Philippians 1:9
“And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment”.
What a great prayer and goal for those around us. First, that they would overflow with love for each other. I love this about Paul, while very driven, he wants the best for others. This is convicting. My prayer is to be a blessing around me. But there is some self focus in that.
Lord, help me to want the best in others. It reminds me of Jesus’ commandment, “to love others as ourselves”. We all love ourselves, but do we love others that way? Not even close.
I would say I’m getting there. My focus has been Matthew 16:24, ‘Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”‘ As we go through our days, we have our tasks and goals. We bump into others who are doing the same thing. We are to open the door for them, let them go ahead. Depending on our stress level, this is tough.
To put others first, it takes faith. We commit our plans to Him for success. He works it out. This is a big step. We are taking our minds off ourselves for a bit to allow God to bless. In time this becomes more natural. At first it’s a struggle.
This is good, but Paul’s prayer seems much more unselfish. This is clearly what God wants for all of us, to overflow with love. So, Paul must be working on that in himself. So, he wants the same for all. That makes sense.
Lord, help us to be others focused. This is still foreign. But help me to want the best for others to request such a great prayer.