“I
Thank my God”
Philippians
1:3-4
1:3, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,” (NAS)
Beginning here in verse three, Paul shares that he
Gives Thanks every time he thinks about the body of Christ in Philippi. Every
time he thinks about them, talks about them, or is reminded of them his
emotions are stirred in such a way that causes him to give thanks to God. I
like the way The Message interprets this verse:
“Every time you
cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.”
The language of this verse indicates a few things
for us. First of all, these believers in
Philippi were Always on Paul’s mind. Paul never stopped thinking about them.
He carried them continually in his heart and mind. The memories of these
believers had marked him. They were like a tattoo on his mind and heart. They
had created a permanent recording in his mental and emotional DVR. Imagine, if
you will, watching home movies of times gone by or looking through an old photo
album. The emotion you feel about those times is the emotion Paul experienced
as he remembered his friends in Philippi. He was constantly reminded of them,
their faith and the time they had spent together. Paul had a special love for
this church. They were out of his sight but not out of his mind and certainly
not out of his heart.
“The best remembrance of our friends is to
remember them at the throne of grace.” Matthew Henry
Secondly, they
were Always in his prayers. Paul consistently prayed for them and it
brought him joy to do so. This wasn’t just any ordinary prayer either. It
caused a groaning within the depths of Paul’s soul as if he was begging God on
their behalf. This was intercessory prayer. When you pray as an intercessor you
pray on behalf of another person’s poverty, whether spiritual or physical. The
Intercessor becomes a type of mediator between God and the other person. In
intercession, you take upon yourself the other’s person pain and poverty as
though they were your own and plead before God for that person. And when you truly
enter into the depths of intercessory prayer you can then in truth say to a
person, “I feel your pain.”
Intercessory prayer at its core is unselfish, because
it is about someone else’s situation and not our own. This type of prayer
removes our own interests from the dialogue, because it is impossible to
intercede for someone else and speak of our own needs. Intercessory prayer does
not allow us to place ourselves at the center. The measure of unselfishness to
become an intercessor is too high of a cost for some to bear. That is why,
unfortunately, there are very few intercessors in the Body of Christ. I thank
God for those who truly intercede on the behalf of others.
Interceding for the Philippian church was not
painful nor was it a chore for Paul. On the contrary, it brought him great joy
to do it, despite his own circumstances. He was in need of prayer himself, yet
pressed in and prayed for the church there in Philippi. Perhaps his joy of
interceding for them was at least part of what prompted him to say in 1:24, “yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” This joyful
expression in his prayer was consistent with his life as a follower of Christ.
It was in Philippi, where he and Silas, sang to God in joy while they were in
prison. And now here he sits now in a Roman prison writing and praying with
joy.
The third thing we can take note of is this: He was thankful for All of them. His
thoughts were about each and every one of them. His prayers were for each and
every one of them. His thankfulness was for each and every one of them. He
didn’t leave anyone out when it came to giving thanks to his God for the “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.”
Acts 16 gives us some
insight into who Paul might have been interceding for. The first person we come
to is Lydia (Acts 16:13-15). We know from this passage that Lydia was “from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God…and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” She was baptized and so was her whole household.
Moved by this experience, she invites Paul and his companions to stay at her
house. The Scripture says that she “prevailed” upon them to do so, which means
that she kept insisting that they come until they finally gave in. They stayed
with her on at least two different occasions (vss. 15 & 40). Paul must have
had a lot of great memories of Lydia and her family as he prayed for her and
the others he met while staying there.
Acts
16:16-24 tells the story of a young girl that followed Paul and “us” around (An
indication that Luke, the Author, was there along with Timothy and Silas). She
was causing problem for them, everyday crying out in public, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." This eventually
annoyed Paul. So he turned around cast out the evil spirit. Was he thinking of
this little girl as he prayed? He probably knew her name. I’m sure he thought about
what happened, because this event landed he and his companions in prison.
In Acts 16:25-34, we have the story about the “keeper
of the prison.” (a jailor) He was awakened in the night, no doubt because of
the earthquake and the shaking of the prison brought on by the singing and
praying of Paul and Silas. This guy must have been terrified. We know that he
feared for his life because he thought the prisoners had escaped. He was about
to take his own life when Paul intervened. The jailor, moved by God and Paul’s
words, gave his life to Christ. He and his whole household were converted and
baptized that night. He also invited them to his house. Apparently, his new
found faith allowed him to no longer be afraid. Could it be that when Paul
looked at the scars he received from the lashes given him by the magistrates
remember that the jailor took time and care to wash them for him? Paul prayed
for this man and his family by name. He remembered them.
The
unselfishness of Paul’s words is startling. Paul sits in a prison in Rome and
all he can do is think about and pray for other people. How often have we sat
in the prisons of our own circumstances and thought only about ourselves and
our own interests? “Woe is me” has become the tagline of our faith. For many of
us, life for the most part is centered on us. We live our lives at the center
of a merry-go-round expecting both live events and other people to revolve
around us. We are at the center of our lives. This was not true for Paul. Paul
had Christ at the center of his life. He rode the merry-go-round with Christ at
the center and was grateful for the people rode with Him.
Also,
think about the circumstance Paul was in. He could have sat there in prison
doing nothing. But that’s not what he did. He rose above his circumstances and
began to pray for and write to the people he loved. He did not allow the chains
attached to him to hinder him from being of use to His God. Neither should we.
No matter what hand life has dealt us, we are always of use to the Kingdom. We
can pray for people from our private prisons of despair. We can encourage
people even while we are in the chains of discouragement and defeat. And like
Paul, it will bring us great joy to do so.
Questions
to ponder:
1. Has
God called you to be an intercessor?
2. Are
you the kind of Christian that brings such joy and gratitude to another that
causes them to give thanks to the Lord?
3. Are
your prayers mostly about you or are you?
4. Do
you have a heart of gratitude?
5. Can
you, like Paul, pray with joy in your circumstances?
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