Philippians 1.1-11
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”
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Hi my friends,
As a result of studying the passage above, I've been thinking about something simple, but profound – the idea that "Love is - a Prayer." If you are old enough, you might remember the old cartoon strip (https://www.loveiscartoon.com/)?
I often preach on what Christian love looks like. However, I don't think I've ever spoken specifically on how loving it is to pray for one another. From what I see in Phil 1.1-11, if we love one another from the heart, it naturally leads to praying for each other with joy. Those prayers help us grow up in Christ, both individually and as a church. I wanted to share a bit about what I've learned.
Joyful Prayer
What really struck me was Paul’s paradoxical joy. Here's Paul, sitting in prison, yet he remembers the Philippian church "always in every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy". Can you imagine? Someone described him as "the happiest man in Rome" even though he was a prisoner. It reminds me of how he and Silas sang in prison in Philippi years before (Acts 16.25). What an inspiration. We can pray for others with joy, no matter what tough stuff we're personally going through right now.
I know our lives are busy, and we all have our own problems (I have a long list). But reading Paul made me wonder about my prayers. So, since last Thursday, I've been praying daily for every person who comes regularly to our church events - with joy. “Father, I pray with joy for……”. Even if I wasn't feeling joyful to start with, just saying it, and imagining that joy, helped it come alive.
I am so grateful for the experiment. I've felt a deeper connection with the church. And, last Sunday, after a few days of praying that way, I experienced more joy than usual during our collective worship. It also highlighted to me where I am not as close to some people, or where I am just plain ignorant of people's needs. It's been a sobering but encouraging process that makes me reflect about how God bonds us together.
Purposeful Prayer
Paul's prayers weren't just joyful; they were purposeful. He was praying "that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment". He wanted their love – that deep, "eating together in love" kind of 'agape' – to overflow. Not just emotion, but a love that grows in understanding and complete capacity for understanding how to live the Christian life.
And what was the goal of all this prayer? To help them become "sincere" (pure in motivation) and "without offence" (blameless, helping love grow instead of causing division or lukewarmness). Ultimately, it was so they'd be "filled with the fruits of righteousness" - a harvest of living in openness of love and rightness with God and other Christians.
Prayer roots support and feed kingdom fruit into one another. Our individual prayers feed the whole body of Christ, helping us bear a "harvest of righteousness". It's not just Paul either. Take Epaphras. In his prayers for the Colossians, he was "wrestling" for them to "stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God" (Colossians 4.12).
I had an unforgettable experience with my Watford unity prayer group recently. One of the people was going through an incredibly tough time. When he shared, we just stopped everything. We were all crying as we prayed for him. But by the time we finished, even though we started with tears, we were praying "with joy" because we were sharing his burden, supporting him, and truly connecting in Christian fellowship. That, to me, is what "bearing one another's burdens" (Galatians 6:2) is all about.
Jesus is our model
When we pray for one another, we're imitating Jesus Himself. He prayed for His followers to be protected and "completely one," (John 17.15; 22-23). He intercedes for us even now (Romans 8.34). When we pray for one another (as Jesus did) we are performing a beautiful act of discipleship and Christlikeness that brings glory and praise to God.
It’s been a learning week for me. I’m continuing this practice for the coming days. How do you feel about the idea of praying for others with joy? If you’re finding it hard, I wonder what that might reveal in your heart – maybe unresolved issues or a lack of love from the heart? What I've found is that this simple act of joyful prayer changes how I feel towards my brothers and sisters, and, feeds God's strength and power into our church. He will help us personally and collectively to be able to bear a harvest of righteousness fruit that glorifies God. It's not complicated, and it’s something all of us can do.
So, I'm encouraged to keep practicing these "prayers of joy" like Paul. Maybe we could all try picking just a couple of people from our church family to pray for daily this week. I believe our joyful prayers will cultivate deeper maturity in Christ within each of us and throughout our congregations, all for God's glory.
God bless, Malcolm
