August 31st - Philippians 1:9–10

Philippians 1:9–10 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  You may be a member of lots of organisations, such as the National Trust, a car breakdown service, a political party or a sports club. If I asked you whether your relationship with those organisations was growing, you would probably think that was a very odd question. You would probably just think of yourself as being in or out – a member or not a member. The idea of having a developing relationship with the organisations wouldn’t seem relevant. The problem is that many people look at the Church in exactly the same way. They are members of a local church but would never think of it as a relationship that was changing or needed to change. Throughout Paul’s writing he saw his relationship with Christ as being something that was constantly developing. In this letter, he powerfully described his desire that it should change more and more. He also described his passionate desire that the Philippian Christians should move on in their faith. He wanted their relationship with Christ to become increasingly strong, so their life together as a church would become more united and resilient. Paul prayed that the Philippians would overflow with love as they grew in knowledge and insight. In that way they would be able to make increasingly good decisions. It is right that we should pray for one another’s health and challenges, but we need to ensure that we also pray for one another to grow in our relationships with Christ. Standing still is never an option in any relationship; if we are not growing stronger in our faith, then we will be getting weaker and that makes us more vulnerable in every way. Let’s listen to Paul’s words and use them to inspire us to pray for one another with passion and commitment. Question Which two Christians would you like to pray for today? Prayer Lord God, I pray that these two people will grow strongly in their Christian lives. Help me to be a support and encouragement to them. Amen