Philippians 1:9-11 English Standard Version

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

How many messages have we received that simply say “We prayed for you today.” It is the knowledge that we have been prayed over that should matter but what is missing is the specifics.

Here Paul tells the Phillipians some of the things he has prayed about. It is comforting in a way to know what people are praying for us so that if those prayers are answered, we would know why.

 I pray that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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. AMEN

This is a referred prayer. The sentiment and context is meant for my readers. We can take the example and use it to form a prayer of our own for those we care about.

These prayer examples were given to us to help us help one another in ways we so often fumble for the right words to convey our sentiments. I copied that prayer word for word but we can use our own words to add specifics if needed.

The important thing in referred prayer is that we share the love and concern for one another.

Paul met these people and had a better knowledge of their deeds and needs. I do not know all my readers with that same communal knowledge. If the Spirit leads me to voice this prayer, then it shall fall upon the heart that needs it and bless them in ways that only God can control.

We want good things for one another, so why not say a prayer over one another that is godly, wholesome and edifying?

These are examples. What is important is the sentiment and love and concern in which they are shared. Who knows, maybe with practice our prayers may end up sounding as effective as Pauls.

Philemon 1:6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

AMEN