Address for Trinity 22

On Philippians 1.3-11, the Epistle in the Prayer Book:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It was in 2003 on the eve of the Iraq War that Jeremy Paxman asked Tony Blair whether he and George Bush had prayed together about the decisions they had made. Tony Blair’s response was ‘No’. Perhaps things might have been different had they done so.

By contrast, the apostle Paul commanded the Romans to be constant in prayer. He commanded the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing. It is often hard to know what to pray for ourselves; it is even harder to know what to pray for others. This morning’s Epistle shows Paul practising what he preaches. Paul is praying for the Philippians.

We see, first, the CHARACTER of Paul’s prayer: he prays with joy. His joy arises from his relationship with the Philippian Christians: he has them in his heart and he knows that they have fellowship with him in the gospel. They share with him in the defence and proclamation of the Gospel; and so, Paul prays with joy for them. That is the character of Paul’s prayer.

We see, secondly, the CONFIDENCE of Paul’s prayer: he is confident that God will complete the work he has begun in the Philippian Christians. He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God is faithful to his promises to us. That is the confidence of Paul’s prayer.

We see, thirdly, the CONTENT of Paul’s prayer. He looks forward to the day of Christ. With the return of Jesus in mind, he prays first for their intellectual improvement, for their knowledge and judgement. He prays secondly for their moral improvement: for judiciousness, that they may approve things that are excellent; for steadfastness, that they may be sincere, and without offence, till the day of Christ; and for diligence, that they may be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. That is the content of Paul’s prayer.

The character of Paul’s prayer is joyful. The confidence of Paul’s prayer is in the gospel. The content of Paul’s prayer is to do with the day when Jesus returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. May we follow Paul’s example as we pray for one another.