Our devotional in Paul’s prayers and prayer reports continues!
Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
As we look again at Philippians 1:3-6 we notice that Paul ends this prayer report with the famous statement that the one who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. I love this comment because it reminds us that all of us are works in progress, under construction and we won’t be finished work until the day of Christ Jesus.
But it also offers us some insight into Paul’s repeated prayers of thanksgiving. Paul is not looking at the world through rose colored glasses: He can give thanks for people even if they are struggling, even if they have difficulties that he is going to have to address in his various letters because he knows that Christ is at work in them. His thankfulness does not depend on their display of some kind of inherent goodness, but on Jesus and the goodness of Jesus that he knows to be at work in the people around him.
So when you pray for someone remember that they are a work in progress; confidently give thanks for them because of your assurance that Jesus is at work in them.
He Who Began a Good Work – Steve Green
