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Prayerfulness Empowers Us
Alongside thankfulness comes prayerfulness. Paul said, “In all my prayers for all of you.” Then, in verse 19: “I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.”
The importance of prayer was so great that Paul repeated it at the end of his letter, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Just after World War II, missionary Frank Laubach called on every believer to unite in intercession for one another and for our leaders, offering several ideas for how to pray with greater frequency for others. He said, “Enough people praying enough will release into the human bloodstream the mightiest medicine in the universe, for we shall be the channels through whom God can exert His infinite power.”
Paul wrote with similar passion, saying, in effect, “I am praying for you every time I think about you. I am praying and counting my blessings, and as you pray for me, too, I know I’ll receive God’s provision of the Spirit and what has happened will turn out for good.”
The prayers were flying in both directions. In this manner we lift each other up as Christ lifted us up in his ultimate prayer for all believers, captured in John 17. Yes, Christ prays for us. We should begin and end our lives with praise and prayer, every day we live, everything we do, every trip we take, every burden we bear. When we wrap up everything with prayer for ourselves and others, and praise for God, it’s less likely to come unraveled.
Action
How might you increase your prayer habit? Identify three ways you might train yourself to make prayer a more routine part of your day, such as by setting a repetitive alarm, working through a stack of prayer cards you create, or saying a silent prayer for each person you encounter.
Frank Laubach, Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World (Burtyrki Books, 2020), 12 and passim.
About this Plan
In his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul expressed effusive gratitude for their support during his imprisonment. His prayers for the Philippians—and for himself—were characterized by thanksgiving, cheerfulness, and confidence in Christ’s faithfulness. In this five-day look at the first verses of that letter, Pastor Robert J. Morgan shows us how we can become more like Christ through adopting a similar attitude.
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