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Fortifying Your Prayers
Philippians 1:7-11
Turn in the New Testament to the book of Philippians and the first chapter in the book of Philippians. If you don’t have a Bible with you, there will be one under a chair in front of you. You could grab that Bible and turn in the back portion of it to page 154, and you would find yourself at Philippians, chapter 1.There are a number of common sayings about prayer, and you’ve heard some of these. One of them is…prayer changes things. Here is another common saying…God answers knee-mail. I like that one. It’s very creative. And here is another one…prayer moves the hand that moves the world. And then one other final saying about prayer…the greatest gift we can give to others is our prayers.
Now, I want you to just ponder those sayings for just a moment, and then I want you to ask yourself the question…Do we believe that about prayer? Do we believe prayer changes things? Do we believe God answers knee-mail? Do we believe prayer moves the hand that moves the world? And do we believe the greatest gift we can give to others is our prayers? If we do believe those things about prayer, it will influence the way we pray for other people. Today, we are continuing our series in the book of Philippians that we have subtitled Spiritual Essentials for a Joy-Full Life. [And I want to encourage you if you haven’t picked one up, we have copies of our outline of the book.]
One of the things I find interesting is that several times in the New Testament Paul says this, basically, he says to other believers, “Do what I do.” In 1 Corinthians 11:1, he says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” He says to other followers of Jesus, “Do what I do.” Right here in the book of Philippians, in chapter 3, verse 17, he says, “Join in following my example.” And as we have seen in the opening verse of Philippians 1, we have seen one of the things he did that he sets an example for us is that he prayed for others. In fact, if you were here last week, part of our life response at the end of the message is that we would pray for others.
Today, as we move deeper into these verses, we’re going to learn how he prayed for others, and by examining his example in praying for others, I believe we can fortify our own prayer life, and that is an exciting thing. Now, let me give you today’s plan. It basically falls into two parts. First, we’re going to see Paul’s connection with others. And then we’re going to see Paul’s prayer priorities for others. So, that is the plan of attack for today, and I would like to read from chapter 1, verses 7 to 11, and I’m going to invite you to follow along in your Bible as I read these verses.
Paul writes, and he says, “For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Now, in some ways, this is a hard passage to get a grip on, but I believe there is some wonderful gems for us in these verses. So, we want to begin by looking at Paul’s connection with others, and we see that right there in verse 7 when he says, “It is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart.” The New Living Translation says, “You have a special place in my heart.” Really, what he was saying to them is, “We are deeply connected together.”
How does that happen? How do believers become deeply connected together? Why would he say that? What was the catalyst that brought that about? Well, he really goes on to explain it all when he says in verse 7, “Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.” That word partakers is the word koinoneo in the original language. The NIV translates it share…for you share in grace with me.
And the most common way we use the word koinoneo today in the Church at large is we translate it with the word fellowship. And so, we like to talk about having fellowship together, and we’ll say, “Let’s get together for some fellowship. Let’s have some snacks, and let’s have some fun, and let’s hang out together as believers in Jesus Christ.” But the New Testament idea of koinoneo or fellowship goes beyond food and friendship. It goes beyond having meals together and hanging together. And as we said last week, perhaps the best translation of the word koinoneo might be the word partnership.
Part of what he is saying is, “I feel a connection with you because of the partnership we’ve had in ministry. There is a connection because we have been immersed in ministry together. We have been serving side by side out there, ministering and representing Jesus Christ.” And those of you who have been on short-term missions trips understand what that means. Where you go with a group of people, and you’re out there, and you’re immersed in ministry together, and there is just this connection that happens.
I’ve been hanging around with Phil Chain [Wildwood’s missionary to Mexico] for some 18 years, and there is a connection with Phil and me, and the reason why there is a connection with Phil and me is we’ve been out there. We’ve taken long van rides and talked on the way to remote villages to present the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve hung out and talked about some of the issues of the ministry and some of the struggles that are there, and so, there is a connection Phil and I have because we’ve been immersed in ministry together.
Many of you know I’ve been involved for a number of years in ministry in Latvia, and there are a number of people there I feel this incredible connection with. Why? Because we’ve been immersed in ministry together, and we’ve faced difficult situations that even at times when we didn’t even know what food we were going to eat. And there is just a connection that happens when you’re side by side in ministry with somebody.
We just recently over the Valentine’s weekend had the Better Together marriage seminar where some 550 people were there. And there was a team of people who were involved in planning that, and praying for that, and executing that, and bringing it about, and we were just side by side, serving together to make that become a reality. So, there is a connection that is there. Some of those people I hadn’t worked with on that level before, and so, you just feel this sense of connection because we were immersed in ministry together.
You know, we’re involved in our Pass It On initiative, which involves not only increasing some of our staffing to children’s ministry, but in developing a children’s ministry facility and a building. When you go through that process, and you’re even serving in the whole aspect of planning of that facility, and then watching it begin to happen…and many of you have given sacrificially to that…because we’ve been immersed in ministry and side by side been serving to see that be a reality, there is a certain connection we feel. And one day, when we get to see that as a reality, and we begin to see children’s lives being touched, we’re just going to have a tremendous sense of accomplishment, that connection that comes from being immersed in ministry together.
Many of you work in our children’s ministry, and you’re working with the kids down there, and when you’re doing that, you’re going to feel this sense of connection together because we believe our children’s ministry is so much more than babysitting, and many churches view it that way. But we believe that in our children’s ministry, literally, we are shaping the future leaders of the church. There is going to come a time when I am gone and you are gone, and we are not going to be here. And what is an amazing vision to have is to realize the future leaders of Wildwood are down there.
And so, we’ve had people like Marshall Brackin for decades now teaching five-year-olds, and part of what is motivating him and others who are immersed in that ministry is just that fact. That is the future of Wildwood down there, and we want to be able to touch them with the gospel message and to be able to grow them in their faith and walk so as they grow older, they are more effective leaders. But when you’re involved in that kind of ministry, and you’re immersed in that, and you’re serving side by side, there is just a connection that goes on in all of that.
And so, if you really want to connect with other followers of Jesus Christ, get immersed in a ministry with them. Start serving with them side by side. And if you’re not doing that, I just want you to know you’re missing a blessing. If it’s just a case of “Yeah, I come, I’m here on Sunday, and then I go home,” you’re missing a huge part of what the Christian life is supposed to be about and a huge part of the blessing of connecting deeply with other people.
Notice verse 8. He says, “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” Why does he say that? Because people matter! Christ died for people, and that is why when we talk about stacking up backpacks for Mexico missions over here by the cross, it’s a reminder that people in Mexico, children, matter.
We’re talking about this children’s ministry building, and our bids are out now. We’re asking you to pray that they would come back as low as possible because we would love to be able to do some of the other things that are going to enhance the building. I’d love to be able to get all the theme-ing that is on the drawing boards [children-based decoration themes] into this building. It will blow your mind.
But when we talk about the children’s building, it’s not about the building. We’re not doing this because we want to add 20,000 square feet…we don’t have enough to clean. That isn’t the idea. The idea of it isn’t the building. It’s the young lives, the children who are wet cement who we want to have come to know and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to know Christ, and then to grow in Christ. That is what motivates us about that because people matter.
I really love Kent Hughes’ description of really what the Church is. This is such a great little quote. He says, “We are a robust band of brothers and sisters in a quest for souls of the world.” I read that, and it literally gives me goose bumps. “We are a robust band of brothers and sisters in a quest for souls of the world.” Men and women, when you have that spirit, and you are immersed in ministry together, I guarantee you, there will be connection, and that is what Paul is describing here.
He goes on to say in verse 8, “I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” It’s His affection that is coming through me to you. And so, I want to ask you this question as we’ve looked at this whole idea of Paul’s connection with others, and I want you to really be honest with yourself for a moment. The question is this…Are you on the sidelines or are you in the thick of ministry? And as I said, we love to have people come and attend a worship service on a Sunday morning. That is a good thing, but there is so much more to the Christian life than that.
So, first of all, we see in these verses Paul’s connection with others. But there is some really exciting stuff here when we see Paul’s prayer priorities for others. Remember what he said in verse 4? He talks about how he was “always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.” He was praying for other believers. But how was he praying for them? What does he pray for them?
Now, I want to just put everything on pause for a moment, and I want to ask another question, and I want you to think about it for a moment. And that question is…How do we commonly pray for one another? As believers who pray for another believer, how do we commonly pray for one another?
Well, we will often pray things like this, or we might say, “I have an interview coming up. Would you pray for me?” Or, “I have a test, a very difficult test coming up. Would you pray for me as I take that test?” Or maybe, “I am sick, and I would love to have you to pray for me.” Or, “I’m facing a disease in my life, and I would like you to pray for me.” Or maybe, “I was injured, and there was an accident, a car wreck, and I would love to have prayers for that.” Or maybe, “There is a significant medical test coming up. Would you pray for me about that?” Or maybe, “I need to buy a car, and it’s always difficult to find a good deal on a car. Would you pray for me about that?” Or maybe, “I’ve lost my job, or I need a new job. Would you pray for me about my job?”
Isn’t that how we commonly pray for one another? Now, I want you to know there is nothing wrong with praying for all of those things. I pray for all of those things. And when I got word that I had cancer; I certainly really coveted your prayers for me during that time. Who would ever deny us praying for little Abby Riggs as she goes through her fight with leukemia, and just goes through some of the most horrible treatment processes you can imagine?
But what is one common thing about all those? If you’ll notice, they’re all in the physical realm. Now, even Paul prayed over physical needs. If you look in chapter 2, verses 26 and 27, he talks about Epaphroditus who was a fellow worker and fellow soldier with Paul. And then, notice he says, “He was longing for you all…” the Philippians “…and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death.” They were worried, Paul was and they were, that Epaphroditus might die. “But,” he says, “God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me,” Paul says, “so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.”
I can guarantee you when Epaphroditus was sick, Paul was praying for him and so were the Philippians. But when Paul prays for the believers, he goes deeper than that. I want to look at books on either side of the book of Philippians for just a moment. Turn with me to Ephesians 1, and I want us to look at a couple of Paul’s prayers recorded for us for the Ephesian believers. As we do this, we want to be thinking about…What do I pray for other people?
I want you to notice chapter 1, verse 16. He says, “I do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Look at chapter 3, and verse 14. He says, “I bow my knees before the Father…” And he prays in verse 16 “…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” It’s just different than the way we commonly pray for one another.
Look back at the book of Philippians again at verses 9 through 11. What is he praying for other believers? Verse 9, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
What we’re going to see as we look at these verses in the next few minutes is how to fortify our prayers. Here is the way this works: physical issues…which are worthy of being prayed about…there is one thing about physical issues. Physical issues are temporary; spiritual development is permanent. It is permanent. Spiritual development pays dividends when times are good and when times are hard.
Now, I want to say this again because I want to make this very, very clear about what I’m not saying. I’m afraid people are going to come out of here and say, “Bruce is saying that if you pray for physical dimension things, that’s wrong.” I’m not saying that. Okay? I am not saying that. What I am saying is, based on Paul’s example, if we’re going to fortify our prayers, if we believe those prayer sayings, then we need to go deeper when we pray for one another.
Let me ask you this question…When was the last time you prayed for another believer in the spiritual dimension of things? When was the last time? What we’re going to do is highlight four things Paul prays for these believers, and we’ll try to unpack them a little bit. The first one he prays for them…see the first of verse 9…
1. Their love would abound. He says, “I’m praying for you that your love abounds.” He’s not praying for superficial emotionalism or some sort of shallow sentimentality. He says, “I am praying your love abounds.” And the word love here is that common word in the New Testament agape. And agape is giving love rather than receiving love. Agape love is love in action.
In fact, when you go to chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, and you see agape love defined, it’s all verbs! This kind of love is love in action. I like to call it “Calvary love” because that is what God did. He took action and came down and died on that cross for you and for me. He is saying, “I am praying that your love abounds.”
I want you to turn with me to the book of Colossians and chapter 3. And I want you to just see this is a fairly common prayer of Paul for the believers. Chapter 3, and verse 12: he says, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved…” There are some spiritual clothes we are to be putting on in our lives, “… put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love…” Put on agape, “…which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Now, I have shared with you before a biblical definition of what agape love really is, and it’s this…a commitment of my will to your needs and best interest regardless of the cost. And he says, “I am praying your agape would abound.” The picture is like having a geyser of it just flowing out of our lives, that it would flow wave after wave out of our lives, that it would just cascade from us. When he says, “I am praying your love would abound,” I think he’s really saying, “That you would be generous in agape towards others.”
Go two books to the right from Philippians to 1 Thessalonians, and chapter number 3, and I want you to see a similar statement that is made in verse 12. He says, “May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another…” But don’t stop there, “… and for all people.” Not just in the believing family, but for everyone. Why? Because people matter!
I want you to know something. When a church loses sight of that, that people matter, trouble brews. You see, the enemy will try to get people even in the Church of Jesus Christ to buy into selfishness and pride. And when a church loses sight of the fact that people matter, it will sidetrack the leaders. We’ve heard stories of what has gone on in some churches, and you’re going to hear more of them, but I guarantee you that a big part of what happens when leaders get sidetracked like that is they lost sight of the fact that people matter, and they get involved in selfishness and pride.
When a church loses sight of the fact that people matter, Satan is going to introduce bickering and disunity into the Body. You know what happens? The church’s effectiveness is just submarined. I’ve been around long enough now…over several decades…I could list the churches I’ve watched this happen to in this community. People matter. He says, “My prayer for you is that your love, your agape, would abound, that waves would come out.”
Now, I want to ask you a question, and I want you to wrestle with this for a moment. And the question is this…When you think about that definition, a commitment of my will to your needs in best interest regardless of the cost, how many people do you relate to in that way?How many people do you love in that way?
A good exercise to do from time to time is to go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 to 7, where it describes what love is, what agape is, and in place of the word love just put your own name in there. Love is patient; love is kind…so forth. Put your own name in there. Bruce is patient, and Bruce is kind. “I’m praying for you,” he says, “that your love would abound.” It’s a great thing to pray! Would you pray that for me?
2. They would discern wisdom. We see that at the end of verse 9 and the beginning of verse 10, that this would happen “in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent.” Let’s just break down some of those terms. He said, “I’m praying that it would be in real knowledge, that there would be clear thinking that would be consistent with the principles of God’s Word. That is what I’m praying for you.” And that it would be in all discernment. The NIV says, “In depth of insight.” His prayer for them, I believe, is that they would have a proper appraisal of reality. That they would have insight for everyday living.
Then there is an aim in verse 10. “So that you may appraise…” The NIV says discern, “…the things that are excellent.” The NIV says the things that are best. Men and women, this prayer to pray for other believers that they would discern wisdom is just so needed in the Church today. That we would pray for one another that we would have the wisdom to discern right from wrong. To discern the difference between that which is healthy and that which is unhealthy, both in the physical realm and the spiritual realm.
That we would have the wisdom to know the difference between what is vital and what is trivial, between what is decent and what is indecent, between what is loving and what is unloving, between what is important and what is merely urgent…what is important would be something God says has a priority; what is urgent is what the pressure is from other places for us to do. It’s so needed that we would be prayed for, that we would know the difference between what is wise and what is unwise. I like to call this “godly common sense.” We need people who would pray that for us.
Pastor Mark this last week mentioned a book to me. The title of the book is The Best Question Ever. It’s written by Andy Stanley, and it’s a book that basically takes Ephesians 5:15 and develops that concept where it says, “Be careful how you walk, how you live your life, not as unwise but as wise.”
And part of what he does in that book is he talks about a tendency we often have, and that is that we want to flirt to see how close we can get to doing something that is wrong without actually doing it, or without having the consequences of having done it. It’s a little bit like…if you think about it…this is the edge of a cliff, and what we tend to do in our spiritual lives is we like to walk as close to the edge as we can, thinking we’re going to avoid going over. But the trouble is, when you’re very close to the edge, it’s actually very easy to slip and to trip, and suddenly you’ve gone over the edge.
Part of what he is trying to say in this book is what we need to do is we need to develop wiser, safer choices in the moral realm. Instead of going right to the edge…you see, if I take several steps back and I say, “Wisdom would say I’m not going to get any closer than this,” the chances of my going over the edge are greatly minimized. So, that is part of what he develops in the book. And he says that we need to apply the choice of wisdom relationally and financially and professionally and spiritually.
And then, he gives these three questions you could ask. One would be like…In light of my past experience, what would be the wise thing to do? In light of some of the weaknesses and mistakes I’ve made in the past, what would be the wise thing to do? There are people who have come out of alcoholic addiction, and my brother-in-law is one of them; at one point, a raging alcoholic, consuming several cases of beer a day.
Now, when it comes to the subject matter of beer, he could say, “I’m going to walk right up to the edge, and I’m still going to have beer in the fridge.” But he said, “I’m not going there because I don’t want to go over the edge.” So, he has taken several steps back, and he says, “For me, no beer will be purchased.” See, that is the idea. In light of past experience, maybe some mistakes we’ve made and some failures, what is the wise thing to do?
Then another question is…In light of my current circumstances, what would be the wise thing to do? Should I spring to buy this or to buy that as I look at my current financial situation and how much debt I’m in. What is the wise thing to do?
And then the other question…In light of my future hopes, what would be the wise thing to do? Some of us are saying, “When I get married one day, I want to have this dynamic relationship.” Well, if that is true, maybe in light of the future kind of a marriage you want to have, instead of going right up to the edge as you’re dating, maybe you say, “I’m going to stay several steps back because I don’t want anything to happen in my dating arena that is going to affect my future goals.”
Great book! It’s going to go directly into the LightSource [Wildwood’s bookstore]. Tremendous stuff there.
Paul said, “I’m praying you would discern wisdom. It’s a great thing to pray! Would you pray that for me? His prayer for them is that their love would abound, that they would discern wisdom, and thirdly, he prays that…
3. They would live authentically. We see that at the end of verse 10 and then into verse 11. He says, “To be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ.” That word in verse 10, that you would be sincere, the NIV, I think, translates it pure. Literally, it means unmixed, that our lives would be unmixed, that it would be genuine.
It reminds me of the acronym WYSIWYG. Those of you who know a thing about computers would know that stands for…What you see is what you get. That is what he was praying for these believers, that it would be true of their lives. What you see is what you get. That we’re not different with different crowds of people. You know, where we’re one way at home and another way when we’re around the church folks. Or we’re one way around the church folks, but we’re very different when we’re at school or when we are at work.
In fact, one of the greatest compliments I receive is when people say to me, “Bruce, you’re just the same wherever you are.” And I’m going, “Yes! What you see is what you get.” That is part of what he was praying. He is praying that you would be blameless. Literally, it means without stumbling, that there are no skeletons, no secret life going on. When your family is gone, things are different, or when your roommates have gone to bed, and suddenly…whoa!
And then, he goes on in verse 11, and he says, “…having been filled.” A little technical information here. This is a perfect passive participle. What does that mean? It means you don’t do it; you receive the action. That we allow the Holy Spirit to full access into our lives, that there are not any private rooms we keep Him out of. “Don’t get into that arena of my sex life. Don’t get into that arena of my financial life.” No, but He has full access. We have been filled with the fruit of righteousness.
I like the New Living Translation here. It says, “Filled with those things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ.” And that would include godly character, as it talks about in Galatians 5:22-23, and I think it would include good deeds as part of the fruit, as it says in Colossians 1:10, “Bearing fruit in every good work.” His prayer for them is that they would live authentically. It’s a great thing to pray! Would you pray that for me? He prays that their love would abound, that they would discern wisdom, that they would live authentically, and then he prays that…
4. They would honor God. And you see that at the end of verse 11, “To the glory and praise of God.” Those similar phrases appear in Paul’s writing, in chapter 1 of Ephesians, verse 6, he talks about “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” In chapter 1 of Ephesians, verses 12 and 14, “to the praise of His glory.” For some nearly 30 years now, I sign letters…if you get a letter, you’ll notice there is a signature line I have, and that signature line is: To the praise of His glory.
See, every time I’m signing a letter, it is a reminder to me that I am to honor God. And that is what we’re called to, men and women. Remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:20? He says, “You have been bought with a price…” that cross, “…therefore glorify God in your body.” Honor Him. He would pray for them that they would honor God. It’s a great thing to pray. Will you pray that for me?
Now, let me ask you…Would that fortify your prayer life if you start praying for other believers? Prayer changes things. God answers knee-mail. Prayer moves the hand that moves the world. The greatest gift we can give to others is our prayers. We pray that their love would abound, and that they would discern wisdom, that they would live authentically, and that they would honor God.
Now, as we are prone to do, we don’t want to be guilty of what James talks about, and that is we look at the Word of God, and then we just walk away from the Word of God. So, we like to talk about some life response we can have, and I want to suggest two that we can do this week.
1. Practice love towards one person. Identify one person, and you’re going to put it into practice, a commitment of my will to your needs and best interest regardless of the cost. And that means that you call someone, it might mean you write someone a note. It might mean you take someone out to a meal. It might mean you help with a need in some way.
Sam Gordon tells a story that happened a number of years ago on a bitterly cold day in February in New York. If you’ve ever been to New York in February, it can be very, very cold. On that day, there was a little boy standing barefoot on a cold day in front of a shoe store in New York, and there was a woman riding…you know, you go to New York, and you see these carriages that you can often ride in…so, this woman is riding in one of those kind of carriages.
She sees the little boy barefoot in front of a shoe store, and so, she stops, and she gets out from the carriage, and she goes over to the boy, and she says, “Why are you looking so earnestly into that window?” And the little guy said, “I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.” He shivered while he said that. So, the woman took him by the hand, and went into the store, and she asked the proprietor there for a half a dozen pairs of socks, and she also asked for a little basin of warm water and a towel.
The guy brought them over to her, and she took the boy into the back of the store, removed her gloves, knelt down, and washed the little boy’s grimy feet, and then dried them with the towel. Then, she had him put on a pair of socks, and then going to the front of the store, she bought him a pair of shoes. And as they parted, she said to him, “I hope you’re a little more comfortable now.” And he caught her hand, and with tears in his eyes, he said to her, “Are you God’s wife?”
Men and women, the amazing thing is that we have the opportunity when we minister agape love to people, we are really the very hands, and arms, and relatives of Christ.
2. Pray for three others this week. Who do you lift up in prayer? Who do you pray for that their love would abound, that they would discern wisdom, that they would live authentically, and they would honor God? I want you to think of three people, and I want you to pray for them this week. And if you’re unsure of who the three should be, include me.
Let’s pray together. Father, again, we want to thank You for just reminding us of the example of Paul and how he wanted us to do as he did, which is really doing what Christ did. And Jesus prayed this way for others. And I would pray You’d call us up to deepen our prayer life. And I don’t know what would happen to us as a church family if we were all praying these kinds of prayers for each other, but I do know it would be magnificent, and the world would take notice. We pray that that would begin with us, and we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.