Prayer and Love

If I was a Christian in the city of Philippi and I was able to read or hear someone read to me the beginning of Paul’s letter to me I would be pretty joyful.  Here is how the letter begins:  “³ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”  Paul has a love for those he met in Philippi.  It is a love that is expressed in perhaps the most powerful way possible…through prayer.  Notice the use of the words “every” and “always”.  These people were on Paul’s mind and heart and he prayed for them.  He saw them as people whom God was engaged with, involved with in a special way.  He wanted them to experience everything that God had for them and was confident that God would complete the work He was doing.  This is a wonderful testimony of God’s activity and how the Spirit of God builds community among those who He indwells.  I pray that you have people in your life who think this way about you and that you feel this way about others.