Paul's Three Prayers For The Philippians

Title: “Paul’s Prayer for the Philippian Believers” Script: Phil. 1:9-12

Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 5-14-23

Intro: One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that God wants us to talk to Him about everything that is going on in our lives, even though He already knows everything. So why pray'

If you’ve ever wrestled with that question, perhaps the thoughts of the 19th-century preacher R. A. Torrey can help. Among the reasons he gave for prayer are these: Because there is a devil, and prayer is a God-appointed way to resist Him (Eph. 6:12-13, 18). Because prayer is God’s way for us to obtain what we need from Him (Lk. 11:3-13; Jas. 4:2). Because prayer is the means God has appointed for us to find “grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Because prayer with thanksgiving is God’s way for us to obtain freedom from anxiety and to receive “the peace of God” (Phil. 4:6-7).Besides these reasons, it’s enough to read the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing,” and realize that God wants us to talk with Him. He is all-knowing, but He also desires our fellowship. When we seek God’s face in prayer, we strengthen our relationship with Him. When we pray for others, we supernaturally strengthen our relationship with those form whom we pray.

Prop: Let’s examine the 3 Prayer Requests Paul has for the Philippian believers.

BG: 1. As I said last week, not one specific identifiable theme in Philippian letter. Maybe as such it is to be seen as the “Epistle on Christian Living”, since it covers such a wide spectrum of affairs.

2. Again, written while under arrest, about 10 years after brief time with the believers on 2nd Miss. Journey.

Prop: Let’s examine the 3 Prayer requests Paul has for the Philippian believers in vv.9-12.

I. 1st Prayer Request: Prays That Their Love May Abound. V. 9

A. Paul wants the Philippian’s Love to Grow in “Real Knowledge”.

1. The Apostle Prays for the Philippians to have “abounding love”.

a. Look at the text. Paul does not pray for the believers to love him. He doesn’t pray that they would love each other. He doesn’t even pray that they would love Jesus Christ more and more. Rather, he prays for an “abounding love”. In doing such, he wasn’t praying for the objects of their affections, rather, he was praying for their character. What’s he saying? “He is saying, “I am praying that you might be more loving…” Yet, right on the heels of this he makes sure to note that this is not an indiscriminate love. It is a love that seeks knowledge and discernment.

b. Illust – Christians are often given to extremes. Find it difficult to stay in the center of Biblical tension. Some Christians are all about “love, love, love”. Don’t care about doctrine or theology. Other Christians are all about “knowledge, knowledge, knowledge”. They want to make sure every “t” is crossed and “I” is dotted. Often there can be conflict between those two groups of believers. Paul is saying here that it is not an “either or proposition”, but rather a “both and” experience in the Christian life. Grow in love while growing in knowledge.

2. What does it mean for the Christian’s Love to Grow in Knowledge?

a. We think of love as being undiscriminating. Discrimination and love seem like opposites. But Paul prays that the Philippians would grow in discerning love. Love is not blind. It does not close its eyes to reality. It is not a feeling devoid of content. Biblical love is related to true knowledge and it operates with careful discernment. “real knowledge” is a single Greek word (epignosis) that refers to intensive spiritual knowledge. The Greek scholar, J. B. Lightfoot, says that this word “is used especially of the knowledge of God and of Christ, as being the perfection of knowledge”

b. Besides the limits of General Revelation, we needed God to reveal Himself to us in the Bible. Special Revelation is revealed in His Word. Since God Himself is love, to grow in the true knowledge of God is to grow to understand what true love is. This true knowledge of God as revealed in the Bible is essential if you want to grow in your knowledge of love. We can’t know love by looking at our culture but rather we can know it by looking at God’s character.

B. Paul wants the Philippian’s Love to Grow in “All Discernment”.

1. The love Christians should have is a discerning love.

a. “We hear a lot of nonsense today that “love is love” or Christians are haters. No, quite the opposite is true. However, we are to be governed by the knowledge of what Christ says His love should look like in the one that is supposed to be manifesting the love of Christ! Does that make sense? The type of love Paul prays for us to demonstrate is defined by the Word of God, bounded by the WOG, conforms to the love of God as reveal in the WOG. It is an intelligent love. When one gives self to the WOG he/she comes to a knowledge of what God expects of one who loves Him, and brings both his or her life and LOVE into conformity with the Word of God. And by the way, loving what God loves means hating what God hates.” (Pentecost, p. 24, The Joy of Living). And if you and I affirm, support, or love, what God clearly detests in His Word, then we either don’t have knowledge or discernment, or else we have morally compromised so as to placate and be accepted by society even though we know we have violated God’s standards.