Philippians 1:9–11
Most of our prayers are limited to our health and our financial needs. But Paul’s prayer was not only for physical health or material gain. In today’s passage he prays: “And 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.” This prayer teaches us an important truth — true Christian love is not merely a feeling. It rests on knowledge and understanding. If our love does not have the knowledge of God’s Word, it can easily go astray.
True love is able to tell what is “excellent.” We may be able to do many things, but not all of them are excellent in God’s sight. Paul wants believers to be “pure and blameless.” This is possible only when the “fruit of righteousness” that comes through Jesus Christ begins to grow in us. This fruit does not grow by our own strength; it comes out of a deep relationship with Christ. Jesus Himself said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). To abide in Christ — to remain in Him to the end — means to live in a living, continuous and close relationship with Him. It means far more than knowing about Him. It means admitting our weakness moment by moment and depending completely on His strength, His grace and His love. It is a life in which the believer treats Christ as the source of his life, the way a branch clings to the vine, obeying His Word and resting in His love. In the end it means handing our will over to His will, and living a fruitful life by the spiritual food we receive from Him. Only such a life can bring “glory and praise to God.”
Is your love growing in the knowledge of the Word? Can you tell today what is right and what is best? The more we know God, the more mature and deep our love for Him becomes. Let this be our prayer today — that our lives may be filled with the “fruit of righteousness” that comes through Christ, and that God may be glorified. The goal of our prayer is not simply to receive blessing, but to bear fruit for the glory of Christ.
Prayer: Lord, fill my heart with the knowledge of Your Word. Give me a love that can tell what is best. May the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ always grow in my life. Amen.