February 8, 2023
Author: Pastor Mark Bauer
February 08, 2023
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer
of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Philippians 1:3-5
As we read those words, I think it’s good for us to keep in mind that
the apostle Paul is writing these words while he is in prison, he is
chains. And you know as you think about that we realize there’s no sense
of him being absorbed or caught up in his own trials and his own
difficulties and problems that he’s faced with. He’s able to share with
them that he is able to pray with a heartfelt thanksgiving. With a joy
for all of the saints that are there in Philippi. So, as I was
reflecting on these verses I looked back and did a quick survey through
Paul’s letters. As I did so I noticed that in most of these letters we
see this pattern of Paul that he begins with a prayer of thanksgiving.
He’s praying with thankfulness, and we see that prayer of thankfulness
he’s consistently expressing for the church. It’s always in every prayer
of his, and for all of the church. Paul’s thanks and his prayers are
not a selective praying for just a few members or people that he had a
closer fellowship with. No, it's for all of God's people, he’s giving
thanks. Every time he comes to prayer he’s giving thanks, and then
obviously the one to whom he gives thanks is to God.
Paul’s
thanksgiving is always directed to God. We often read words like this
“I thank my God” or “I give thanks to God.” I think it’s just a helpful
reminder to us that although Paul was used by God in many ways to build
the church and to plant those churches and share the gospel, and even
though the local church there is actively working and causing the gospel
to continue to be spread, Paul acknowledges that it is ultimately God
who is the one that’s working to build his church. He’s the source of
every good thing. He is the one to whom we should always give thanks,
for it’s to God who belongs all the glory. But as I was looking again at
these verses and as I was examining this pattern, I think in these
prayers of Paul we see that he typically also includes a reason for his
thanksgiving. He'll say things like “I thank my God because of some
things” or “For these reasons I give thanks to my God.” So, I was
looking at what those reasons were, what were the reasons for his
thanksgiving.
We noticed that first and foremost he’s
focusing on positive things and one of the primary things that he’s
giving thanks for is their faith in Christ, that they are fellow
believers in Christ Jesus. It’s a faith that is a gift of God, it’s by
grace that they have been saved. It’s a sincere faith, it’s a growing
faith, it’s this faith that is working. Also, we see another reason that
he gives thanks in these prayers. He gives thanks as he thinks of their
love for all the saints. A love that manifests itself in their labor to
care for each other and to share with one another the burdens that each
other has. But also, their love that’s shown in their partnership in
the gospel. It’s a partnership in which they have an active support both
financially but also in their encouragement for each other for the
gospel messengers, for their care for one another and even in their
prayers for Paul. In Paul’s prayers he notes that they have a faith and
that they have a love and that these are not stagnant, no that these are
growing, they’re increasing and that it’s continuing. It’s as he says
here from the first day until now, so these are but a few of the reasons
that we see in Paul’s letters why he gives thanks to God when he comes
to God in prayer. He's remembering their faith he's remembering their
love for one another and he’s remembering their partnership in the
gospel. And this thanksgiving of Paul then causes them to have joy, a
joy for what God has done and what God is doing in the lives of the
Saints, those who are in Christ Jesus.
Sinclair Ferguson
writes in his book he said, “The joy in his prayers came from his heart,
like water rushing down a hill.” As I was thinking of that he also then
says with this in mind, I think that sometimes though I think by
even myself I find myself in a situation kind of like what Sinclair
Ferguson also writes that “Sometimes we find ourselves to feel like
we’re a man swimming against the tide.” Sometimes I find that I might be
struggling having difficulty to pray. How do I stir up myself to be
ready to intercede for my brother and sister in Christ? Well, I suggest
that to help us we should seek to imitate Paul in our prayers. We should
seek to try, if we find ourselves having those struggles and battles,
we should try to seek to start our prayers with a focus on being
thankful for the saints, thanksgiving obviously that would be directed
to God. Giving thanks to God for his grace that saved save those who
were lost. But also, we can give thanks for the faith of our brothers,
their faith in Christ, trusting in Christ as their savior and their only
hope. But also, that it’s a faith that produces works of love, so as we
give thanks, and we hear reports of love for one another we can give
thanks for that love that they’re showing for one another but also that
love that’s demonstrated in a focus on the gospel. Being partners in the
gospel so we can give thanks for their commitment to Christ and his
church. We can pray for faith in them that will continue to grow and be
abundant. We can pray for them for a love that we hear of that it
increases more and more and that it would do so even during times of
persecution and affliction. So those are just a few of the reasons as I
look back at Paul’s prayers that would encourage us that as we pray, we
should give thanks. We should give thanks for those who are in Christ,
those that we’re praying for and as we do so as we come to God in prayer
with thanksgiving on our lips may this even cause our prayers to be
even energized and being full of joy even this evening.
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