Lord, quiet my mind and spirit this morning that I might fully comprehend the grace that you are extending to your church and to me in answer to these precious petitions of the apostle Paul. Amen. Philippians 1:9-11 (RSV)
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Here we have a wonderful prayer that the apostle Paul prays on behalf of all Christians including us. He prays for three things. First he prays that our love for God will over flow in knowledge and wisdom. Second he prays that this wise love will lead to greater moral discernment. Third he prays that we might be filled to over-flowing with the fruit of right living.
As we give ourselves over to the love of God in Jesus Christ, He gives us insights into a world where moral issues have become blurred and distorted. So Paul is praying that as we gain in knowledge and wisdom concerning the things of God, we become better able to clearly distinguish between the ways of the world and the ways of God.
It is comforting to know that as we fix our eyes on Jesus, He empowers us to live, as He requires. It is through Jesus and Jesus alone that we can be filled with the fruit of right living for which Paul is praying. That is one of the reasons that when we make choices pleasing to God, He gets all the glory and praise because all of it is His work and not ours.
Lord, thank you for blessing us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Thank you for hearing the wonderful prayer that the apostle Paul prayed that has echoed through time and that you still answer in our lives today. Amen.
John