Praying

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation - the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ - for this will bring much glory and praise to God. - Philippians 1:9-11

I believe this prayer by Paul to the Philippi church reflects how we ought to pray for one another.  This is just one of the prayers Paul authored in his letters and I find that there are some similarities in his prayers for his Christian brethren.  It is always valuable to me to be around strong Christians and to hear their prayers, and so, reading how Paul, a very strong Christian, prayed for others has a very high merit on my need-to-know scale.

Paul loved these people.  He said in verse 7 "for you have a special place in my heart" and in verse 8 "God knows how much I love you".  I believe we should love those we pray for so that our prayer is not merely words, but actual feelings and heartfelt desire.  I believe that God wants our prayer to be sincere as well.  If there is no one we feel that strongly about, then we have another more serious problem.  We have a heart condition that needs immediate work.

"I pray that your love will overflow more and more ", Paul knows that if the love of Christ is in you it is going to overflow.  I should want for those I love to have such an abounding love of Christ in them that it is overflowing.  This is the joy of life and what makes life worth living - an abundance of Jesus. " I pray ...  that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding", Paul wants them to be on a continual learning curve and to not be satisfied.  I should desire that those I love to grow in their understanding of God and in wisdom of application and knowledge of His Word.  That they would want to grow in their understanding.

"I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives. "  I want you to so live that you do not let the temporary things of this world matter too much to you since they are not eternal.  I want you, with your growth in knowledge and understanding of God, to see what matters to God and to live in the way He leads and calls you to live because that is the ONLY thing that matters and that lasts.

"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation - the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ."  I pray that the Godly character that has been developed and is being developed in your life would rule you and overcome your old self.  I pray that in every way possible that Jesus would overcome and become your character so that His love in you is undeniable and you are fulfilled and completed.

"For this will bring much glory and praise to God", this is God's desire for you and you will magnify Him in your life.  My prayer is that His knowledge, His presence, and His purpose for you are accomplished for His praise.  I pray that your life would be a pointer to the magnificence of God, to His perfection, His power, and His lordship.

As I study prayer, I find that if I can get in the right mind - if I can have the right thoughts, I will pray in God's will which He has already stated in His Word.  My desires are centered around the spiritual world and not the physical world.  Too often, my prayers are only for physical worldly things.  I find that great Christians, like Paul, reflected spiritual thoughts for others in their prayers, and I want to learn to do the same.