Respond:

Another week is here Lord. Help me to be refreshed, refocused, and motivated towards Your Word. Help me to not lose focus on the road ahead of me. Help me to remain affixed on the prize set before us at the Bema Seat. Guide me in how to kindle the fire within me so that I am engulfed with Your Spirit. I desire a new thirst today, a new unquenchable desire to be in Your Word. Amen.

Rejoice:

Read:

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

As we work through the introduction here we see Paul praying for these people. Paul has a prayer life that consists of others and more specifically the church at Philippi. He has been praying and thanking God because of the salvation of these believers. A part of his relationship with God is being thankful for other’s walk with God! This is likely something that is missing from our prayer life. I feel very few Christians are actually spending time in prayer each day being thankful about the spiritual maturity or salvation of other believers. Before digging any deeper into these texts we must realize it is healthy for us to make sure our prayer life includes being thankful for other believers. It is important for us to be mentioning those around us and not just their physical ailments but also their spiritual walk during our prayers. Praying in this way reminds us that we are a part of a team. We have a family of fellow warriors who are working around us. It is vital for us to be united in our prayer lives as well.

Second, we notice Paul is confident that God is working on these believers and will continue to work on them. Frequently we become discouraged with others who are struggling. Or we look at people who are not as “spiritually mature” as us and we become frustrated. We need to be encouraging to each brother and sister in Christ. We need to include thanks for their current level of maturity in our prayers. Furthermore we need to be encouraging one another that we know God is in control and is changing things in each other’s lives!

Ultimately we see a window into the prayer life of someone who has a deep relationship with the Lord. It is wise for us to observe it, evaluate ours, and change what needs to be changed. Do not go away from these passages without a change to your prayer life… which hopefully exists.

Respond:

I know my prayer life has a lot of growth needed. I know that my American concept of prayer is so limited and likely very shallow. Lord, show me what you would have me to do to deepen this part of my relationship. Help me implement the changes you show me, and help me to be consistent in them. Make me aware of the necessity for having a healthy, full prayer life. Amen.

Relate:

These verses showed you exactly how to be relating today. Pray for someone that is a believer. Be thankful for their relationship with the Lord and what He is doing in their lives. Then follow up with that person ENCOURAGING them that you know the Lord is doing mighty things and their life is no exception.