I love the prayers of Paul because they show me how to pray and reveal what God's will is for my life. As a husband or wife and a parent and as a leader at your church in any capacity you want to know what you should be praying. The prayers of Paul give you great guidance.
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11
Where does Paul start his prayer? With love. We love because he first loved us (I John 1:9). This is not a warm fuzzy who knows where it comes from or where it goes emotion. The love that Paul prays that we abound in is love that involves knowledge and depth of insight. I think about a parents love for their children. As a veteran educator I deal with parents all the time who "love" their children. Some apply heavy doses of affection and others lay down the law with unyielding discipline. If you are only affectionate your child will probably end up self absorbed and spoiled, unable to see beyond themselves. If you only discipline your child they will frustrated and either cower into uselessness or rebel with a vengeance seeking approval and acceptance from all the wrong places. The wise parents seek to use the appropriate mixture of affection and discipline. So, love is not haphazard.
When we humbly seek God for wisdom to love as he loved us, he will give us discernment to know what is best, not just good, but best. Making choices to love in the best way will of course lead us to purity which leaves us blameless. This is not sinless perfectionism. Because remembering that God first loved us is to remember that he, in Christ, forgave us and we are to forgive others.
Purity in our choices fills our lives with the fruit of righteousness, which comes through our faith in Christ, his love for us. There is a beauty to the circle of this faith. He loves us. We seek his love. He gives us his love. We act in love, which is pure. He fills our lives with righteousness in Christ. God is glorified.
Father, thank you Lord Jesus for first loving us. May our love abound in knowledge and depth of insight. Give us discernment to know what is best and to be pure and blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Be glorified in us today! Thank you , Lord!
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