A Friend's Prayer & The Book of Philippians

Ephesians 1:7–8, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding."   

"In the Bible, wisdom is often associated with trust in and fear of God (Deut 4:6; Prov 1:7)." [1]

A Friend's Prayer

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more."

The heart of Paul's prayer is for love.  Your friend's greatest commands are to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  The love for which Paul prays is not sentimentality but real, God-like love that is wise and pure. He prays for our love to increase wisdom to discern what's best.

"In knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best."

The word Paul uses for "knowledge: means "knowing that comes from experience or personal relationship;" it is more than just a mental grasp of truth, but experiential knowledge of God. Godly love develops the wisdom to see what's best to advance Christ's gospel and honor God.  This kind of love is also pure. We are to increase in moral purity for the day of Christ.

"And may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ."

The word "pure" describes a garment held up to the sunlight for inspection to see if there is any flaw or stain. Blameless means not offending or causing to stumble. Our love is to be a holy love, yielding a life that can be held up to the light without stain. Knowing the day of Christ is coming motivates us to increase in wise, morally pure love. This harvest of goodness is not self-generated but comes from Jesus Christ. Through his power, we can improve in wise and morally pure love and choose the best. And our passion is for one ultimate purpose: to bring honor to God.

"To the glory and praise of God."

If Jesus' power is the means, God's honor is the end.  Ironically, when we live this way, we bless ourselves most. We find the most profound joy in not living for ourselves but for God and others.

Pray Paul's prayer for yourself and for those you love.

[1]Shields, Martin A. "Wisdom." Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016: n. pag. Print.