Paul's Prayer: The Mark of a Christian

There is a prayer in the Bible that I pray every single day. Every morning, before I sit down at my computer, before I touch my keyboard, I close my eyes and pray this prayer. I have started praying it over my boys too.

It is one of Paul's prayers. If you read Paul's epistles to different churches, you will see that he prays for each of them. And this particular prayer, the one I have come back to again and again, is his prayer for the church in Philippi.

"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

I consider this the most important prayer because it captures the whole Christian life in one prayer. It begins with love, not rules. It ends with God's glory, not self-glory. And everything in between is what it actually looks like to live for our Lord.

As per Paul, the more we love the Lord, the more we should know, the more we should see, and the more wisely we should choose. He packs the entire book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes into two verses. But why? Not for ourselves. Everything from "your love may abound" to "glory and praise of God" is for the glory of God.

We must keep this in mind, because if knowledge is not pursued for the glory of God, it will be pursued for ourselves. And acquiring knowledge for ourselves only leads to arrogance.^[1]

Solomon understood this. And modern leadership literature confirms it. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes there is no end to making books^[2], and more knowledge only produces more words. The author of The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard, writes in Lead Like Jesus that leaders swing between pride and fear. When I acquire knowledge for myself, by reading a book or finishing a course, the first thing that happens is a puff-up, pride. I get the feeling I know more than others now. That leads to pride and arrogance. But as I go into the world to implement that knowledge, I realize how short my understanding is. That leads to fear. Fear that someone will find out I don't know enough. Or fear of someone else's progress eclipsing mine.

But what happens when we anchor ourselves to the glory of God? We balance ourselves between confidence and humility. Confidence is, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me."^[3] He strengthened me to acquire this knowledge. And he will strengthen me to accomplish what I need to, because "His spirit will counsel me." That leads to humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is knowing your place in Christ. That you can't do anything without Christ. That confidence and humility is what brings glory to God.

# The Three Marks: Knowledge, Insight, Discernment

Let us look at the three things Paul prays that the Philippians will abound in: knowledge, insight, and discernment. They are connected. Each one depends on the one before it.

First: knowledge. You can recite Psalm 23. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." You learned it as a child. You know it by heart. Somebody can wake you up in the middle of the night and you can recite it without thinking. That is knowledge. Facts memorized.

Insight is when the memorized fact becomes a building block. You have taken time to meditate on the psalm, and you realize that it says, "He guides me along the right paths." And the very next verse says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, you are with me." You see that the valley comes because he has been guiding you. Walking through that valley, in that particular season, is the right path chosen by the Lord. That is insight. You see what the words actually mean.

Insight produces discernment, when you choose to do what is best for a given situation. It has to cost you something to gain discernment. When you are passed over for promotion at the office. When you have to take your child to the hospital in the middle of the night. When you are engulfed with confusion. Can you really say, "The Lord is leading me here"? Can you trust that the next verse will come true? "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows"? Can you believe that this valley is not the end, but the shepherd is still leading you? That is discernment. The right action. At the right moment. And it always costs you something.

Knowledge is what you learn. Insight is what you see. Discernment is what you do. What, why, what now. It is the same Psalm, the same words. But reciting it is knowledge. Understanding it is insight. Living it when it costs you everything — that is discernment. Paul prays for all three to happen.

# The Costs

But here is what we must understand. As we have seen, these three are not free in the same way.

Knowledge costs you time: read, study, learn. But it is safe. Nobody suffers because you read a book. Insight costs you attention: you have to slow down and think, not just consume. But insight is still mostly hidden from the public. You can have insight and do nothing with it.

Discernment costs you obedience. You have to act. And action has consequences.

# Biblical Examples

Let us look at a few examples.

We see Peter walking with Jesus all the time. At one point, Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say I am?" Everybody says one thing or the other. Then Jesus asks Peter, "Who do you say I am?" And Peter answers, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."^[4] Jesus immediately says, "Blessed are you. Flesh and blood has not revealed this, but my Father who is in heaven."

The scribes and Pharisees knew the word of God. They had the knowledge. They knew all the verses about the Messiah. But they did not have that insight. When Peter says what he says, Jesus calls it a revelation. Insight is always a revelation. It is revealed to you.

But when the time came, Peter is sitting by the fire at the time of the crucifixion. A servant girl looks at him and says, "You are also a Galilean. You are also his disciple."^[5] And Peter curses and says, "I do not know whom you are talking about." He had the insight, the revelation, but he lacked discernment. He could not act on what he knew.

But subsequently, once Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit, everything changes. He goes to the temple with John. He heals a crippled man.^[6] When everybody looks at them in amazement, he says, "It is not me. It is the power of Christ that healed him." And then comes the discernment. The high priest and everyone in authority order them not to speak in that name. Peter says, "No. I will continue to speak."^[7] And he is willing to bear the cost of his obedience. And he did pay in the end. The tradition says he was crucified upside down. That is discernment. Discernment always has a cost.

And we see this in Daniel^[8]. Daniel and his friends are caught as slaves, carried off to Babylon, and given food. The Bible says they are trained in all the literature. That is knowledge. Daniel is brought in for interpretation. His friends are raised and appointed as satraps, as governors. That is because of the insight they had.

But then they are put to the test. Discernment is always put to the test. If you are sitting comfortably in your cozy room, reading book after book, you might even be able to observe and decipher what society is doing. But if it does not cost you anything, if it does not require you to do anything, it is not discernment. You are hiding within your four walls.

So Daniel's friends face the king. They have the insight. And they choose discernment. They say, "We will not bow down and worship this idol." That is discernment. Of course, they are put into the fiery furnace. And miraculously, they escaped. There is always a cost to discernment.

The cost is not a bug. It is the point. Discernment earns its weight because it costs you obedience. Free knowledge puffs up. Costly discernment builds character.

This is the mark of a Christian. A Christian knows more. A Christian has insight. And a Christian is able to choose the best course of action, and is willing to pay the price of acting on it. That is what Paul prays. That is what marks the life of someone who loves God.

The more you love God, the more you love Jesus, the more you are filled with the love of the Lord, the answer to Paul's prayer means you will know more, you will learn more, you will become wise, and you will be able to choose the right direction, the right action.

# The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

These three factors are woven together in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.^[9] What is the first gift? The gift of knowledge, the ability to learn new things, to know things. That is the first gift.

What is the next one? The gift of wisdom, which is depth of insight, the ability to understand and apply what you know.

And there is another: the gift of prophecy. What is prophecy? If you read the Book of Isaiah, part of it is warning, a rebuke to the people. But another part is encouragement. The prophet Nathan went to King David and held him accountable.^[10] So prophecy is at once warning, accountability, and encouragement: knowing what to say, when to say it, and choosing the right word at the right time.

Sometimes we are in a serious conversation and someone cracks an inappropriate joke that dissipates all the weight of the discussion. That happens because we do not know how to speak properly. Prophecy, discernment, is knowing the right word for the right moment.

These three are gifts. Our Father bestows us with gifts. He wants us to have these gifts. But we have to pray for them. We should want them.

# Biblical Knowledge, Insights, and Flourishing

I have always maintained that the Bible has the comprehensive blueprint for a flourishing human life.^[11] You can take any aspect of living, and the Bible speaks to it.

It talks about money, being diligent at work, getting married, how to treat your husband or wife, how to raise kids, how to gain respect in society, how to take care of your body, and so much more. The Bible is a treasure trove of knowledge. A holistic way of living.

Let us see a few of these "knowledge."

Start with the ten commandments^[12]. Just within those 10 commandments, the Lord gives you knowledge about treating your parents, resting mandatorily for a day, and how to live well within a society — without coveting, stealing, and murdering.

Paul says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.^[13] Will you put in garbage into the temple? Will you let it rot? There is the template for taking care of your body — what to put in, both mentally and physically, and how to care for your body.

Paul warns not to be unequally yoked.^[14] That is the instruction for marriage.

Peter says to honor your wife.^[15] He uses the same verb that he uses to honor the kings. Husbands are to treat their wives as they would honor the kings. That is the golden standard.

Deuteronomy says you are to talk to your children while you walk with them, dine with them, and put to bed for sleep. That is the guideline for parenting.

How about work life?

Proverbs says, if you see a diligent person, know that he will only stand before kings.^[16] That verse says diligence gets you promoted to the top most level.

The Matthew effect^[17], which is based on the parable of talents, is how you compound assets in your life. Einstein famously said, compounding is the eighth miracle in the world. Jesus taught that with a parable.

What about the role of women? Are they supposed to be locked up in the kitchen?

Proverbs 31^[18] lists what all a woman can and should do. She trades, she buys property, and she is a good CEO by paying well for her servants. And the husband who encourages all of these is well respected in among the leaders of the society.

I can go on and on. I have only scratched the surface of all the knowledge that the Bible provides about living a flourishing life.

All of these are knowledge. What is the insight — the thread that connects all of these?

Jesus answered: Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor like yourself. Jesus is saying, you have to love yourself the way you are. Only when you accept yourself as you are — short, bald, skinny, you can accept others. And both of these can come only if you love the Lord with all your heart. That's the insight.

Discernment comes when you put all of these into practice. When you do all of that, as Psalm 1 says, you will flourish in every season.

That's what Paul is praying for. To flourish in every season. To be filled with fruit that comes from the Lord Jesus. In every season.

And when you flourish, that is when the society will ask how to live like that. Then you can say, I live as per the Bible. Then they would want to live like that too. That is when you bring glory to God.

# What to Hold On To, And What to Let Go

To choose what is best and to let go, consider the friends of Daniel, the young men placed under the king's managers. Their names were changed. Names carry great weight in those Middle Eastern regions even today. They were fine with the state changing their names. But they would not compromise on worshipping anyone other than the Lord. They knew what was best. They knew when to give in and when to stand firm. That is discernment.

But we see the contrary today. In Tamil Nadu, you will hear people say, "I am Joshua Nadar. I am from the Mukulat caste." They are proud of their caste. In Kerala, they will proudly say, "I'm Syrian Catholic". People are attached to their caste and sect. They will not let that go.

But they will compromise on Christian principles and biblical standards.

This is the exact opposite of what we are called to do. That's why Paul is praying for the Philippians (and us), "to discern what is best." The best that will bring glory and praise to the Lord.

# Pray. Flourish. Glorify God.

Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 gives us the pattern for the Christian life:

1. Love for God leads to knowledge, know more, for His glory, not your own
2. Knowledge produces insight, the ability to see beneath the surface
3. Insight produces discernment, the ability to choose what is best
4. The purpose is God's glory, not self-promotion, not pride
5. The result is a life of flourishing, holistic, biblical, marked by wisdom

Paul knew this. Daniel knew this. Joseph knew this — choosing righteousness when it cost him everything in Egypt. And the gifts of the Spirit, knowledge, wisdom, prophecy, are given so that we may live it out.

As you pray and receive these, God will give you more than what you ask and pray for. That is how you bring glory to God.

If you liked this, you might also like my other sermons.

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1. 1 Corinthians 8:1 ↩︎

2. Ecclesiastes 12:12 ↩︎

3. Philippians 4:13 ↩︎

4. Matthew 16:13-17 ↩︎

5. Luke 22:54-62 ↩︎

6. Acts 3:1-10 ↩︎

7. Acts 4:18-20 ↩︎

8. Daniel 3 ↩︎

9. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 ↩︎

10. 2 Samuel 12 ↩︎

11. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ↩︎

12. Exodus 20:1-17 ↩︎

13. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ↩︎

14. 2 Corinthians 6:14 ↩︎

15. 1 Peter 3:7 ↩︎

16. Proverbs 22:29 ↩︎

17. Matthew 25:14-30 ↩︎

18. Proverbs 31 ↩︎