This is my prayer

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.  –Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
 
When I see prayers recorded in Scripture, I take note because prayer is something I want to be good at. I was reminded of this short prayer recently, Paul praying for the Christians at Philippi. He wants them to keep growing in love, but he isn’t talking about a mushy, sentimental emotionalism. It’s a depth of affection that comes from knowledge of Christ and understanding of who He is and what He has done.
 
This love coming from knowledge and insight will allow them to discern what is best. Discernment carries an element of judgment – the ability to assess the relative merit of multiple options or ideas. Yes, it involves recognizing the difference between good and evil, but Paul assumes these Christ-followers have graduated beyond that rudimentary level of understanding.
 
Discerning what is best among multiple priorities that might have some value in some circumstance will keep their hearts pure and blameless before Christ. It should be noted that the counsel of fellow believers in a context of love and a mutual desire to build up the body of Christ is extremely helpful here. Two heads are better than one, even more so when both are submitted to the King.
 
The outcome of plans and attitudes shaped in the crucible of a loving community pursuing the wisdom of Jesus is actions that bless others and show them a picture of the Master. And not just a little bit. Paul wants these brothers and sisters to be filled with such fruit and he’s confident that will happen. Not because they’re awesome, but because Jesus is.
 
It’s inevitable. When our buckets are full of grace, some of it is gonna slosh out onto the people we bump into. When that happens, God shines and people praise Him. That’s a pretty good outcome, and a pretty good prayer. I’m praying it over you today.