PRAYER + PRAISE
Love More
- Adam Cole // June 8, 2009
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. —Philippians 1:9-11
Paul, as he writes to the various churches of the world throughout his missionary journeys, was an encourager, consistently giving his full heart, consistently uplifting Christ so that others may be uplifted. Here, in writing to the people at Philippi, he captures this essence with a prayer that includes elements of love, knowledge (of God), purity, and righteous. It speaks to the idea of readying ourselves for Jesus Christ, being sanctified through Him, in order that we may give glory to God.
Paul’s prayer seems to center on knowing the truth—through a connection based in love with Christ—in order to maintain the standards of righteousness that God has for each of us, to remain blameless before Him.
Paul puts this simply in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
There are many pitfalls, many traps of life and doors of deception that lead could us astray. The power of discernment, thus, is crucial in order to lead the lives that God has planned for us.
Let us meditate and say this prayer for others, as Paul did, such that each of us flow with that righteousness and are one with Him.
Praise: The work achieved through Jesus Christ.
Prayer: That we get deep in Christ in order to discern good from evil and remain always obedient in Him.
Prayer for Today: Lord, we thank You for today, for every day we get to spend with You. Today we meditate on the process of discerning, so that we can attain the fruits of righteousness, to be blameless before you, and ultimately give You glory through the process. Fill our hearts and minds with Your truth, so that we can always choose wisely, and please You. You are our rock and shield, our everything. In the name of Jesus, Amen.