SPEAK LIFE – (PRAY WITH LOVE) – LESSON 1
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9).
So many lessons on prayer, pleading and pressing in are laid out for us to grasp, learn and apply throughout Scripture and especially the New Testament, that one would have to be blowing past them at warp speed to miss these bold colors. Our great teacher and sent one from the Lord – Paul – was the master at illustrating Jesus’ love for people in the way he described his modus operandi for enhancing their spiritual lives.
Paul’s teachings have become stock and the standard wherein we must pattern our lives to become more Christ-like, and therefore live the life which God has called us to live. What gave Paul such authority? Well, it was more like WHO! After Jesus knocked him off his horse on the road to Damascus as he was about to do another round of killing and jailing Christians, Jesus Himself taught Paul in the Arabian desert for three years on how to impart the message and use his vast knowledge of the Law and the Prophets to explain He, of Whom, the Law and the Prophets spake – Jesus the Messiah! That gave the Apostle the authority, so when he says “be imitators of Christ” like I am – listen!
The best example of a brother in Christ, who loves people and loves fellow believers is found in these three short verses. The love shown here spoke not just volumes but absolute life to the brethren, who were stuck in the same weather military complex of Philippi alongside pagans…sort of like how we are.