The length of a prayer is no indication of the power of a prayer. Many long, protracted prayers proved powerless, while much shorter prayers carried great power. Both long and short prayers can be powerful or powerless. What makes the difference between powerful and powerless prayers is the heart of the person praying and the content of the prayer. The heart of the person praying must be motivated for the glory of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The content of powerful prayer must be focused on the truth of God’s word and the fulfillment of God’s will.
In the letter of Paul to the Philippians, we find such a prayer. “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11). The prayer is just three verses and 43 words in the Greek text. It is short indeed but packed with great power. Every word or phrase in the prayer expresses a universe of meaning. Spending time and effort understanding this prayer will help us in two ways. First, understanding this prayer will help us grasp the deeper dimensions of the Christian life Paul is communicating in the prayer. Second, understanding this prayer will help us pray better prayers that are in line with the will of God. The prayer serves as a model for those serious about growing in their prayer life.
The Prayer
We find three important elements in the prayer: the prayer, the purpose of the prayer, and the result of the prayer. First, we’ll deal with the prayer itself. Paul is praying that the Philippians’ love may abound more and more. He is praying for a growing love in the lives of believers. Paul is praying for more love, but in the prayer, there is no object of the love he desires to see grow. Love must have an object; people love somebody or something. Since the object is unspecified, we can take it as a general kind of love. The Bible throughout teaches us to love God and love people. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded with Deuteronomy 6:4, Love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” And then he continued with the second found in Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul wants and prays that the love of the Philippians will grow more and more. But there is more to it. If we take into account the whole book of Philippians, we will find that the church was struggling with some internal conflict. Paul names some names in chapter four. There are also other places in the book where Paul encourages love and unity in the church. So we can say that the love Paul is praying for in this prayer is a love Jesus commanded his disciples the night before he was crucified. It is a love for fellow believers. Paul desires that their love for one another grow more and more, that it would overflow. That is a prayer we can pray because it is always a need.
The prayer request of Paul goes on. He tells us how that love will grow, and it’s somewhat surprising. Paul prays that their love grows with knowledge and all discernment. Often, knowledge and love are pitted against each other as opposites, as incompatible, but the biblical reality is that they are not. Knowledge and discernment help love grow. What kind of knowledge and discernment is Paul talking about? He is talking about the knowledge of God and the plan of God through the word of God. As we know more about God and his purposes in the world, our love for him and for one another grows. We develop a discerning love that is a deeper love. A discerning love is one that is not deceived by the cultural counterfeits of love.
The Purpose of the Prayer
After Paul gives the prayer proper, he then gives why the prayer is so critical. “So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” The word approve means to prove something is genuine by putting it to the test by putting it under pressure. As we put love to the test under the pressures of life, we see that it is real, excellent, what really matters. And in that process, we find ourselves becoming pure and blameless. We find ourselves becoming righteous as God has declared us righteous in Christ. All of this leads us to that great day, the day of Christ. The day of Christ is the day he returns in salvation and judgment. On that day, Jesus will assess how we lived our lives for him and give rewards based on his righteous assessment.
The Result of the Prayer
The life that will be lived in answer to this prayer is a life of righteousness, Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” A growing love is a life of righteousness that lives in harmony with the purposes of God. God is love. God’s plan is a plan of love. Where love grows, living for the plan of God grows. The fruit of righteousness is the godly character that is demonstrated in a person who makes love a priority.
Jesus Christ generates this righteous love in believers through the Holy Spirit. It is a gospel love. Jesus is sent by the love of the Father and, in love, gives himself for us so that we return his love by faith in him. As a result, we love others. This circle of love is all for the glory of God. God is glorified as we experience and express his love.
Conclusion
The prayer of Paul in Philippians 1 is supremely God-centered. He prays for a growing love that transforms the believer’s life and fulfills the plan of God. This is the love of God on which the gospel of grace is based and is poured into the believer’s heart by the Holy Spirit. It is the love displayed in the humble, self-sacrificing service of Jesus dying for the salvation of the world. Many things in life are trivial and don’t really matter that much, but the love that flows from God through believers to others is of transcendent significance. It has infinite value as Paul prays this for the Philippians, so we can pray this powerful prayer for ourselves and others with the assurance of its transforming impact in their lives.