“HOW TO PRAY FOR ANYONE ABOUT ANYTHING!”
Philippians 1:9-11
“Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.”
- Prayer is both the easiest and hardest discipline of the Christian life.
- Almost every believer feels they could improve in prayer.
- Prayer presents us with both theological and practical problems.
“Prayer is the very sword of the saints,” (Francis Thompson)
1. AN OVERFLOWING LIFE.
9a-“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more.”
Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
S.D. Gordon, in his book Quiet Talks, “The heart of the world is hungry and the world is hungry for a heart…..The shortest road into any man is through his heart.”
HE PRAYED FOR A GROWING LOVE. Vs. 9B
- He wanted their love to “abound.” The word means to overflow.
- Sometimes we say that “Love is blind.” God says, “No, love needs clear vision.”
Paul wants the Philippians to learn to think “Christianly” in every situation.
- Paul’s prayer was that their love would “abound,” overflow, and notice: “yet more and more.”
HE PRAYED FOR A GUIDED LOVE. Vs. 9c
This love is not only to grow (abound more and more), but also to be guided by “knowledge” and “judgment.”
Paul prays that the Philippians would have such love and knowledge that they would continually make wise choices in life.
Real love is always responsive, but responsive based on all the facts.
It is a love that sees the positives and the negatives as well. Whereas love sees the good, love never overlooks the bad because of the good.
2. AN OVERRULED LIFE.
Paul prays that they might “approve things that are excellent” (Vs. 10). He describes a law that should govern our lives.
AN OVERHAULED LIFE. Vs. 10
- The word “approve” means to test, to set the approval on one thing rather than another.
- The word “blameless” comes from the Greek word family skandalon, from which we get the English word “scandal.”
AN OVERFRUITFUL LIFE. Vs. 11
“Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.”
- The Bible often uses the metaphor of a fruit tree to describe both the life of the righteous and the life of the wicked.
- Note that this fruit comes “through Jesus Christ.” As we are rooted deeply in him, and as we draw our strength from him, his power flows through us and produces the “fruit of righteousness” in us.
- “Excellent”= The word indicates that we are not only to test the good and bad and make the good a priority, but also that this testing is to produce a discernment of that which is good and that which is better.
3. AN OVERCOMING LIFE. Vs. 11
THE Theo-Doxy Life! – “To the glory and praise of God.” “Theo” means “God,” and “doxy” means “glory” (as in the word Doxology). A “THEO-DOXY” life is one that brings glory or praise to God.
Such a person actually enhances God’s reputation in the world.
Prayer is the very sword of the saints. Use it! God gave you a secret weapon so that by your prayer in secret, you can change the world.
A LIFE OF MISSION.
His prayer is that we be “sincere and without offense” (1:10).
- The word “sincere” speaks of the transparency of life. It speaks of that which is unadulterated, unmixed with incompatible ingredients.
Paul is describing a life that is on the outside what it is on the inside. It is transparent.
What you see is what you see all the way through.
- Being without “offense.” The word is often translated “blameless.”
A LIFE OF MASTERY
1. Paul speaks of a life that is empty of all hypocrisy and then a life filled with the fruits of righteousness. He speaks not only of a life empty of wrong things but also filled with right things.
2. But notice carefully that this fruit is the product of a mastered life: “by Jesus Christ.” It is Christ being Lord of life and Him filling the life with the fruits of righteousness.