Praying Through God's Word: Philippians

Philippians 1:1-2:11

Lord, there are times when we feel like we can’t go on, times when we feel like giving up. When we feel like this, speak to us Your Word of encouragement: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the Day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Philippians 2:12-3:11

Lord, we have Your command – “Work out your salvation.” We also have Your promise – “God is at work in you” (Philippians 2:12-13). Help us to obey Your command, and trust Your promise.

Philippians 3:12-4:23

“Christ Jesus has made me His own” (Philippians 3:12). How wonderful this is, Lord! In these words of Paul, we hear an echo of Jesus’ great words: “You did not choose Me … I chose you” (John 15:16). Your love for us is so much stronger than our love for You. May Your love – the greatest love of all – inspire us to love You more.

No-one else can ever be more important and more wonderful than Jesus.

Knowing the Lord Jesus Christ is more important and more wonderful than everything else (Philippians 3:8).

Paul's testimony lifts us above the shallow superficiality of the worldly way of thinking. Too often, we attach too much importance to the things that aren't really that important. We need to be reminded that Jesus is the most important Person of all. No-one else can ever be more important and more wonderful than Jesus.

Will we ever learn?

In the Gospels, we read about Jesus and his disciples. They were slow learners - but he was a very patient teacher. He didn't give up on them, and he doesn't give up on us. In the question, "Will we  ever learn?", there is more than a hint of frustration - we want to learn, but will we ever learn? Learning to follow Jesus is a lifelong process. Sometimes, we make some progress. Often, we are a big disappointment to our Lord. We may be a disappointment to him, but he will never be a disappointment to us. We may not always be his faithful followers, but he will always be our faithful Saviour. When we ask the question, "Will we ever learn?", we know, in our hearts, that the answer has to be "No." Thank God - there are some other questions which must be answered with the word, "No." When we fail Jesus, will he fail us? No - he will never fail us. When we let him down, will he let us down? No - he will never let us down, he will lift us up. When we fail him and let him down, will he stop loving us? No - he will never stop loving us. Despite our many failures and our many falls, Jesus keeps on loving us. We have his precious promise - "He will bring to completion the good work that he has begun in us" (Philippians 1:6).  

Our love for the Lord comes from His love for us.

"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 for 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).

Our love for the Lord comes from His love for us. His love reaches us. His love changes us. With Jesus as our Saviour, our life changes direction. It's less of self - and more of Him. We're moving towards "the day of Christ." We're not there yet. We've got a long way to go. We find it so difficult to look beyond where we are right now. Jesus is very different from us. He looks right on to the end. He sees as we will be at the time of His Return. Now, we catch only a glimpse of the glory of Christ. Then, we will see Him in the fullness of His glory. What we shall be is still to be fully revealed to us. Saved by grace, promoted to glory - Here-and-now, these are, for us, words of faith. When He returns, we will enter into the full reality of what it means to be saved by grace and promoted to glory.

Kept By The Power Of God

Philippians 1:1-2:11
Do you feel like you can`t go on? Do you feel like giving up? Here`s God`s Word of encouragement for you: ‘He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the Day of Jesus Christ’(1:6). God finishes what He starts - ‘He didn`t bring us this far to leave us. He didn`t teach us to swim to let us drown. He didn`t build His home in us to move away. He didn`t lift us up to let us down’. In all the changes of life, we must remember this: God is faithful. His love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. We don`t keep going because we are strong. We are ‘kept by the power of God’(1 Peter 1:5). In ‘humility’ let us live ‘to the glory and praise of God’(2:3; 1:11). ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’(2:11) - He will give you the strength to keep going when you feel like giving up.

I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me.

Philippians 3:12-4:23
‘Christ Jesus has made me His own’(3:12). In Paul`s words, we hear an echo of Jesus` words, ‘You did not choose Me... I chose you’(John 15:16). Christ has claimed us for Himself. He has laid claim to every part of our life. We are to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’(4). We are to bring ‘everything’ to Him in prayer (6). We are to be ‘content in all circumstances’(4:11-12). We are to face every challenge with confidence in His strength - ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(4:13). We are to trust Him to ‘supply’ our ‘every need’(4:19). In every situation, we can come to the Lord, trusting in His promise: ‘the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’(7). Whatever is happening, take it to the Lord in prayer and let Him give you His peace.

"Always be joyful in the Lord ... I know how to live in poverty or prosperity" (Philippians 4:4,12).

In the Lord - This is the important thing. Poverty with the Lord is better than prosperity without Him.

God Is At Work In You.

Philippians 2:12-3:11
God’s command- ‘Work out your own salvation’- must never be separated from His promise - ‘God is at work in you’(12-13). We do not save ourselves - We ‘put no confidence in the flesh’. We are saved by the Lord - We ‘glory in Christ Jesus’(3). We are to ‘shine as lights in the world’, directing attention away from ourselves to Him who is ‘the Light of the world’- our Lord Jesus Christ (15; John 8:12). We have this testimony: “I have ‘no righteousness of my own’. ‘Through faith in Christ’, I have received ‘this righteousness from God’”(9). We are living in difficult times. This is ‘a crooked and perverse generation’(15). We are called to ‘hold fast the Word of life’(16). It will not be easy. We will face many difficulties. We must take encouragement from this: ‘God is at work in you’(13).

Exalted

In Philippians 2:8, we read of Jesus going into “the far country” (Luke 15:13) – “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” – so that we might have an even greatest Homecoming of all – Christ has been “exalted … to the highest place.” He has been given “the Name that is above every name.” What a day it will be when “at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).