LORD, GROW IN ME
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Philippians 1:9-11 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
As Paul writes to the Philippians, he lets them know he is praying for them. Then he tells them the specifics of what he is praying. I believe this is a powerful prayer that could be used as a template for our prayers as well. There are four things Paul asks for the Philippians in his prayer: growing in love, knowledge, understanding, and fruitfulness. Let’s start with growing in love. This is not an earthly or sensual love. It is “agape” love that is an expression of God’s love working in and through us. There are some people we can love naturally. There are others that require the Holy Spirit to empower us to love them. Paul is praying that every believer would grow in love. We are to grow in our acceptance and respect for every human being. Next he asks for growth in knowledge. We never arrive when it comes to knowledge. The pace of information that is being discovered every day is mind blowing. There are also new revelations about God that our minds have yet to understood or fully grasp. Every day we need to grow in our knowledge of God by spending time in His Word. Third, Paul asks for growth in understanding. This is important because it is the ability to put knowledge into practical application. There are a lot of people with head knowledge that haven’t figured out what to do with what they know. We need the Holy Spirit to show us how to turn information into action. Finally, Paul asks for growth in fruitfulness. This is the character of Christ being developed within us. In John 15, Jesus tells us that if we abide in Him, we will be fruitful. We will become like Him. The more time we spend with Jesus the more like Jesus we become. I challenge you to make it your prayer to grow in love, knowledge, understanding, and fruitfulness. If there is not growth in these areas perhaps, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what is blocking our growth.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to daily to grow. Help my growing in love, knowledge, understanding, and fruitfulness.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”