Dear Friends,
We are beginning our journey of examining a few of the spiritual disciplines as we read through the book of Philippians. Spiritual disciplines are not drudgery, or just another chore, or something to check off our list each day. They are something we should do with joy. We do not do them expecting them to create joy in our lives, but rather the spiritual disciplines are our joyous expressions of a life of faith, because we are overjoyed to be in Christ.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul uses the word JOY more than he does any of his other letters. His joy in Christ spills out into his words as he writes to the Philippian Christians. In this study, by no means will we cover every spiritual discipline or every nuance of Philippians. This is just a glimpse into a life that is lived under Christ and full of joy.
This first talk will be looking at Joyful Prayer through Philippians 1:1-11. Paul was known for his prayer life, and he almost always included a prayer in his letters to the Christian churches that he had helped start. This particular letter is written to a group of Christians from the city of Philippi. Paul is writing to them from jail. He had been imprisoned because of his faith. Prison is not what comes to mind if we were to name a place full of joy. However, the joy of Christ stems not from one’s circumstances in life, but it stems from Christ in spite of one’s circumstances in life.
So, let’s read Philippians 1:1-11. Now at this point, I recommend that you take a moment to read the passage a couple of times from your own Bible (or a couple of different Bibles). Take some to really look at the words on the page. I tend towards the English Standard Version (ESV) translation of the Bible, so that is what I will be reading.
PAUL’S PATTERN OF PRAYER
Paul has a certain pattern to his prayers, and we can see that in Philippians 1:1-11. I like his pattern of prayer, because it really emphasizes the focus on God and de-emphasizes the focus on us. Paul starts and ends his prayers with God. Paul’s pattern can be seen as God-Us-God, but I also like to think of it as Past-Present-Future.
Past – Thanksgiving
Paul begins with thanking God for all that God had done for him and for the people that he is writing to. Paul is full of joy when he thinks of the Philippians. It’s not because they are the perfect church or the perfect Christians. No, he thinks of them with joy and thanks God for them, because they are in Christ. Paul expresses joyful thanksgiving that God had brought Paul into a relationship with the Philippians, and he is thankful at what God is doing in his life and the lives of the Philippians. Basically, Paul begins his prayer with just taking a moment to appreciate God and what God is doing.
Present – Supplication
Then, Paul moves into supplication. This is when we have prayers of petition, asking God for something for us, or prayers of intercession, asking God for something for someone else. These types of prayers stem from our fellowship with other Christians who will ask you to pray for them. Or maybe you ask them to pray for you. Let’s talk about the word “fellowship” for a moment.
Too often, when we hear the word “fellowship” we think of it as a time where we all just hang out and eat food. We aren’t really doing anything else. However, the true meaning intended by the word “fellowship” is who do we associate with? Who are our like-minded, like-spirited group that we live life together with under Christ? It gives us an opportunity, not only for us to consider the people we know personally in our church or neighborhood, but also to recognize the universal church, the Christians throughout the world.
And I love how Paul prays for the Philippians here in verse 9-11a:
“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…”
Paul thanks God for the Philippians, because they are in Christ, and then he prays for the Philippians and their relationship with God. He doesn’t ask God to fix them or to even heal them; Paul asks God to give them more love, more knowledge, and more discernment in their lives. Can you imagine someone praying that you simply have more love in your life? How sweet is that?! Paul is praying for them to grow into an even deeper relationship with Christ.
Present and Future – Supplication and Doxology
Paul closes out the prayer in verse 11 with a doxology. The word “doxology” literally means the “oral or written expression of glory”. Paul says in verse 11: “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul closes his prayer with praise, worship, and adoration for God and His glory. And again here, the focus returns back to God.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Paul tends to have a God-Us-God pattern of prayer, we need to remember that prayer is not formulaic. Prayer is simply our method of interacting and talking with God. It is about relationship. We all hear that open and honest communication is the key to any good relationship, whether it is with a friend, co-worker, or spouse. Communication is just as important in our relationship with God. We need prayer.
God not only invites us into a prayer relationship with Him, but through prayer, we invite God to work in our daily lives. Through prayer, we are transformed into being more like Christ as our intimacy and dependency on God increases. We need prayer.
When you pray, you can use Paul’s pattern as a starting point to get into the habit of thanking God, then praying for others and yourself, and then praising God for who He is. Or you can find some other method. The method is just a tool and not the primary focus. Talking to God and letting God into your life, developing that relationship is the focus. Your prayers do not have to be fancy. Just talk to God like you would a close friend.
In closing, I just want to encourage you to spend some time praying to God every day. Let me pray for you for a moment:
Lord, thank you for the opportunity to reach people that I may not have reached normally or on my own. Thank you for all that you have done in my life and the life of my listeners. May the people that hear this lesson be empowered to engage with you through prayer. In spite of whatever circumstances in life they are in, Lord, please be with them and fill their hearts with love and their souls with the joy that can only come from you. May they grow in their relationship with you and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. May they understand that you, God, love them unconditionally and only want the best for them. God, you are above all, and your power and glory shines through the darkness of this life, providing safety and love for all of us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week!
Until next we meet,
Pastor Jessi
We are beginning our journey of examining a few of the spiritual disciplines as we read through the book of Philippians. Spiritual disciplines are not drudgery, or just another chore, or something to check off our list each day. They are something we should do with joy. We do not do them expecting them to create joy in our lives, but rather the spiritual disciplines are our joyous expressions of a life of faith, because we are overjoyed to be in Christ.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul uses the word JOY more than he does any of his other letters. His joy in Christ spills out into his words as he writes to the Philippian Christians. In this study, by no means will we cover every spiritual discipline or every nuance of Philippians. This is just a glimpse into a life that is lived under Christ and full of joy.
This first talk will be looking at Joyful Prayer through Philippians 1:1-11. Paul was known for his prayer life, and he almost always included a prayer in his letters to the Christian churches that he had helped start. This particular letter is written to a group of Christians from the city of Philippi. Paul is writing to them from jail. He had been imprisoned because of his faith. Prison is not what comes to mind if we were to name a place full of joy. However, the joy of Christ stems not from one’s circumstances in life, but it stems from Christ in spite of one’s circumstances in life.
So, let’s read Philippians 1:1-11. Now at this point, I recommend that you take a moment to read the passage a couple of times from your own Bible (or a couple of different Bibles). Take some to really look at the words on the page. I tend towards the English Standard Version (ESV) translation of the Bible, so that is what I will be reading.
PAUL’S PATTERN OF PRAYER
Paul has a certain pattern to his prayers, and we can see that in Philippians 1:1-11. I like his pattern of prayer, because it really emphasizes the focus on God and de-emphasizes the focus on us. Paul starts and ends his prayers with God. Paul’s pattern can be seen as God-Us-God, but I also like to think of it as Past-Present-Future.
Past – Thanksgiving
Paul begins with thanking God for all that God had done for him and for the people that he is writing to. Paul is full of joy when he thinks of the Philippians. It’s not because they are the perfect church or the perfect Christians. No, he thinks of them with joy and thanks God for them, because they are in Christ. Paul expresses joyful thanksgiving that God had brought Paul into a relationship with the Philippians, and he is thankful at what God is doing in his life and the lives of the Philippians. Basically, Paul begins his prayer with just taking a moment to appreciate God and what God is doing.
Present – Supplication
Then, Paul moves into supplication. This is when we have prayers of petition, asking God for something for us, or prayers of intercession, asking God for something for someone else. These types of prayers stem from our fellowship with other Christians who will ask you to pray for them. Or maybe you ask them to pray for you. Let’s talk about the word “fellowship” for a moment.
Too often, when we hear the word “fellowship” we think of it as a time where we all just hang out and eat food. We aren’t really doing anything else. However, the true meaning intended by the word “fellowship” is who do we associate with? Who are our like-minded, like-spirited group that we live life together with under Christ? It gives us an opportunity, not only for us to consider the people we know personally in our church or neighborhood, but also to recognize the universal church, the Christians throughout the world.
And I love how Paul prays for the Philippians here in verse 9-11a:
“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…”
Paul thanks God for the Philippians, because they are in Christ, and then he prays for the Philippians and their relationship with God. He doesn’t ask God to fix them or to even heal them; Paul asks God to give them more love, more knowledge, and more discernment in their lives. Can you imagine someone praying that you simply have more love in your life? How sweet is that?! Paul is praying for them to grow into an even deeper relationship with Christ.
Present and Future – Supplication and Doxology
Paul closes out the prayer in verse 11 with a doxology. The word “doxology” literally means the “oral or written expression of glory”. Paul says in verse 11: “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul closes his prayer with praise, worship, and adoration for God and His glory. And again here, the focus returns back to God.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Paul tends to have a God-Us-God pattern of prayer, we need to remember that prayer is not formulaic. Prayer is simply our method of interacting and talking with God. It is about relationship. We all hear that open and honest communication is the key to any good relationship, whether it is with a friend, co-worker, or spouse. Communication is just as important in our relationship with God. We need prayer.
God not only invites us into a prayer relationship with Him, but through prayer, we invite God to work in our daily lives. Through prayer, we are transformed into being more like Christ as our intimacy and dependency on God increases. We need prayer.
When you pray, you can use Paul’s pattern as a starting point to get into the habit of thanking God, then praying for others and yourself, and then praising God for who He is. Or you can find some other method. The method is just a tool and not the primary focus. Talking to God and letting God into your life, developing that relationship is the focus. Your prayers do not have to be fancy. Just talk to God like you would a close friend.
In closing, I just want to encourage you to spend some time praying to God every day. Let me pray for you for a moment:
Lord, thank you for the opportunity to reach people that I may not have reached normally or on my own. Thank you for all that you have done in my life and the life of my listeners. May the people that hear this lesson be empowered to engage with you through prayer. In spite of whatever circumstances in life they are in, Lord, please be with them and fill their hearts with love and their souls with the joy that can only come from you. May they grow in their relationship with you and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. May they understand that you, God, love them unconditionally and only want the best for them. God, you are above all, and your power and glory shines through the darkness of this life, providing safety and love for all of us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week!
Until next we meet,
Pastor Jessi
RSS Feed
