“It is my prayer 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.”
– Philippians 1:9–11
This another one of these places in scripture where we see Paul praying in one of his letters to a church for the people in that church and so we have a model prayer, so to speak, of how we can pray for people around us. This is the prayer he prays. He says in Philippians 1:9–11,
We pray specifically for the people around us and that God would be glorified in their lives.
A Reminder to Pray for the People Around Us
Let’s pray that prayer for people around us. Let’s just walk through it and pray specifically for people around us. In my mind I’ve got my family in my mind, I’ve got co-laborers that I’m serving alongside, I’ve got the church that I’m a part of in my mind as I’m praying this. You put those kind of people in your mind, let’s pray this together.
Praying Philippians 1:9–11
It is our prayer, oh God, for these brothers and sisters in Christ. For these people in our minds. Oh God, may your love abound more and more to them so that your love may abound more and more through them. God, may they know your love and may they grow in your love with knowledge and discernment. God, we pray that their love would not be ignorant. That it would be full of knowledge. That it would not be foolish but that it would be discerning love. And that they would know you as they grow in love for you. They would know how best to love others, that you would give them discernment to know how best to love others.
May their love abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that they may approve what is excellent. Oh God, give them eyes for that which is excellent. Turn their eyes, we pray, away from that which is not good, from that which is not pleasing to you. Help them to see that which is pleasing to you. Help them to know and approve that which is pleasing to you, honorable before you. Give them wisdom in that, we pray. Keep them from foolishness, help them to approve what is excellent and so to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Prayer for Purity
God, we know that one day Jesus is coming back, we know that could be today. We pray for these people in our minds, in our hearts right now. Lord, we pray that you help them to be pure and blameless on that day. Lord, keep them pure and blameless, help them to grow in purity today, help them to be ready for your coming. Help them not to be caught off guard at your coming and help them to be ready at every moment from your coming. Help them to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
And help them to grow in purity until that day when they see you, stand before you. May they be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, oh God we pray for that. For these people in our minds, fill them with the fruit of righteousness that comes through the life of Christ in them. God, we pray that they would grow in righteousness all to the glory and praise of your name.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
