Former Blackout Artist

“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.” Philippians 1:9-10

Although teaching and encouragement helps, one of the most practical ways we can influence someone is to simply pray for them. Our human power of persuasion is limited, but when we petition God’s help, we gain immediate access to His limitless power and resources.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was that they would be unified in love, so that their love would bring greater knowledge of Christ and moral discernment. A love that is based exclusively on emotion will invariably fail to produce the depth of knowledge needed to know what is right and true from what is wrong and baseless. But love that is founded on the evidence of what Christ has done for us brings both enlightenment and wisdom.

Hebrews 5:13-14 perfectly illustrates our need for continued growth in love and discernment. “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

As we grow in Christ’s love, our hearts and minds must grow together.

When we read the Bible, do we take a moment to pray beforehand for God to open our hearts and minds so that He can clearly reveal Himself and speak His truth to us? When we pray, do we ask Him to surround us with mature believers who can help teach and guide us in ways that are right?

And if you happen to be a mature believer who has been seasoned with life experience and moral discernment, are you praying for God to send you someone new in their faith who you can help ween from milk and begin gradually providing real sustenance that leads to real spiritual growth in Christ?

Let us follow Paul’s lead by praying this simple prayer today.

Lord, please help our love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that we may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day that Christ returns. Amen.