push on to true spiritual excellence. In a sense he is asking God for the gift of "spiritual discrimination"-the ability to make wise choices under pressure.
His prayer continues with the results that flow from the above points mentioned, which leads to the third point.
3. PURITY - Unmixed with any matter, spotless, stainless
That ye may be sincere and without offence.
SINCERE εἰλικρινής eilikrinēs –(eilik-ree-nace') >heilē (the sun’s ray) and judged by sunlight, that is, tested as genuine (figuratively): - pure, sincere.
A broken pottery in the Ancient world was often covered with wax and painted over. People were deceived into thinking that they were buying sound vases. However, if they were to hold this vase up in the sun, the sun would reveal the cracks. To be pure means to live in such a way that the truth about who we are is clear, that when we are held up to the light of the sun of who God is, there is nothing to hide. "No wax" of pretense and hypocrisy can be found in our lives.
WITHOUT OFFENCE/BLAMELESS ἀπρόσκοπος Aproskopos (ap-ros'-kop-os) >, not leading into sin; passively faultless, that is, not led into sin: - none (void of, without) offence.
This is derived from a Greek word which the opposite meaning is Scandal-originally referred to the bait in a trap that would catch unsuspecting animals. It came to mean a lifestyle that caused others to fall into sin, In contrast, a blameless person is free from moral scandal-you don't stumble into sin and you don’t cause others to stumble because of your sins.
FRUITFUL LIFE
The Bible often uses the metaphor of a fruit tree to describe both life of the righteous and the life of the wicked. Regarding false prophets, Jesus declared that by their fruits we would know them. This is precisely what Paul is praying for-the fruit of visible Christian character. A fruitful life is one that is distinctively Christian on every aspect
Conclusion:
Let us be encouraged, inspired and challenged by the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Philippians. He prayed the life of Christ be in the soul of these people.
He prayed that they would have overflowing love and wisdom to choose the best things in life, and he did not mean the best things in general, he meant God’s best for them. He prayed that they would pursue what is prized and prize what is of value.
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