Philippians 1:9-11
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.
As most of you readers know, Joyce and I just celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary on July 10th. Over those years we have a growth in our love for each other, but even more important is that our love for Jesus has also grown.
Paul’s prayer for his beloved church in Philippi is very insightful. He prays that their love may abound in knowledge and depth of insight. The Greek word for abound is the word, perisseuô. It means to overflow or to exceed that which was expected. What a fantastic prayer. As great as that prayer is it does not end there.
There is a purpose in abounding love. It is that it will result in knowledge and depth of insight. If Paul’s prayer were to end there it would be meaningful. I think we are well aware of believers who have great biblical knowledge and insight, but they lack purpose and direction. Paul prays that the believer’s love may lead to discover what is best and to be pure until Jesus comes.
The prayer I pray for myself as well as for each of you who read this is that we may love the way the Lord loved. This means a sacrificial love that is willing to love others in the way the Lord desires for us to love them.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil