Philippians 1.9-11 NLT




'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.'




I’m sure that we are all members of lots of organisations. It may be 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 with the church is that many people look at it in exactly the same way. They are members of the church but would never think of it as a relationship that changed, or needed to change.
Throughout Paul’s writing he sees his relationship with Christ as being something that is constantly developing and, in this letter, he describes particularly powerfully his desire that it should change more and more. Here at the beginning of the letter he describes his passionate desire that the Philippian Christians should move on in their faith. He wanted their relationship with Christ to become increasingly strong, because in that way their life together as a church would become more united and resilient.
Paul prays that the Philippians will overflow with love as they grow in knowledge and insight. In that way they will be able to make increasingly good decisions. It is right that we should pray for one another’s illness and challenges, but we need to ensure that we also pray for one another to grow in our relationship with Christ. Standing still is never an option in any relationship, and it isn’t one in our Christian lives. 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: What is your prayer today for two of the Christians whom you know best?
PRAYER: Lord God, give me a greater desire to grow in my love for you. Amen

Released on 4 Jul 2021