When Apostles pray, for what do they pray? They are crucial witnesses for us, by example and command, for how we are to live the Christian life. Consequently we are interested in knowing why, and how, and for what the Apostles prayed, even that in fact that they did pray.

The Apostle Paul prays for the Macedonian Christians of Philippi in 1:9-11. For what does he pray? What were his aspirations for the Philippians? What did he hope to see develop in their lives? What priorities for them are reflected in his prayer? Then we want to ask, how do our prayers stack up against his? Do our priorities in prayer reflect his?

Spiritual Concerns

And this I pray . . . (Phil 1:9a)

The "and this" of verse 9 probably refers back to verse 4, where the Apostle Paul noted his prayers for the Philippians. Now he supplies some of the contents of those prayers. For the time being it is enough to note that the Apostle Paul practices prayer and that his prayers are primarily for spiritual concerns. He prays for (and seeks prayers for) the progress of the gospel (e.g. Rom 15:30-33; 2 Cor 1;11; Eph 6:19; Phil 1:19; Col 4:2-4,12; 1 Thess 3:10; 2 Thess 1:11; 3:1,2). Also, he prays for the sanctification of the saints. The good that he seeks in the lives of others is spiritual good, and the means by which he aims to achieve it is prayer. The focus here is sanctification. We see precisely the same commitments in his prayers for the Ephesians and Colossians (Eph 1:15-23; Col 1:9-12). His priorities there, as well as here, are spiritual, in particular for spiritual progression in the lives of his people.

My observation, anecdotal though it be, is that the most personal prayer today is entirely taken up with the things of this world: with health, finances, and success in life's endeavors. Public prayer is little better. David Powlison, a leading counselor at the Christian Counseling Education Fellowship, complains that too often "prayers from the pulpit sound like a nursing report at shift change in your local hospital."1 My experience confirms his observation. The thousands of public prayers that I have heard at prayer meetings and in worship services have been concerned with health, financial, and vocational issues. While not denying for a moment that we ought to pray for these things, we should recognize that many problems in these areas are either symptoms of or sign posts to deeper spiritual issues. It is the deeper needs that ought to occupy our prayer times, not Johnny's sprained ankle. Johnny will recover from the ankle injury. What he really needs is to begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mt 5:6). Mrs. Jones is going to recover from her hiatal hernia. What she really needs is to be cleansed of her bitterness and anger. Mr. Smith will recover from his knee surgery. What he really needs is to take up his cross and follow Jesus (Mt 16:24). We reorganized our prayer sheet a number of years ago to reflect this priority. We used to just list everyone who was sick or needy. That was it. Then it hit me one day that praying only about physical well-being was pretty superficial, not to mention unbiblical. Our priorities in prayer needed to reflect those outlined by Jesus and the Apostles. At the top of our prayer list now is spiritual concerns - for holiness, love, maturity, repentance, the fruit of the Spirit, a burden for the lost, and so on. Our concern in prayer needs to be that which is eternal, not temporal.

Prayer, then, is an Apostolic discipline and means by which these spiritual aims are realized. The Apostle Paul teaches correct doctrine and practice, but he also prays for their fruition in the lives of his readers. Do we want to grow in Christ-likeness? Do we wish to be imitators of God as his beloved children (Eph 5:1ff)? Do we wish to develop the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22,23)? Do we wish the same for others whom we know and love? Then pray for these things. Prayer is a means by which our spiritual aspirations for ourselves and others are realized. "I wish I were more loving," someone might say. "I wish I were more caring." Have you made that a priority in prayer? It is not a priority for you if it is not a priority in prayer. We scoff at the athlete who says he wants to compete in the Olympics but won't train. We mock the student who says he wants to be a doctor but won't study. We question their sincerity when they fail to use the means (training, study) to the end (Olympics, physician). Likewise in the spiritual realm God responds to prayer. God answers prayer. Pray because it works, and pray about eternal matters because nothing is more important than the condition of our souls, and the souls of others.

Perceptive Love

For what then does he pray?

. . . that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (Phil 1:9b)

He wants them to "abound," even "overflow,"2 with love. He wants this, "still more," that is, more and more. Love has been growing, he is saying. Now let it continue growing so that it might overflow. Love was defined for the Christian community by the teaching and example of Jesus. He said,

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (Jn 15:13)

His self-giving act, while unrepeatable as an atoning sacrifice, became the model of sacrifice for the Christian community. We are to "follow in His steps" (1 Pet 2:21). Here is the uniqueness of Jesus' death:

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn 4:10)

Here is the example we are to follow:

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 Jn 4:11)

The Apostle Paul's great love chapter elaborates what love means for us - love is patient, kind, and so on (1 Cor 13:1ff). This love is to grow into overflowing proportions.

Yet this love should not be confused with indiscriminate acceptance or universal tolerance. It is discerning. It discriminates. It distinguishes between things worth loving and things that are destructive. It excludes the blasphemous, the immoral, the oppressive, the unjust, the cruel, the unkind, and the unworthy. If it fails to do this it ceases to be love and becomes culpable indulgence of that which is harmful and destructive. Indiscriminate love, in the sense of acceptance and tolerance, is not love at all but moral failure. True love is governed by the ethical categories of God's word. So the Apostle Paul prays for love in "true knowledge" (epignosis) and "all discernment" (aisthanomai). The first of these terms typically refers to factual knowledge, awareness of data, the second to practical application. The second refers to "perception," "insight," or the right application of knowledge. The NIV renders it "depth of insight." It was used in the LXX (Septuagint) to translate "wisdom" and "knowledge." It is, says Martin, that "faculty which makes a person able to make a moral decision."3 It is the capacity to separate the foolish from the wise, the evil from the good, the harmful from the helpful, the timely from the untimely, and choose the latter (in each case) rather than the former.

The Apostle's meaning perhaps becomes clearer as we move into verse 10:

so that you may approve the things that are excellent . . . (Phil 1:10a)

The "true knowledge" and "all discernment" that he seeks enables one to "approve," a word (dokimazō) used in classical Greek of assaying the quality of a coin or metal. It is to "distinguish by testing."4 One is to "approve the things that are excellent" (diapherō), "the things that really matter," in Moffatt's version,5 even "what transcends the ordinary," or "what is best."6

Life faces us with a myriad of choices. Some are clear. The commandments of God limit a whole range of choices (Rom 13:8-10). Christians don't murder, commit adultery, steal, cheat, lie, or covet. But then there are a whole range of options where loving wisdom is needed if we are to choose well. The prayer, then, is that we will perceive the best choices to make. To do that we need divine help. So the Apostle Paul prays for us, that our love will abound with knowledge and discernment so that we'll distinguish wise choices among our options. Choose educational options wisely; choose jobs wisely; choose a spouse wisely; choose neighborhoods wisely; choose churches wisely; use time wisely (Eph 5:15,16). Is now the time to go home, stay at work, or go to church? Which responsibility is more compelling? Where is time best spent? Harmful, and possibly even destructive, choices can be made in all of these areas. Not all possible and lawful choices of schools, jobs, neighborhoods, churches, and especially spouses, are equally suitable. Some are more appropriate. Some will prove more profitable. Some will be more edifying. Among the possibilities, loving wisdom leads us to the best.

The Apostle Paul prays that we will have wisdom because God must give it. It is attained through prayer. We lack the capacity to develop wisdom on our own. We are by nature foolish and corrupt. We need help. We will choose our way into a pit of problems without this wisdom, without this discernment that God alone can give.

Moral Purity

Verses 10b-11a explains the penultimate reason for the need of perceptive love:

. . . in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ (1:10b)

The Philippian Christians are to be "sincere" (eilikrinēs), "spotless," or "pure" (ESV and NIV), a term which was used to indicate moral purity. And they are to be "blameless" (aproskoptō), or "giving no offense," or "not causing (another) to stumble." This standard is in relation to "the day of Christ," the day of Christ's return, the day of judgment (Mt 25:31); 2 Pet 3:10,11). The abounding love of verse 9 is not in conflict with the moral rectitude of verses 10b-11. When true love abounds, love governed by knowledge and discernment, the result is pure and blameless behavior, and a visibly righteous life.

having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ . . . (Phil 1:11a)

The "fruit of righteousness," "is a familiar biblical phrase for conduct pleasing to God (LXX: Prov 11:30; Amos 6:12; cf. Jas 3:120," according to Hawthorne.7 It includes, he continues, "all kinds of noble acts and worthwhile deeds done toward each other and their neighbors."8 The Apostle Paul prays for this because it "comes through Christ Jesus." It isn't self generated. Believers become pure, blameless, and are filled with the fruit of righteousness only in Christ, only by His power, only as we understand our weakness and depend upon His perfecting power (2 Cor 12:9,10).

What is the priority of the Apostle Paul? That we would have perceptive love, or wise love, so that we might live lives of moral excellence. "The object of Paul's prayer is the total sanctification of the Philippians," says Silva.9 Should this not be the object of our prayers?

God's Glory

Finally, the Apostle identifies the ultimate goal of his prayer for the Philippians: that their lives would glorify God.

. . . to the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1:11b)

There can be no higher priority than this. In the end we seek to love wisely, not for the purpose of our self-realization, self-actualization, or self-improvement. We are to love wisely so that we'll live purely so that we bear fruit righteously so that God will be glorified. Who cannot make this their daily prayer?! O that my life might honor God. O that I might live to His glory. O that whether I eat or drink all might be to His glory (1 Cor 10:31).

We may now return to our opening question. How do our prayers stack up? Are we praying for these things? If not, why not? Is spiritual maturity not a priority? Is spiritual growth not eagerly desired? Then we must pray for them. Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with the exhortation to ask, seek, and knock because prayer is the means by which the spiritual ideals of the Sermon are realized (Mt 7:7). Do we not want to be poor in spirit? meek? merciful? pure in heart? Do we not wish to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and be a peacemaker? Do we not wish to be characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, and all the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)? Then these must become our priority in prayer.

"The Apostle's Prayer" Terry Johnson, Independent Presbyterian Church / III. Expositions of Philippians / Philippians 1:9-11 / February 8, 2009