Monday, August 17, 2026

Opening Scripture

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:7-10

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, you are holy and exalted! May your kingdom come and your will be done in my life, home, and community just as it is in Heaven. Help me to trust you today to meet all of my needs. Help me to forgive others just as you have forgiven me. Help me to resist temptation and overcome the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

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.

Reflection  

As we are discovering in this study of prayer, the real purpose and benefit of “praying without ceasing” is the joy of communing with God, the benefit of gaining a godly perspective, and the richness of growing in “knowledge and depth of insight.” As our understanding of God’s plan and purpose grows, we gain divine discernment, spiritual sensitivity, and wise judgment.

Today’s passage is another Pauline prayer for a group of first-century followers of Jesus, who were trying to figure out how to be “the Church.” Two thousand years later, we are still learning how to follow Jesus each day and be the Church.

Paul had already assured the Philippians of the frequency and earnestness of his prayers for them. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).

Now, he explains what he is praying for them. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians addresses several key areas. First, he prays that their love for each other would abound. Certainly, Christians should demonstrate love for everyone. As we saw last week, the “Golden Rule” is to treat others the way you would want to be treated.

However, as we have also seen, we have a special responsibility to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul encouraged the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9-10).

God wants his people to be characterized by His divine (agape’) love. We can only do this as we experience that love personally and allow His Spirit to love others through us. In fact, that love is supposed to be an obvious trait of a follower of Jesus! Jesus said that love is the “litmus test” for his disciples. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Love is not an abstract concept. Love only exists in relationship. It is not warm sentimentality. It is sacrificial action. Love looks like patience, kindness, humility, and forgiveness. Love is not easily angered. Love does not keep score. Love encourages and defends. Love is hard.

As you experience God’s love personally – communing with Him constantly, seeking His kingdom first, living under the Spirit’s control – you gain “knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best.”

Faithfully following Jesus over the long haul results in experiential knowledge (epignósis) and wise discernment (aisthésis). Mature Christians have the capacity to perceive, recognize, and judge rightly. It is not only memorization of information, but also a Spirit-led sensitivity that distinguishes between what pleases God and what does not. Like a sommelier knows wine or an affineur knows cheese, a mature Christian knows godliness.

Paul’s prayer weaves together these three strands – love, knowledge, and discernment – so that our compassion is guided by truth and applied with insight. This wisdom and perception inform our moral choices, ethical decisions, work, relationships, doctrine, and ministry. It is a blend of character, maturity, and understanding that allows us “to discern what is best.”

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

We are over halfway through this year of Flourishing Together: Transformed on The Jesus Way. Are you being transformed into the likeness of Jesus? Are you maturing spiritually? How do you see yourself growing in godliness? How are your attitudes and actions increasingly reflecting the Spirit’s control?

Paul’s final prayer for the Philippians in today’s passage is that they would be “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Again, that practical and tangible “fruit of the Spirit” we spent two months studying is a consistent and visible expression of spiritual maturity and divine transformation.

Where do you see God working in your life?

How is the Spirit changing you from the inside out?

Do you see evidence of God using you as a Flourishing Christian who is part of a Flourishing Congregation to help nurture a Flourishing Community?

This week’s collective prayer: Lord, I come before You on behalf of my fellow believers here at our church. Make Yourself known to them and draw them to Yourself. Amen.

You can do more than pray after you’ve prayed, but you can’t do more than pray until you’ve prayed!