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Scripture for the day: Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
Thought for the day: “I’ll pray for you.” I fear these too often fit snugly into the category of famous last words. Oh, we don’t make that promise with no intention of following through, it’s just that we get busy and life overwhelms us. We allow too many things into our lives that distract us from fulfilling the promises we’ve made. Far too frequently we think to pray for that one who has asked for our help only when we see him or her coming into the doors of the church or down the bargain aisle at the local big-box store (this is where you breathe a deep sigh and say to yourself, “Yeah, Bill, that’s me). Well, don’t despair; at the very least you are firmly planted in the majority of honest believers. The truth of our failure in the commitment to pray for others makes me appreciate the apostle Paul even more. Look at what he promised the Philippians. He said, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” He didn’t promise to pray for them all day, every day. He made a reasonable statement based on the reality of his life.
Perhaps even more important to us is what Paul prayed for the Philippians. He didn’t promise to pray for their bunions, for wealth, health or any other physical need. He promise to pray for them on a much higher level. So, taking Paul as my example (knowing Jesus was his) I pledge to you that, whenever the Lord brings you to my mind, I will pray the following:
1. I will thank God for your fellowship in the Gospel (1:5).
2. I will pray that your love in the Lord may abound more and more (1:9).
3. I will pray that you will fully grasp what really matters (1:10).
4. I will pray that you live a pure and blameless life (1:10).
5. I will pray that you will be filled with the Spirit of righteousness (1:11).
6. I will pray that your conduct will always be worthy of the Gospel (1:27).
7. I will pray that, in all things, you will have the mind of Christ (2:5).
8. I will pray that you will live as a blameless child of God (2:15).
9. I will pray that you will, through good times and bad, stand fast in the Lord (4:1).
10. I will pray that you will be able to rejoice in the Lord always (4:4).
11. I will pray that you will learn the secret of being anxious for nothing (4:6).
Note, Paul speaks nowhere of praying for physical well-being. He doesn’t promise to ask the Lord to bless his friends in Philippi in any material way. Are these things important? Yes, I suppose they are, at least in the sense that we can’t do as much to serve the Lord as we might if our physical health is keeping us isolated or bed-ridden. On the other hand, I’ve known people who were physically unable to get out or do very much physically in the Kingdom. Some of these folks have accomplished much more than I have even attempted, all because they didn’t focus on all those things they couldn’t do. Rather, they did what the Lord asked of them right where they were and left the results in His hands.
So, I’ll pray for you whenever the Lord brings you to my mind. I can’t promise every day; I can only covenant with you that you will not be neglected. And I will pray the same things as Paul prayed for his friends in Philippi. I will pray for the most important things in your life, that you might be conformed to the image of Christ in every aspect of your life. And I can do this in confidence because “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6).
Now go take on your world. - Bill