Prayer Power
Today, I preached on the topic of "Prayer Power" based on Philippians 1: 3-11. Paul is writing this letter to the church in Philippi from prison. This section is Paul's prayer for the church there. As I have written many times before, I strongly believe in the power of prayer and Paul does too as shown by this prayer and many others he prays for the churches.
This message also served another purpose. Today, was the first Sunday without our lead pastor, Steve Toews. As I began to pray about this transition, I felt strongly that we needed to clearly communicate our dedication to prayer by starting with this message from the very beginning. The more I prayed, the more I sensed God wanting me to preach this first Sunday and to stress the importance of prayer during this time. After the message, the congregation broke into small groups to pray through a bulletin insert that I put together. My hope is that the congregation will use this insert to pray through over the next several months.
As I studied this prayer of Paul's, I believed there were three key things we need to pray. The first is to pray for growth, the second is to pray for opportunities, and the last was to pray for discernment. These were specific to the Philippian church, but I also believe apply to all churches and especially to my church now as we go through a transition.
This message also served another purpose. Today, was the first Sunday without our lead pastor, Steve Toews. As I began to pray about this transition, I felt strongly that we needed to clearly communicate our dedication to prayer by starting with this message from the very beginning. The more I prayed, the more I sensed God wanting me to preach this first Sunday and to stress the importance of prayer during this time. After the message, the congregation broke into small groups to pray through a bulletin insert that I put together. My hope is that the congregation will use this insert to pray through over the next several months.
As I studied this prayer of Paul's, I believed there were three key things we need to pray. The first is to pray for growth, the second is to pray for opportunities, and the last was to pray for discernment. These were specific to the Philippian church, but I also believe apply to all churches and especially to my church now as we go through a transition.
- Growth (vs. 3-6) Paul's prayer in these first few verses is all about spiritual growth. Paul experienced great joy when praying for them. I too receive a great joy when praying for the church as well. He is thankful for the church's partnership in the gospel and in growing the Body of Christ through evangelism, discipleship, service and worship. But Paul also is confident that what Jesus began in their lives, he will bring to completion. Notice that the focus is on Jesus and not on what I can do or what I should do. Paul knew about the importance of spiritual growth for believers. We too need to be praying for spiritual growth for one another. We often remember to pray for physical, emotional, relational, and financial needs, but sometimes neglect praying for the spiritual needs of people. Let's commit to praying for spiritual growth for each other.
- Opportunities (vs. 7-8) When we pray, I believe we become connected to those we pray for and it changes how we see them. That is probably why Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. In these verses, we see that Paul is "in chains". It reminds us that Paul has experienced many difficulties in his life, but he faithfully continued "defending and confirming the gospel." We, like Paul, need to shine for Christ despite our difficulties. We also need to pray for opportunities to share Christ with others. Similarly, we need to share stories of grace. This includes ways that Christ brought victory through our lives, stories of sharing Christ with someone else, or prayers that have been answered to mention just a few. We need to be a church of grace. We also need to have the love that Paul speaks of in vs. 8. As a church, the way we love, serve, care for each other should be a great testimony to them. They should be attracted to this love that is different than anything the world can offer. I pray that all churches would be that type of church.
- Discernment (vs. 9-11)Paul prays "love may abound". What does this look like? Unfortunately, in our culture, we throw the word love around and it has varied meanings. For example, I say I love my wife & children, I love chicken, I love this song, I love that game, etc. There should be a difference in what I am saying in these examples. The love Paul is referring to is an unconditional love that Christ has for us and we should have for others. For an explanation, read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a and Ephesians 3:16-19. It is interesting that love is intertwined with knowledge. We need to pray for discernment so that we do "what is best and may be pure and blameless". When we do, we will be "filled with the fruit of righteousness." This is best understood as fruits which righteousness produces such as acts of kindness and service to others. Think about when the Bible says "they will know we are disciples by our love (John 13:35)" and "a tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:44)." Notice this must be connected to Christ. The passage ends with what should be our focus in prayer, the "glory and praise of God."
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