Paul’s gentle prayer
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Always in every prayer of mine making my prayer with joy”(Philippians 1.3-4).
Imagine receiving such a warm letter.
The background to Paul’s letter to the Christian community at Philippi was both startling and demanding.
This letter was probably written between 62 and 64 AD.
Paul was in prison, more like house arrest.
Paul stood trial on two occasions.
In 62 AD he had been acquitted, but at his second trial, about 64 AD, he was condemned to death.
The Christians in Philippi continued to suffer the same persecution first meted out to Paul.
Persecuted and poor, they still sent small gifts to Paul.
Paul had always jealously guarded his financial independence.
Wherever he went he worked his trade to fend for himself.
The church at Philippi was his one exception.
Such was the deep bond and warm friendship he enjoyed with them that he accepted their help.
‘Philippians’was his letter of thanks for their generosity.
Paul’s attitude to his friends in Philippi teaches us a wonderful lesson.
The greatest gift we can give to our family, friends, church, and community is to pray for them.
Often when I am starting my afternoon visits as I travel to the homes and hospital, I ask Jesus to give me the right words and attitudes for the people I will meet.
Always at the end of the day I remember the people I have visited.
The best way to close the day for your family and friends is to remember them at the Mercy Seat.
Paul’s opening words are so warm, intimate and encouraging: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”
Paul’s letter to his friends at Philippi is full of happiness.
The words joy and rejoice are frequently used.
Near the end of the letter, we read:“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be known unto God”(Philippians 4. 4-6).
Now things become exciting. Paul wrote:“Have no anxiety about anything”(Philippians 4.6).
But that is exactly what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life”(Matthew 6.25).
The same Greek word ‘merimnao’is used in both verses.
This Greek word means to be anxious, or encumbered with cares.
We can suffer so much grief when life gets on top of us.
But, when we open our life to the Lord, we can unburden ourselves of so much anxiety.
Remember that lovely hymn ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’.
Remember the lines:“O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”
The important word is ‘needless’.
If we could only listen when Jesus encourages us:“Do not worry”.
Jesus continues:“Look at the flowers of the field and listen to the birds in the air.”
Then Jesus concludes:“Your heavenly Father knows what you need and how you feel”(Matthew 6. 25-32).
“When peace like a river attendeth my way. When troubles like sea-billows roll.”
We are familiar with the opening lines of Horatio Gates Spafford’s lovely hymn.
Spafford had lost everything in the great Chicago fire of 1871.
Then two years later, he lost his wife and four daughters drowned at sea.
It was only then he wrote that lovely hymn.
Like Spafford, we may endure days when troubles like seabillows roll.
But our communing with God in prayer and, more importantly God speaking to us, will strengthen our character and encourage our resolve to stand firm against the storm.
When Peter was sinking, Jesus stooped down to raise him up (Matthew 14.28-33).
As Spafford concluded in his hymn:“Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,‘It is well, It is well with my soul’.”
Paul’s gentle prayer has the power to endure, the courage to overcome and the faith to place everything in the hands of Christ.
When we live in this way, then we understand what Paul said: ‘The peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Philippians 4.7).