2022.02.06 - Prayer For The Saints

What should we pray for those we love? Prayers can take many forms, but Paul shows us what HE prayed for the Philippians; and it can teach us something about what WE should pray for OUR loved ones — as well as what God is trying to work into our lives spiritually. I) Pray For A Love That Overflows (Phil. 1:7-8) A) Love overflows as partners in the gospel (7) The motivation for prayer is love for each other, and that love is first of all a love for each other as partners in the grace that God has given them together through Jesus Christ. Paul can’t wait to get out of prison so he can start sharing the gospel again! That is awesome and should be an encouragement to us to make sharing the gospel more central in our lives. B) Love overflows with the affection of Christ Jesus (8) Paul uses strong language here. He calls God as his witness to testify to the truth of what he is saying. Paul “longs” for the Philippians – the word speaks of an aching desire – he longs to see them again and to be with them again, and he longs for them with the affection of Christ Jesus. II) Pray For A Knowledge That Discerns (Phil. 1:9-10) Paul doesn’t simply tell the Philippians that he is praying for them. He tells them what he is praying for them. Do you want to encourage someone? Let them know you are praying for them. Do you want to really encourage someone? Tell them what you are praying. How do you pray for someone to grow in Christ? Paul gives us four things to pray for in these verses. Let’s take a brief look at each of these. A) Prayer for growth in love (9a) The first prayer we should pray for each other is to grow in love. Our motivation for prayer must be out of an overflow of love for each other, and our Christian growth must first of all be growth in love. But notice that Paul’s prayer is not just for love, but to grow in love, “that your love may abound more and more.” That word abound means “to exceed, to surpass the goal with some left over.” Pray that each other’s love would exceed, would abound, and then pr