Over the next few months I will be reading through and blogging through the book of Philippians. My small group and I have just started a video series by Matt Chandler and I am already enjoying it. We are watching the videos and studying the book on our own. I hope you enjoy Philippians as much as I anticipate enjoying it.
Philippians opens in a beautiful greeting from Paul to his friends in Philippi. I encourage you to read Philippians 1:1-11 because that is what I read this week and it is awesome.
In the opening to this letter we can easily see that Paul has a deep affection for the Philippians. Paul writes things like:
"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3
"... I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:4-6
"God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:8
This letter is written from Paul who is filled with love and admiration for the people of the church at Philippi.
As I thought about Paul's affection for them I was reminded of my affection for some of the groups of believers I'm around and, on a lesser scale than Paul, have some leadership in. I thought about the youth group, Pulse Student Ministries, that I help lead and of course my church, Grace Baptist, in which I am humbled to serve as an elder. You may have a group of people in mind as well that you love and want the best for.
Now, with that group of people in mind, let's pray Paul's prayer. I'll leave a blank and ask you, as you pray, to fill the blank with the group of people you are thinking about. Paul's prayer is found in Philippians 1:9-11
"And this is my prayer: that _______'s love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that ________ 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
It is so good to pray Scripture. This is my prayer for Grace and for Pulse. Please pray for the group you're thinking of with these words today.
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