PAUL’S PRAYER STRATEGY
Philippians 1:8-11
“For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
The motivation for Paul’s prayer ministry for the Philippian believers is seen in the fact that, if you genuinely care for someone, you want the very best for them and for their lives to count for the Lord as much as possible. Paul recognized that one of the greatest forces that can be unleashed in the lives of believers that demonstrates the power of the gospel in this world is agape love - “the love that assesses the worth of an individual as infinite; a love that is concerned primarily with the well-being of that person.” However, this love is not ignorant or blind. It doesn’t do stupid things nor make unwise decisions. It has guidelines. It is a controlled love, a discerning love. Agape love is like a mighty river that flows between two banks, the banks of knowledge and discernment, which give control and direction to this love.
Paul states it this way in that the first thing he prays for these believers is that their love might abound or overflow in real knowledge and discernment. Let’s take a look at these “banks.”
Knowledge - “a God directed knowledge.” A real, full, advanced knowledge.” This is not just an accumulation of facts in the mind. This is spiritual knowledge gained from an understanding of divine truth illuminated by the Holy Spirit. This kind of knowledge guides you in an understanding of God and what He commands you to love, a knowledge of what real love is and how it operates (I Corinthians 13; Phil. 3:10).
Discernment - (mentioned here and in Hebrews 5:14). The word means “sense perception or insight.” It does not mean total insight but breadth of insight. This is the counterpart of knowledge. This is moral perception that provides understanding as to how to integrate, knowledge to life situations in human relationships. It is one thing to have an accurate understanding of truth. It is quite another thing to discern how that truth relates to life. Next we come to see:
Agape love makes wise choices (v.10) “approve the things that are excellent”. I believe this means those things that are better or superior, excellent or of greater value (Matthew 6:26; 12:12; Romans 2:18). Paul prays that these believers might accept what God has proved or deemed to be of superior value- the ability to make proper decisions in the midst of a vast array of different choices – to make hard but right decisions.
• Discernment between evil and what appears to be good and intrinsic good (Hebrews 5:14).
• Discernment between the good, the better and the best.
Paul goes on to pray that the believer will be:
• sincere (“sincere” conveys “purity, spotless, free from stain.” ) This pictures precious metal with the dross removed, free from foreign substance.
• without offense – “blameless, one who is very careful not to put something in someone’s path that would cause them to stumble”.
• For how long? - Until the Day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). This brings us to the fact of personal accountability. Every believer will one day give a personal account of himself to the Lord Jesus Christ (II Cor. 5:10, I John 3:3).
• The end result? – A productive life that brings glory and praise to God. This reflects the quality that comes out of a life that is sincere and without offense (John15:1-5; Galatians 5:22, 23).
Let’s allow Paul’s prayers to serve as a guideline to our praying, thus we can be assured that we are praying in the will of God. God bless.