Salvation Summaries

This is the third post in a short series of posts on prayer.  The first two were Learning to Pray from Ephesians, Parts 1 and 2. In this one, I will provide observations of Paul’s first prayer in Philippians and offer some helpful hints on how to pray from this and the prior ones I’ve reviewed.  I’ll end with a sample prayer you can use when praying for other believers.

Prayer

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ– to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

Summary

Paul offered this prayer and wrote this letter to help the Philippian believers live a pure and blameless life (one that is set apart from sinners) and thus filled with fruit (love, joy, peace, etc.), for this pleases and glorifies God.

In his prayer, he offered two ways for them to accomplish this: their love was to abound in knowledge, and it was to abound in depth of insight (discernment).  Also, throughout the letter, he gave a number of specific do’s and don’ts in how the Philippians were to live.  Examples include: be like-minded, be gentle, be humble, look out for the interests of others, work out your salvation, don’t complain or argue, watch out for false teachers, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, rejoice, etc.  They were to put into practice what they learned from Paul, who strained to know Jesus as Lord and to live up to the calling he had received.

One thing that has stood out to me in my review of Paul’s prayers thus far is his focus on the spiritual condition of believers.  Most of our prayers (or at least mine anyway) are requests for help with concerns that we or others we know have, such as illness, injury, sorrow, and trials.  Also, to some extent we might pray for guidance or wisdom in making decisions.  However, rarely do we express thankfulness and joy over people who have become believers, or who have made sacrifices to spread the gospel, and seldom do we pray for their spiritual growth.

If the above describes your prayers too, then I have good news for you! The purpose of this post and others I will write is to help you (and me) learn how to pray like Jesus, Paul and David did.  So, keep reading!

Observations

1. We see in the preface to Paul’s prayer (1:3-4), that he prays for the Philippians with thankfulness and joy. Why?  They believe in Jesus and had partnered with him (likely by their deeds, prayers and possibly financial support) in spreading the gospel.  Also, Paul knew that God, who began a good work in them by saving them, would continue to work in their lives. Let me ask you a question.  Does the salvation of others, and their efforts to spread the gospel, bring joy to you also?

2.  It is interesting to note that Paul had joy despite being in prison.  Joy can come in the midst of trials (and per James, we are to have joy in trials!), though it would appear that one must be strong in the faith or a mature Christian to feel this way.

3. Paul did not specifically mention who he was praying to (God, God the Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit), though 1:3 indicates that it was to God.  He did not use any descriptive terms, such as Father of Glory.

4. Paul’s prayer was for believers in Philippi.

5.  In terms of how he prayed (posture, emotion, frequency), we see that he often prayed for these Philippians, and he did so with thankfulness and joy.  We do not know what physical posture he took when he prayed (knelt, bowed down, eyes closed, etc.).

6. The structure of Paul’s prayer can be viewed as a “cause and effect” or an “if, then.”  If two things take place, then three things will result from it.  Or, another way of looking at it is that Paul has three goals for the Philippian believers, and offers two ways to achieve them.

7. In terms of what he prayed about, Paul makes five requests, and they all relate to how the Philippian believers should live.

8. The first request is that their love may abound more in knowledge. Abound means to go over and above; to overflow.  Christians are to abound not only in love, but also in faith, knowledge, earnestness, (2 Cor 8:7), hope (Rom 15:13) and thanks (2 Cor 4:15).  But what does Paul mean by this?  Why did he associate knowledge with love rather than simply ask that they grow in their knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ?  I found this question difficult to answer.  According to the Bible Illustrator, for a love of God to grow, a knowledge of God and divine truth must also grow. Hence, love grows in knowledge. This example might help. When you first became a believer, you likely knew only the basics about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  However, as you learned more about God’s grace, mercy, power, sovereignty, and love, your reverence toward Him and love for Him likely increased.

9. The second request is that their love may abound more in depth of insight.  This phrase is only used once in the New Testament using the NIV.  The NAU version shows the term “discernment” instead (ESV does too), and it also is used only one time.  According to Strong’s Concordance and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, discernment refers to moral discernment and an understanding of ethical matters.  Hebrews 5:14 indicates that discernment comes from constant practice of distinguishing good from evil. Thus, the love of God and others should grow as one increases in their ability to discern right from wrong, good from bad, etc.

10. The third request relates to the second one, for as their depth of insight improves, they will be better able to make wise decisions.

11. The fourth request is that they may be pure and blameless, and this should be the goal of every Christian.  Pure and blameless means to be set apart from sinners. However, worldliness (sensuality, greed, pride, etc.) entices and entraps believers in varying degrees, and makes living a pure and blameless life difficult.  According to several other New Testament verses, there are some things a Christian can do to become pure and blameless (or are associated with living a pure and blameless life), such as do not complain or argue (Phil 2:14-15); be hospitable, love what is good, be self-controlled, upright and disciplined (Titus 1:7-8), tell the truth (Rev 14:5).  Ultimately, though, it appears that we need God to work in us and “strengthen our hearts” (1 Thes 3:12-13) for any real or long lasting improvements to take place.

12.  The fifth request is that they may be filled with the fruit of their righteousness.  Fruit refers to something that the Holy Spirit produces in the lives of believers, and includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Note that joy is a fruit.

Helpful Hints in How to Pray  (based upon three prayers I’ve reviewed thus far)

• Who to pray to:  In the prayers I’ve reviewed, the prayers were to God or God the Father.  This does not mean it’s inappropriate to pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit; we simply need to wait and see if other prayers in the Bible are directed towards them.  It is appropriate to include a descriptive term of God when praying to Him, such as glorious or majestic or gracious, etc.

• What posture to assume when praying: In one prayer, Paul knelt before God, and in the other two, there is no mention of his posture.  Thus, it is appropriate to kneel when you pray, but other forms (standing or sitting, not kneeling or bowing) may be acceptable.

• What attitude to have when praying: In two prayers, Paul expressed sincere thanks for the people he prayed for. In another he had thankfulness and joy.  In all three, he prayed with sincerity and a strong desire to help them grow spiritually.

• What to pray about: all three prayers were about spiritual issues and how to live, rather than physical, emotional or financial concerns.  That is not to say that we cannot pray about these other issues; we simply need to wait and see if other prayers in the Bible mention them.  In Paul’s prayers for other believers, he prayed that:
  • they would know God better
  • they would know they hope to which God has called them
  • they would know the power of God that is available to them, and that God would strengthen them with power
  • Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith
  • they may be able to comprehend the length, width, height and depth of God’s love, and that they may know Christ’s love, which is more valuable than knowledge
  • they may be filled with all the fullness of God
  • their love (for God and others) may abound more in knowledge and depth of insight
  • they may be able to discern what is best
  • they may be pure and blameless
  • they may be filled with the fruit of righteousness (love, joy, peace, etc.).

• How often pray: In two of Paul’s prayers, he frequently prayed for the believers.

• How to end your prayer:  In one of Paul’s prayers, he ended it with Amen, but in the other two he did not. As such, as of now, it may not be required to end your prayer with “in Jesus’ name, Amen.”  In two prayers, Paul closed with an acknowledgement of who God is (or some of His attributes), “to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…to Him be glory”, “His incomparably great power…”  As a result, if you do not end your prayer with “in Jesus’ name, Amen” or something like that,  you might consider ending it by naming and thanking God for one or more of His attributes.

Sample Prayer

Dear God,

We are so thankful for (insert the names of the people you are praying for) our neighbors Steve, BethAnn, and their eight children.  They all appear to be believers in you, and are active in their church. 

We specifically appreciate BethAnn’s desire to go on weekly prayer walks with my wife, and Anna’s desire to have Bible studies and do fun activities with our daughter.

Gracious and loving Father, we ask that you give them discernment in making decisions relating to Steve’s job, and to the many family related issues that arise given their eight children. 

We pray that you plant and then foster within each of their hearts a desire to live pure and blameless lives, to be set apart from the world, and to think and do things that glorify You. 

We are so glad for the good work you have begun in each of them, and look forward to seeing how you will use each one to accomplish your purpose. 

Amen.