January 30
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PRAYER FOR AN OVERFLOW OF LOVE AND WISDOM
8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.
-Philippians 1:8-11:
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Adam Clarke paraphrased verse 8 as “I call God to witness that I have the strongest affection for you, and that I love you with that same kind of tender concern with which Christ loved the world when he gave himself for it.”
Verses 9-11 is Paul’s loving prayer for the Philippians. And he asked God for an overflow of love, even though he knows that they are very loving already. He also asked God to bring them more knowledge and wisdom and discernment so that they will be able to discover all the excellent things that God has for them. He also prayed that they will continue to be faithful, pure and holy until the next coming of Jesus because they have already been filled with the fruit of righteousness that came when they committed their lives to Jesus Christ. As the fruit of righteousness manifest in their lives, then God will be praised and glorified.
What a prayer! Paul is clearly full of the Spirit of the Lord when he wrote this prayer for the Philippian believers. All of these blessings were all aligned with God’s truth. He asked for more love, wisdom, discernment, which leads to the joy of discovering all of God’s gifts for them so they can be sanctified and continually pure for Christ. Clarke comments on this prayer as “That it may be like a river, perpetually fed with rain and fresh streams so that it continues to swell and increase until it fills all its banks, and floods the adjacent plains.”
How often do you pray like Paul? He knows and sees the righteousness of God manifest in the Philippians. Do you usually see the love God has for the person you are praying for? It is amazing how Paul almost sees their hearts, even though we know that only God is the one who can see our hearts. It is like God gave him a glimpse of what he sees in them. When we know our Lord so well, he will give us discernment to see what he sees.
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REFLECTION
• How can we learn to pray Spirit-led prayers like Paul?