Bob Josey - Philippians 1:9-11 Paul's Prayer

SLIDES

The Letter to the Church at Philippi

1:9-11 Paul’s Prayer

Introduction

Do you have any idea how many times God had answered your prayers? In reality God has answered all of your prayers, but when we think of that question, we usually think of prayers He answered as we prayed them. Let me rephrase the question? Do you have any idea how many of your prayers God has answered as you prayed them? Praying for our needs is called supplication or petition.

How many times has God answered the following prayers of petition or supplication as you prayed them:

1. Healed you?

2. Took care of a financial problem?

3. Took care of a family problem?

4. Provided you with a needed job?

5. Led you to a good church to attend?

6. Etc.

How many times do you think God has taken care of some of your problems that I just listed when other people prayed for you? Do you ever think about that? What impact have others made on your life or family because they prayed for you and your family. Have you ever thought about that? When believers pray prayers of petition or supplication for others, these prayers are called intercessory prayer. They are interceding on your behalf.

Normally when you pray, do you spend more time praying for your needs or praying for the needs of others? When you pray, do you pray with an attitude of joy or do pray with the attitude of “Well, this is just something I have to do.”

Would you say that the more believers who pray for you the better? Do you think there are times when another believer knows better how to pray for you than you do for yourself? Sometimes there may be times such as a death in the family, when a believer is very sick, or has some other serious crisis, that believers may be under stress or in a fog. They are overwhelmed! It is at this time that the intercessory prayers of other believers are invaluable. In general, the intercessory prayers of other believers are incalculable and priceless.

One more question about believers interceding for others. Most of the prayers in this class revolve around health issues. Very seldom does someone ask for prayer for spiritual issues in their lives. The reason is that they do not want to be seen as a believer who has spiritual issues and who does not have it all together spiritually. All of us have spiritual issues and have spiritual areas in which we need to grow. There are times when other believers see these areas in which we need to grow clearly and they pray for us to mature in these spiritual areas.

Today in our lesson we are going to study one of the prayers Paul prayed for the Philippian church. This prayer, as we shall see, had nothing to do with their physical needs but only their spiritual needs. Also, Paul had insight into their needs they could not see. Even though he was 800 miles away from Philippi, he knew by the reports from those who visited what spiritual needs to pray about concerning the church.

9-11 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

In verses 3-4 Paul told the Philippian’s his attitude and feelings toward them when he remembered them and prayed for them—an attitude and feeling of thankfulness, joy, confidence, longing, and affection. And now, in verses 9–11 Paul specified the content of one of those prayers.

The word pray in this verse means “to petition.” Since Paul was petitioning God for the Philippian church, it is also called an intercessory prayer. Paul was praying on their behalf. Paul certainly prayed the contents of this prayer many times because I pray is a continuous action verb. We don’t know exactly how prayer works and why God ordained it, but we do know that prayer changes things. It is a great privilege and an important responsibility for us to pray and especially pray for others.

Paul basically had several main items in this prayer that he was petitioning God about concerning the Philippian church.

· Paul petitioned God that the Philippian churches’ commitment to one another would continue to grow by means of true knowledge and practical understanding.

The word love come from the Greek word agape’ and means a self-sacrificing commitment. Paul wanted their commitment to one another to increase more and more or basically to go beyond what it had been. But how does one’s commitment grow. Paul tells us exactly how that is occur in the life of a believer. We know in life that many times ignorance and lack of knowledge will stunt someone’s growth in many areas. It’s no different in the Christian life. We grow in proportion as we know and grasp Christian truth. Ignorance is the root cause of stunted spiritual growth.

The means for Christian spiritual growth is true knowledge and discernment. The word knowledge is experiential knowledge i.e., real knowledge that comes from experience. It certainly not just head knowledge. People today have head knowledge about Abraham Lincoln. None of us has ever met him. You might know that he was the President of the United States during most of the Civil War, that he was the 16^th President, that his wife’s name was Mary, and that he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. It one thing to know facts about President Lincoln, but it’s quite another to have known him personally. His wife, his children, his cabinet knew him up close and personal because they dealt with him on a daily basis.

While living with President Lincoln or working with him, people made decisions concerning living or working with him because they knew what he believed, they knew many times how he wanted things done, and they knew how he would act or react to certain things.

Discernment is also a key to growing commitment to one another. Discernment is the ability to understand and discriminate between things and situations. This understanding is also acquired through experience. We all know that experience is important as we grow in a chosen field of work such as teaching, engineering, sales, banking, etc. The more experience we have, the better off we will be to make correct decisions. As one learns real knowledge and has experiences concerning the knowledge learned, growth and maturity occur. It is no different in the Christian world. As we study the Scriptures to learn real truth and learn to discern by experience, then out need to be committed to one another becomes more and more evident.

· The purpose for believers growing in true knowledge and practical understanding is so that they will be able to appraise the things that are superior.

By the learning true knowledge and practical understanding a believer will be able to approve the things that are excellent. The word approve is speaking of something approved after testing such as testing the purity of gold. Appraised might be a better translation than approve and superior might be a better translation than excellent. After something has been tested, it is appraised wheather to be acceptable or not acceptable. A believer who has grown in true knowledge and practical understanding can appraise if some is tested to ascertain if it is worthy of not. In today’s world there is so much competition to persuade people that their belief system or actions in an area of life such as abortion, is the thing to believe, do, or follow. True biblical knowledge and experience in dealing with the truth will give a believer the ability to appraise something to determine if it is superior to other options. Another way of putting that is that a believer will be able to discern what is best. What is best or Superior is always the best choice.

The book of Hebrews defines Spiritual maturity 5:14.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Today the way believers grow in commitment to one another is by learning real truth that come from the Bible. The way to learn real truth so that one can grow in commitment to one another is by studying Scripture. Reading is just a part of studying Scripture. A daily devotion is great for a devotion, but it’s not the study of Scripture. The study of Scripture will tell you what God thinks about so many areas of life today particularly those areas of disagreement. Be an informed believer in Jesus not uninformed and as Paul says several times in his writings – I don’t want you to be ignorant. Today in America we have a lot of spiritually malnourished and immature believers because they don’t study and don’t know the Word. One who does not know the Word cannot apply the Word or test different situations against the Word to appraise something to determine if it is the superior thing to do or not.

Romans 12:2 give us a little more insight into what Paul is praying in Philippians.

12:2 And do not be conformed to this world (An evil system led by Satan that is against God and His’ people), but be transformed (metamorphosis) by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove (discern) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The verb may prove is translated from the same Greek word as may approve in Philippians 1:10. Renewing one’s mind daily by the Study of Scripture and prayer gives believers the ability through the leading of the Holy Spirit to test and discern what the best choice concerning God’s will for one’s life. It will allow a believer to spot the phony, the wrong, and the evil.

· Making superior decisions results in a believer being sincere and without offense.

The results of believers making wise decisions is that they will be sincere and without offense. A person seen a making decision is seen as one who make decisions out of sincerity. The word blameless certainly does not mean sinless. It means one who is without offense so that he or she cannot be faulted with something. We know there are occasions when believers make decisions and do things because of selfish reasons. The decision is made without seeking considering God’s will in the matter. The decision or action is certainly not the superior or best choice and many times will offend God and maybe someone else.

A believer who is sincere and without offense is a result of them being filled with God’s qualities that comes from Jesus’ righteousness for the purpose of giving glory and praise to God.

When believers are sincere and without offense, it is because they were given some of Jesus’ righteous qualities. We are clothed with His’ righteousnesses when we are saved. These righteousness qualities are called the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. In Gelatins 5 these righteous qualities are attributed by the Holy Spirit. However, in Philippians 1:11, they are attributed by Jesus the Messiah. This just shows the Triunity of God working together in unity. The purpose of giving us Jesus’ qualities is so that God gets all the praise and Glory.

Today we have discussed that the process of a believer making wise and godly decisions begins with our growing commitment to other brothers and sisters in Christ. To help us make of these wise decisions that are biblically based, God have given us some of the righteous qualities of Jesus called the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul was committed to his brothers and sisters in Christ in Philippi. The result of this was fervent intercessory prayer for his friends. Paul knew that it was a privilege and responsibility to pray for the believers in Philippi. We should have the same attitude as Paul did toward members of our class and others. We should intercede to God behalf of for all our classmates often and those who particularly have great and urgent needs on a several times a day. We also need to pray for others in need, especially those who do not know Jesus as Savior. The following are the benefits of interceding for others, believers and unbelievers.

3 Benefits of Intercessory Prayer

There are many benefits of intercessory prayer. It is a way to stand in the gap for others, to petition God on behalf of others, and to see breakthroughs in their lives. Intercessory prayer can also bring physical healing and emotional and spiritual restoration.

1. Tap into the Power of God for Others

One of the main benefits of intercessory prayer is that it allows us to tap into the power of God. When we pray for others, we are able to release God’s power and love into their lives. This can result in miracles happening in their lives.

2. Build Relationships with Other Believers

Intercessory prayer is also a way to build relationships with other believers. We can partner with them in prayer, and support one another as we petition God on behalf of others.

3. Selflessness

Praying for others is a way to show God’s commitment to them. It is an act of selflessness, and it can be a powerful tool to see breakthroughs in people’s lives. If you are looking for ways to make a difference in the world, intercessory prayer is a great place to start.

Questions and comments

Have a blessed and a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!