PRAYING WITH JOY
Prayer is an opportunity to experience joy. Too often prayer is limited to asking God to do something, intervene in a crisis, or fix a problem. To be sure, the Bible is full of invitations for us to call on Him to work, but our prayers should also reflect the fact that God has already been at work and continues to work in our lives. So let’s review how Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13- “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven may your name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one” (NLT).Clearly Jesus was telling us to recognize God for what He has done and to praise Him before asking God for any of our requests. When we reflect on His work in our lives and the lives of others, it should cause us to rejoice and motivate us to continue praying joyfully for God’s work.
Then in Matthew 6:14 it continues as follows: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will not forgive your sins” (NLT). This seems unreasonably harsh but it is completely in line with Jesus answer about the “Greatest Commandment” when He said to “love your neighbor as yourself” in the second part of His answer. We can find joy in the forgiveness of others and our prayer should reflect that.
Read Philippians 1:3-6
Paul established the church at Philippi (on his second missionary journey- Acts 16), but it had not been one of the destinations he intended to visit. In a God-given dream, Paul and his companions were diverted to Philippi. So later from prison, Paul wrote this letter that begins in verse 3 by saying he gave thanks to God for His works. Paul was also thanking God for His remembrance of the church at Philippi- the people not the things. Separated from the believers in Philippi as he was, Paul could do one thing for his beloved friends. He could pray for them. He believed with all his heart that his prayers were both necessary and helpful to other believers.
Several characteristics of Paul’s prayers for the Philippian Christians emerge from his remarks. They were prayers of thanksgiving. When Paul saw good things in the lives of Christians, he thanked God for those good things, for he recognized the Father as the source of every Christian grace. Moreover, he remembered and prayed for all the believers. This emphasis upon the whole church is characteristic of Philippians in particular (1:1) and of Paul’s letters in general. The apostle’s prayers were characterized also by joy. This is a key word in the letter- all the more remarkable when we remember that Paul was in prison.
The word for prayer (v.4) is used of a special kind of prayer. It is petition or supplication. Paul was saying, therefore, that every time he went to God to make supplication for the Philippian believers he never failed to thank God for them. The reason for the thanksgiving and joy is stated in concrete, specific terms. It was Philippians’ “partnership in the gospel” (v.5). Partnership translates “koinonia”, one of the great words in Paul’s Christian vocabulary. Many times we can also understand it as “fellowship”. The Christian life is a partnership or fellowship. It is a shared life. We share with all other believers the blessings of God’s grace. We also share with them the responsibilities of our new life in the proclamation of the gospel. If the gospel is to reach our world, an effective partnership among many people is necessary. Some must give, stay, witness, and pray, as the Philippians had done. Some must receive, go, witness, and pray, as Paul had done.
Paul was supremely sure that the faithful, loving service so characteristic of the Philippians would continue and grow in the future. After all, it was God who had begun “a good work” in the Philippians. He could be trusted to continue it and to “bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”. This is the day of Christ’s appearing, the final consummation of history, and the complete victory of God’s rule.
This the first of many times Paul used the word joy in this letter. The Philippians were remembered with joy and thanksgiving whenever Paul prayed. By helping Paul, they were helping Christ’s cause. The Philippians were willing to be used by God for whatever he wanted them to do. When others think about you, what comes to their minds? Are you remembered with joy by them? Do your acts of kindness lift up others?
The Philippians first heard the Good News about 10 years earlier when Paul and his companions visited Philippi and founded the church there. When Paul said that the Philippians were partners in spreading the Good News, he was remembering how they contributed through their practical help when Paul was in Philippi and through their financial support when he was in prison. As we help out ministers, missionaries, and evangelists through prayer, hospitality, and financial gifts, we become partners with them in spreading the gospel message. The God who began a good work within us continues it throughout jour lifetime and will finish it when we meet Him face to face.
Read Philippians 1:7-8
Verse 7 seems to be a justification of Paul’s special feeling for the Philippians. “I hold you in my heart” may also be translated in the opposite way: “You hold me in your heart” (NEB). Indeed, it makes more sense in the context. Paul’s attitude toward his readers is “right” because of the special place they have given him in their affection. Moreover, they were “partakers” with Paul of “grace”. Partakers, a cognate of the word for partnership (v. 5) can also be translated partners or, literally, “fellow sharers”. The word “grace” is somewhat surprising, since it is related to Paul’s “imprisonment”. We might expect to find the word suffering instead. Suffering, however, if it were in connection with his proclamation of the gospel, was an undeserved privilege which was granted to him by the grace of God. Later in the letter Paul spoke about the privilege of sharing in the suffering of Christ (3:10).
The Philippians would not allow the apostle to go unnoticed or forgotten in this time of his great trial. They sent him a gift as a concrete expression of their fellowship with him his imprisonment. “Defense” referred to the plea made by the prisoner before the court. “Conformation” denoted the evidence presented to validate the defense. From Paul’s statement, however, we see that he was not attempting to defend or exonerate himself. He used the opportunity of the trial to press the claims of the gospel.
Paul occasionally used the phrase “God is my witness” when wanted to make an especially solemn declaration. God is the highest witness to the truth, for only He knows the heart. Paul spoke so solemnly because he wanted his readers to be absolutely certain of his longing to see them. Yearning is our feeling when we are separated from those we love. Have you ever longed to see a friend with whom you share fond memories? The love that made Paul “yearn” for his brothers and sisters was no less than the “affection of Christ Jesus” Himself, a bold declaration. Paul knew, however, that his love for the Philippians came from the Lord. He regarded love for other members of God’s family as the primary expression of the new life in Christ (1 Cor. 13). “Affection” is literally the viscera, the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys (KJV-bowels). They were regarded by the Greeks as the seat of affection. Paul had a longing to see the Christians at Philippi. His love and affection for them was based not merely on past experiences but also on the unity that comes when believers draw upon Christ’s love. All Christians are part of God’s family and thus share equally in the transforming power of His love.
Read Philippians 1:9-11
The future is something we can plan for, hope for, and imagine, but not control. It is also something we choose not to think about. But because God already exists in the future, and He has plans for our good, we can engage in joyful prayer for the future of those we love. After assuring his readers of his love for them, Paul moved naturally to the petition that their “love” for one another might increase in an overflowing manner. This word for love (v.9) is agape, the one generally used in the New Testament for God’s kind of love. Therefore, Paul prayed that the love of the believers might be accompanied by “knowledge and all discernment”. This knowledge is always knowledge of God or of the things of God. Discernment translates a word which denotes the capacity to make moral distinctions and ethical decisions.
The need for this capacity is seen in the clause “so that you may approve what is excellent.” The translation of the NIV probably gives the sense of the clause somewhat more clearly: “so that you may be able to discern what is best”. The end result is also mentioned by Paul. We shall be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ”. The best life which we can present to the Lord will be one that is lived by the poser and under the direction of His love. Paul did not express his love for his readers in a negative way only. Being a Christian is much more that being “blameless”. Paul wanted them to be “filed with the fruits of righteousness”. Righteousness, therefore, is more than being justified or declared right before harvest of good fruit. From Paul’s point of view, the day of the harvest will be the “day of Christ”.
Christians will not be able to take credit for their accomplishments. The harvest is produced by God’s righteousness working “through Jesus Christ”. It does not reflect on the believer so that he is praised. Rather, it leads to the “glory and praise of God”. Often the best way to influence someone is to pray for him or her. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was that they would be unified in love. Their love was to result in greater knowledge of Christ and deeper understanding (moral discernment). Their love was not based on feelings but on what Christ had done for them. As we grow in Christ’s love, our heart and mind must grow together.
Paul prayed that the Philippian believers would have the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad, vital and trivial. We ought to pray for moral discernment so we can maintain our Christian morals and values. Hebrews 5:14 emphasizes the need for discernment.
Of course the “The day of Christ’s return” refers to the time when God will judge the world through Jesus Christ. We should live each day as though He might return at any moment. The “fruit of you salvation” includes all of the character traits flowing from a right relationship with God. There is no other way for us to gain this fruit of righteousness than through Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). So prayer is to be an exciting and joyful time we share with God- our heavenly Father.
