THIS IS MY PRAYER

Philippians 1:1-11
Key Verse 1:9  

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...”

Today we would like to learn about the Apostle Paul's intercessory prayer for the flock of God at the church of Philippi. We can divide Paul's prayer into three parts (according to time): past, present, and future – the past refers to what they were cut out to be, the present to where they currently stood, and the future to what they would become. 

I. To all the saints (1-2)

	Look at vs. 1-2. "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

	Philippians is one of the four prison epistles which Paul wrote; he wrote it while incarcerated in a cell in Rome. By this time, Timothy had been working with Paul for a long time. Because Paul was in prison he could not move around freely. Fortunately, Timothy stayed close to Paul, and thereby served Paul just as a son his father. 

	While Paul was in prison he had a lot of time. But he did not spend his time daydreaming. Rather, he used his solitude to devote himself to prayer. In prayer, he prayed for all the brothers and sisters throughout all the churches he had thus far pioneered. 

	One of the churches he pioneered was the church of Philippi. We see how Paul pioneered this church in Acts 16. It began with a dream at night - a vision about a Macedonian standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). Paul saw this as a clear direction from the Holy Spirit to go to Macedonia. Immediately he went over to Macedonia, and thus Philippi was the first church the Lord pioneered on the European continent. 

	Now in prison Paul wrote a letter to them saying, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons…" Here "all the saints" included such members of the church at Philippi as Lydia, the jailor, his family members, et al. Europe is the land of "Ladies and Gentlemen" (versus “Gentlemen and Ladies”). On European soil, ladies always come first. So sister Lydia became the first lady on European soil who was added to the Lord's book of life. Then the jailor (who was a sort of sheriff) was the first gentleman to become a Christian on the European continent. 

	Now, it is interesting to see what Paul calls them. "To all the saints...together with overseers and deacons." Overseers were sort of on a senior level and deacons on a kind of junior level. Perhaps overseers and deacons were either senior or junior not only in terms of spirituality but also in terms of physical age. But Paul put all of them in one category: "saints." 

	The title “saint” is visible not only in the New Testament Scriptures (70 times), but also in the Old Testament Scriptures (48 times). In the case of the New Testament Scriptures, Paul used this term 57 times, Jude only once, and the Apostle John 12 times (all in the book of Revelation). 

	Upon close examination of all the different contexts in which the servants of God used the title "saints," we are surprised to discover that, without exception, they used this title in the context of prayer. For example, in the Old Testament history three books mention the title "saints": 1 Samuel (once); 2 Chronicles (once); Psalms (38 times); and Daniel (7 times). In the case of first Samuel, surprisingly, it was Hanna, a champion woman of prayer and the mother of Samuel, and a woman of prayer, who was the first to use the title “saints”! In the case of 2 Chronicles, it was Solomon who used this term in his prayer offered to the Lord God at the ceremony dedicating the Lord's temple and calling it a house of prayer for all nations. The Psalms are themselves the penultimate “books” of prayer. Daniel is of course a champion prayer servant. In the case of the New Testament Scriptures, the Apostle Luke, a man of prayer, uses the term three times; Paul, another man of prayer, uses this term 54 times; and the Apostle John, who is likewise a man of prayer, 12 times (though, again, all in the book of Revelation). This indicates that the word “saints” represent the position of the saved ones as seen by God in an unseen world (spiritually speaking). Prayer is the time when we depart from this mundane world and arrive in the world of God. God is perfect. Isaiah 46:10 says, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." The Apostle Paul was sitting in a prison cell in Rome. As of the time of Paul writing an epistle, God's work of redemption upon the brothers and sisters in the church of Philippi was not yet complete. But in God's eyes it was as good as complete. In God's eyes, they were already perfect. In God's eyes they were already saints. In vs. 3-6, especially v. 6, the Apostle Paul shares this vision - the vision of the perfected state of salvation for all the saints at the church of Philippi. 

	This then teaches us that in associating ourselves with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, and certainly in praying for each of them, we must see each of them not only in terms of what they are now but also in terms of what they are going to be. And here’s the catch: in God's eyes what they are going to be has already been determined by God. So we say that we must pray for the flock of God according to what they are already cut out to be! 

	And this was precisely what Paul did when he wrote an epistle to the Philippians saying "to all saints." In the eyes of worldly people, Lydia was just another business woman. But to Paul, Lydia was a saint. To a carnal, worldly mind, the jailor was just another salaried man. But in the eyes of Paul, and certainly in the eyes of the Lord God, he was a saint of saints. He was a member of the kingdom of priests and a holy nation! 

	This idea, however, is not just Paul's but God's. In calling the Israelites out of Egypt, the Lord God had a vision to establish all of them as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As of the time the Lord God addressed them in the book of Exodus 19:1-6, the Israelites standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai were a bunch of nobodies. With the exception of a handful of people, they were all steeped in a slave mentality. But still the Lord God called them with glorious titles: “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Later the Apostle Peter picked up from this idea and called all who believe in Jesus according to four glorious titles: "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." From this we learn that we too must see each of our flock according to what they were cut out to be! 

	This is very important because without this vision of God for each of our sheep, it is impossible for us to lead them to the greatness of God. And this vision is an absolute must for a man to live as a shepherd for the flock of God. In fact, a shepherd without this vision is like a blind man trying to lead another blind man. What happens when the blind lead the blind? The two will fall into a pit and both will perish! Each time we pray for the flock of God, let us all pray with this glorious vision of God in mind. Then the Lord God will bless our faith and vision. 

	Of course, this does not mean that you need to flatter your sheep saying, "Oh, Saint Patrick" or "Oh, Saint Patricia!" Rather, as Paul mentioned, each time a shepherd sees a sheep, he must preach the word by being prepared in season and out of season; and then he must do three things: correct, rebuke, and then encourage - with great patience and careful instruction (2Ti 4:2). But in prayer offered in secret (in a closet), a shepherd must cry out to God for his sheep, calling him or her saint! 

II. I thank my God every time I remember you (3-8)

	In praying for the flock of God, Paul prayed not only in terms of what they were cut out to be but also in terms of what they now were. When Paul thought about God's work among the saints at the church of Philippi, he came to be filled with thanks toward God. 

	What then were Paul's thanks topics? Look at vs. 3-8. "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, 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. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." 

	Paul thanked God for two points in particular: first their partnership in the gospel, and second their graceful act of giving. 

	According to Bible scholars, by the time the Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Philippians, the saints at Philippi had already been in the Lord for about 10 years. Suppose by the time Paul met Lydia she was about 30 years old. Now by the time Lydia received the letter, she was probably about 40 years old (I mean, 40 years young). She most likely was married by this time. And she probably even had given birth to as many as three children, if not more. And during this period of time the Lord God surely blessed her business. 

	You know for some strange reasons each time I read the story about her conversion she strikes me as a solid example of the perfect woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31. In reading this passage I recognized that the woman which King Solomon (also known as King Lemuel, according to some Jewish rabbis) described as the perfect mother figure knows and does everything, and by everything I mean everything including the "real estate business." Read what Proverbs 31:14-18 say, "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar...She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night." Lydia is that kind of a woman. And by the time she was reading Paul's epistle, she might have already made a lot of money. She owned a 120 unit apartment complex. Thanks to her offering, the believers in Philippi were able to buy a Bible center in the center of the city of Philippi on a lot which was ten times larger than the size of the Downey Center. And yet she still lived in a small apartment. She was humble and sacrificial. 

	You know the church of Philippi started out their Sunday worship service probably from Lydia's apartment. But now thanks to her sacrificial life of faith and obedience to the gospel, the ministry grew and grew. And I am quite certain that she had the most number of sheep. Although she was a woman her fellowship might have been one of the largest of all, perhaps with more than 120 sheep under her care. (And it is possible that even Euodia and Syntyche were Lydia's sheep.] And do not be surprised: most of her sheep might have been working at Lydia's company called "LTI - Lydia's Textile International." Plus, along with other coworkers at the church of Philippi, she made world mission offerings again and again, and sent them to Paul, thereby meeting Paul's financial needs including food, clothes, and travel expenses (Philippians 4:13-19). 

	The Apostle Paul saw these sacrificial services of the saints as a partnership with God for the work of the gospel. By using the word "partnership" Paul regarded them as "partners." The word “partnership” is a legal term. In a partnership each partner enjoys an equal standing, but the roles and functions might be different. In the case of the partnership between the saints at Philippi and Paul, the purpose was to advance the gospel. And in this venture Paul took charge of moving about preaching (i.e., “confirming and defending”) the gospel, and the saints at Philippi supported Paul through making world mission offerings, praying for Paul day and night, and of course teaching the Bible to the flock of God in the region. 

	Look at v. 3 again. "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Perhaps not all the saints at the church of Philippi regarded themselves as "partners" with Paul. To them, Paul was an apostle, and they were all Paul's sheep. But still Paul called all of them partners! And on this basis Paul gave thanks to God for all the good works that the Lord God had fulfilled in and through them thus far. 

	And in deep thanks for God's good work in and through them, Paul gave thanks to God with many thanks. From Paul's example we learn the importance of seeing how God works in and through the lives of the flock of God. In order to find thanks topics then we need to come to God in prayer, first remembering each sheep’s name. Then, in prayer, we can call each of them by name, and pray for each of them. We can do this particularly well during the daily bread hours in the morning. Then amazingly the Lord will reveal many thanks topics about the flock of God. Then we can communicate these thanks topics to the saints in the Lord either through emails, letters, and/or telephone calls. The Lord then blesses this kind of spiritual communication and forms strong partnerships of the gospel among all the members of the church. When we continue to do these things, the body of Christ becomes stronger. The number of saints then will increase exponentially. 

III. And this is my prayer (9-11)

	As a royal priesthood praying for the flock of God, the Apostle Paul prayed for the flock of God not only in terms of where they now were, but also in terms of where they ought to be in the future. As we briefly saw, the brothers and sisters in the church of Philippi were very spiritual. Unlike most of the Corinthians, most of the Philippians had reached the level of shepherds. They were no longer spiritual infants, but solid, mature believers. For this reason Paul even calls them "partners!" But this does not mean that they were all done and had no more room for maturity. No. They still had more “growing up” to do! They needed to struggle to grow up even to the greatness of Jesus Christ. Surely, as long as we breathe, we must struggle to grow, grow, and grow, and we must grow up until we breathe our last. 

	The Apostle Paul saw the need for them to grow. So as a shepherd for them Paul presented prayer topics for them. What were they? Look at vs. 9-11. "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you 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." This passage is very beautiful. The prayer topic which Paul built into these three verses was like a piece of diamond; it is hard to dissect this passage and dig into further meanings. 

	But at the same time we recognize one of the most common problems we find in many of the Apostle Paul's epistles: the complexity of Paul's sentences. On many occasions the structure and meanings of Paul's sentences are so complex that, as you read the passage, you often feel dizzy, and end up failing to understand what Paul was talking about. Speaking of the same problem, the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16, "[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." Today I do not want to destroy you by dissecting this sentence. But for the sake of understanding it better, at least for myself, I have divided Paul's prayer into three parts based on the three "that's":

First, Paul's prayer for an intelligent love (9) 

	Look at v. 9. "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight..." The point here is not love but knowledge and depth. In other words, Paul's emphasis here is on "love" which is based on "knowledge" and "depth of insight." This, I would loosely call an "intelligent love" as opposed to a "blind love." When you think about it, love should be an intelligent one. It must be appreciated and understood through such foundations as education, discipline, enlightenment, and inspiration. We can understand the need for love to be refined like this when we think about one of the names of God being "love." 1 John 4:16b says, "God is love." As used in v. 9, what Paul meant by love was the love of God. He was not talking about carnal love or romantic or even so-called platonic love. He was talking about godly love. And godly love requires a lot of illumination. 

	This is very important because unenlightened love (or simply, blind love) can be very dangerous. It is only an enlightened love which saves man fully. It has been said, "If it is not for love, why live?" And it is this kind of spiritual love which fully satisfies man. 

	Where then can we find this love? Surprisingly, we find the answer to this question in the next verse.

Second, Paul's prayer for what is best (10)

	So let us read v. 10. "So that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ..." Here, "what is best" refers to Jesus Christ. No one or nothing other than Jesus Christ fits into the description called "what is best." This is not my own interpretation but what Paul says in the Philippians (Phi 3:8). So by all means we need to struggle to know Jesus Christ better. And it is for this purpose that we have chosen to study the book of Philippians!

Third, Paul's prayer for abundant fruit (11)

	What then will happen when we know Jesus better? Again v. 11 stands out to provide the answer. Look at v. 11. "Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." This verse can be described with one word: "a fruitful life." In Genesis 1:26-28, the Lord God revealed that the purpose of man's life is to bear good fruit that lasts forever. Some people say, "Oh, I don't want to bear any fruit." Or they say, "I don't want to have anything to do with fruit." But the truth is that, over time, everyone bears one kind of fruit or another: some good fruit, some bad. And regardless of what they say, imbedded in the psyche of each person is the desire to do everything right. Even terrible criminals like serial killers have this desire for they know what they did was wrong though they refuse to admit it. 

	But the question is, how? Again the Bible offers only one way and one way alone: it is only through knowing Jesus Christ better that one can bear good fruit. Aside from Jesus it is impossible for anyone to bear any good fruit that lasts forever (cf. John 15:4).

One word: This is my prayer.