# Can We Help People Change. (Philippians 1: 9–11)

An episode of [The Bible Journey Daily Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1570210433), 14 Oct 2026, 31 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1728449/episodes/19894427-can-we-help-people-change-philippians-1-9-11.mp3

Send us Fan Mail This Podcast is part of season 24 of a project to complete an in-depth, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse study of the entire Bible. This podcast is entirely the work of Jeremy R. McCandless. Follow and support me on Patreon. Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Is there someone in your life you'd like to see change? Maybe it's your spouse. Maybe it's one of your children. Maybe it's a parent, a co-worker, or perhaps that one person who always seems determined to make life more difficult than it needs to be. Most of us would probably agree on one thing: changing people is hard. In fact, if we're honest, it's difficult enough to change ourselves, let alone somebody else. That's why many people would say it's impossible to change another person. Yet I do believe people can change. I'm not talking about manipulation, coercion, or some secret formula for controlling people. I know of no such formula. And I'm certainly not suggesting that you or I have the power to transform another human heart. But what I do believe is that God does have that ability. All of us who know Christ have experienced that firsthand. God changes people. He changes attitudes, desires, priorities, and lives. So where do we fit into that process? The answer is simple: we pray. God has invited us to participate in His work through prayer. We cannot change people, but God can. And one of the ways He does His work is through the prayers of His people. But that raises an important question: If we want to pray for someone to change, what should we pray? Should we simply say, "Lord, change that person"? Or does Scripture teach us how to pray more specifically and more effectively? The apostle Paul prayed often for believers, and one of his prayers stands out above the rest. It gets right to the heart of what produces genuine spiritual growth and lasting change. So today we're going to discover what a people-changing prayer sounds like, and in the process, learn how we can partner with God in the transformation of those around us we care about. Save the World Podcast In-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show This podcast is entirely the work of Jeremy R. McCandless... Follow and support me as an independent podcast creator on Patreon. Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon To receive my weekly newsletter and keep up to date with all five of my podcasts, subscribe at: Jeremy McCandless | Substack Check out my other Podcasts. My History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com The L.I.F.E. Podcast: Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment. https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891 The Classic Literature Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906 To visit my Author page on Amazon and view my entire back catalogue of books on both Amazon and Kindle, and now also on Audible, Visit: Amazon.com: Jeremy R Mccandless: books, biography, latest update

## Chapters

- 16:48 \[Ad\] Save the World Podcast
- 17:35 (Cont.) Can We Help People Change. (Philippians 1: 9–11)

## Transcript

[0:14] SPEAKER_00: Friends, hi people, hi beloved, welcome to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast as we continue our study through the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.
[0:24] SPEAKER_00: And we're working in this season, season 23, season 24 through Paul's letter to the Philippians.
[0:31] SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're here for the first time or just joined recently, then why not subscribe wherever you're hearing this voice?
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: And that way you need never miss another single episode.
[0:40] SPEAKER_00: You can, if you choose, come back and do the whole project of working through the whole Bible and go back to season one and just listen at the pace that works for you.
[0:51] SPEAKER_00: But if you've been with me for a while, well, welcome back today, and I'd like today to ask a question.
[0:57] SPEAKER_00: Can we help people change?
[1:00] SPEAKER_00: Is there someone in your life that you'd like to see change?
[1:03] SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's your spouse, maybe one of your children, maybe a parent or a colleague at work, or perhaps the one person who seems determined to make life more difficult than it needs to be for you.
[1:16] SPEAKER_00: Most of us, I think, would probably agree on one thing about this.
[1:20] SPEAKER_00: Changing people is hard.
[1:22] SPEAKER_00: In fact, if we're honest, it's difficult enough to change ourselves, let alone somebody else.
[1:28] SPEAKER_00: That's why many people would say it's impossible to change another person.
[1:32] SPEAKER_00: Yet I still do believe that people can change.
[1:36] SPEAKER_00: Now I'm not talking about manipulation or coercion or some secret formula for influencing and controlling people.
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: I know of no such thing.
[1:45] SPEAKER_00: And I'm certainly not suggesting that you or I have the power to transform another person's heart.
[1:51] SPEAKER_00: But what I do believe is that God does have that ability, and all of us who know Christ have experienced that change personally firsthand.
[2:01] SPEAKER_00: God really can change people.
[2:03] SPEAKER_00: He can change their attitudes, their desires, their priorities in life, and indeed their whole lives.
[2:10] SPEAKER_00: So the question really is where do we fit in in that process?
[2:14] SPEAKER_00: Well, the answer is simple.
[2:16] SPEAKER_00: We are simply called to pray.
[2:18] SPEAKER_00: God has invited us to participate in his work through this thing called prayer.
[2:24] SPEAKER_00: Now we cannot change people, but God can, and one of the ways he does his work is through the prayers of people.
[2:31] SPEAKER_00: So that's where we get involved.
[2:34] SPEAKER_00: But that in itself raises an important question.
[2:37] SPEAKER_00: If you want to pray for someone to change, well what and how should we pray?
[2:42] SPEAKER_00: Should we simply say, Lord, change that person?
[2:45] SPEAKER_00: Or does the Bible perhaps teach us a way to pray more specifically and more effectively?
[2:51] SPEAKER_00: Now we know the Apostle Paul prayed often for believers.
[2:55] SPEAKER_00: We see that frequently in his letters, and one of the prayers that stands out above all the rest, one that I believe gets right to the heart of the issue of what produces genuine spiritual growth and lasting change in people, is this prayer contained in verses 9 to 11 of this first chapter in his letter to the Philippians that we're looking at today.
[3:17] SPEAKER_00: So today I believe we're going to discover what a prayer-changing prayer sounds like and in the process learn how we can indeed partner with God in the transformation of those around us and even those we care about.
[3:32] SPEAKER_00: So let's turn together to Philippians chapter 1.
[3:35] SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a useful one today, I promise, in today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast.
[4:09] SPEAKER_00: Paul writes and says, 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.
[4:30] SPEAKER_00: Now, as I've already discussed, these ancient letters followed a fairly predictable format.
[4:35] SPEAKER_00: They began with a salutation, then came a thanksgiving, and then a prayer.
[4:40] SPEAKER_00: Only after that came the main body of the letter, and Paul here follows that pattern almost exactly in this letter to the Philippi.
[4:52] SPEAKER_00: In verses three through eight, he offered his thanksgiving, and during that thanksgiving section he tells the Philippians that he's been praying for them, saying, Always in every prayer of mine making a request for you with all joy.
[5:06] SPEAKER_00: That's verse four, we covered it yesterday, and he also tells them how deeply he cares for them.
[5:11] SPEAKER_00: But now when we come to verse 9, Paul finally tells us what he prayed and what follows is one of the most insightful prayers that we'll find in all of the Bible.
[5:21] SPEAKER_00: And as I understand it, the prayer has three parts.
[5:25] SPEAKER_00: More importantly, these three parts are connected to one another.
[5:29] SPEAKER_00: One leads to the next, one produces the next.
[5:32] SPEAKER_00: So Paul isn't simply giving us a shopping list of prayer requests, this is a sort of logical progression, and I believe we'll see that as such as we walk through it together.
[5:44] SPEAKER_00: So his first request is that they might have what he calls abounding love.
[5:49] SPEAKER_00: Verse 9 begins with him saying, And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more.
[5:56] SPEAKER_00: So the very first thing he prays for is that they, and we may take it, that we would grow in love.
[6:03] SPEAKER_00: Notice carefully what he says.
[6:05] SPEAKER_00: He doesn't pray that they would have love, he prays that the love that they already had would abound.
[6:11] SPEAKER_00: This means that they already processed some level of love, and Paul is not questioning whether they love at all, rather, he is praying that the love they already have will increase, expand, and overflow in a sense.
[6:25] SPEAKER_00: In fact, he says your love may abound still more and more.
[6:30] SPEAKER_00: It's almost as though Paul runs out of what he wants to say.
[6:34] SPEAKER_00: He's saying you need more love, no more than that, still more, and yet more.
[6:39] SPEAKER_00: The picture is one of overflowing abundance.
[6:42] SPEAKER_00: He says, in effect, you have love already, I know that, but I'm praying that your love won't remain just a sort of little trickle in the screen stream at the bottom of a dry river bed.
[6:53] SPEAKER_00: I'm praying that this will become a rushing torrent, something that fills the whole riverbed, the whole thing.
[7:00] SPEAKER_00: And Paul prays that that love overflows, love that will expand and grow beyond its present boundaries.
[7:07] SPEAKER_00: But notice something interesting here.
[7:10] SPEAKER_00: He doesn't just pray for more love, he says that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment.
[7:18] SPEAKER_00: It's almost as though Paul is now placing two river banks, two boundaries along this river of love.
[7:24] SPEAKER_00: The river of love is meant to be full, clearly, that's the picture.
[7:29] SPEAKER_00: The river is meant to flow, but it's meant to be to flow and be boundaried so that it flows in the right direction.
[7:37] SPEAKER_00: So the two river banks are given boundaries, and those boundaries, interestingly, are knowledge and discernment.
[7:45] SPEAKER_00: You see, without them, this love can become misguided.
[7:49] SPEAKER_00: Without them, what looks by love may actually be harmful.
[7:55] SPEAKER_00: So, first Paul mentions the first boundary, which is knowledge.
[7:59] SPEAKER_00: Now he doesn't explain exactly what knowledge he has in mind in this passage, but if we compare this prayer with some of Paul's other prayers, like that in Colossians 1, written around the same time, by the way, from prison as well, the picture becomes a little clearer.
[8:15] SPEAKER_00: In Colossians he says that they may be filled with the knowledge of his will.
[8:20] SPEAKER_00: So the knowledge Paul is likely referring to here is the knowledge of God's will that comes, of course, through God's word.
[8:29] SPEAKER_00: The Bible is that which revealed God's character, God's purpose, God's wisdom and God's love.
[8:35] SPEAKER_00: And it is that knowledge that the Bible tells us demonstrates his love towards us.
[8:41] SPEAKER_00: It is the Bible that tells us we love him because he first loved us.
[8:46] SPEAKER_00: And as we grow in our understanding of God's love, our love can deepen and mature.
[8:50] SPEAKER_00: But without that knowledge, love can be naive.
[8:54] SPEAKER_00: Without knowledge we can end up loving the wrong things or even in the wrong way.
[8:59] SPEAKER_00: The Apostle John, writing in his letter, warned that love not the world, neither the things are in the world.
[9:06] SPEAKER_00: So that's immediately telling you that love seems some needs some sort of direction, and that knowledge is the thing that provides the direction, that roots, if you like, the flow of the river of love.
[9:19] SPEAKER_00: But then Paul adds a second riverbank boundary on the other side, and that is something he calls discernment.
[9:26] SPEAKER_00: Now, this word discernment in its original language carries also, as well as what we would immediately recognize it, uh recognise it as meaning, also carries an idea of some sort of moral judgment within it.
[9:39] SPEAKER_00: The ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong in a situation, the ability not only to know what is loving, but to know how to love.
[9:50] SPEAKER_00: You see, biblical love is not mere sentiment.
[9:54] SPEAKER_00: It's not warm feelings or some emotional mushiness towards a person.
[9:58] SPEAKER_00: The New Testament word for love means seeking the highest good of another person, doing what is truly best for them, and sometimes that can be harder than at first sounds or appears.
[10:10] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes what feels loving isn't actually helpful for that person.
[10:16] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes what appears compassionate can actually be harmful because love needs these boundaries of knowledge and discernment.
[10:23] SPEAKER_00: We need to learn the difference between the right type of love and a misguided type of love.
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: Now, when I was young, very young indeed, I remember I once went shopping in the centre of Belfast with my mum.
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: Now I guess I was less than five because I know I hadn't started school yet because it was a weekday.
[10:42] SPEAKER_00: Anyway, at one point we passed an old man in the seat, an old man who was sitting begging at a street corner.
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: Without a thought, I dropped that week's allowance, what we called my pocket money, into the hat of that man that he'd put on the ground.
[10:57] SPEAKER_00: Now when my mum discovered I'd done this, when I and I told her what I'd done, her immediate reaction was somewhat angry.
[11:05] SPEAKER_00: But I just said, of course we should give.
[11:08] SPEAKER_00: He said he was hungry.
[11:09] SPEAKER_00: But when we got home, and it was in those days you'd say, Well, wait till your father gets home.
[11:14] SPEAKER_00: My dad did indeed come back from work, and he challenged me, and he effectively said, Listen, son, if you want to do that with your money when you're older, that's okay.
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: But please don't give them money.
[11:25] SPEAKER_00: Now I asked why.
[11:27] SPEAKER_00: Don't give the people who are begging money, and I asked why.
[11:30] SPEAKER_00: Then he explained that many people asking for money would in fact use the money to buy alcohol.
[11:35] SPEAKER_00: Drugs weren't such a big thing there in the early 60s in Northern Ireland.
[11:40] SPEAKER_00: So I then asked, well, how do I help people like that?
[11:42] SPEAKER_00: And his answer was simple.
[11:44] SPEAKER_00: Offer to buy some food yourself, to or get them what we would today call a takeaway, or better still, get involved in supporting some work that helps feed people in that situation rather than just giving them money.
[11:58] SPEAKER_00: So that's what I started doing.
[12:00] SPEAKER_00: And I discovered very quickly the first time I offered to buy people a takeaway or some food from the shop they were outside, they weren't actually that interested in food at all.
[12:11] SPEAKER_00: And in fact, one day while waiting at a bus stop, I saw a woman give one of these guys quite a large amount of money on that occasion, and the second the woman got on the bus, he went across to an off-license and bought some alcohol.
[12:26] SPEAKER_00: So I learned and saw that lesson in real life.
[12:30] SPEAKER_00: And what did I learn?
[12:31] SPEAKER_00: I learned that what I thought was love wasn't always real love, because love needed discernment and it needed knowledge.
[12:39] SPEAKER_00: Love needed wisdom and love needed to be directed towards what was genuinely best for that other person.
[12:46] SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what Paul's praying for here.
[12:49] SPEAKER_00: May your love abound more and more, but may it be guided by knowledge and may it be governed by discernment, because that is the kind of love and the only kind of love that can really truly change people.
[13:03] SPEAKER_00: Now let's try and make this a bit practical.
[13:07] SPEAKER_00: I think parents particularly need this kind of discerning love.
[13:11] SPEAKER_00: There are some parents and people out there who think love means giving children everything they want.
[13:16] SPEAKER_00: Others think it means saying no all the time.
[13:20] SPEAKER_00: But biblical love isn't simply about giving people or withholding things from people, and certainly not giving them everything they ask for.
[13:28] SPEAKER_00: For some of the time the most loving thing you can do is indeed say no.
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: So Paul isn't praying for us to express our sentimental love through either of these two extremes.
[13:40] SPEAKER_00: He's simply praying for that love, our love to be wise, informed, and discerning.
[13:46] SPEAKER_00: Now there are types of love out there that people express all the time, and I'm not questioning their sincerity, but it's an immature view of love.
[13:54] SPEAKER_00: And the others see clearly and understand deeply how to know to respond to people in real situations to their real needs, and that's the kind of love that Paul is praying for here.
[14:05] SPEAKER_00: Which moves us naturally to the second part of the prayer.
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: In verse ten he says that you may approve the things that are excellent.
[14:13] SPEAKER_00: Now remember, these parts, as I said, are connected.
[14:17] SPEAKER_00: The first produces the second, which we're now onto, and we will see the second will produce the third.
[14:23] SPEAKER_00: You see, if your love is growing in knowledge and discernment, as we've just outlined, then you will increasingly recognise what really matters in life.
[14:31] SPEAKER_00: And the word excellent does indeed mean that.
[14:34] SPEAKER_00: What is best, what is highest, what is most valuable really to that other person.
[14:39] SPEAKER_00: You see there are bad things out there, there are good things, and there are better things, and then there are the very best thing that someone can have.
[14:48] SPEAKER_00: And Paul is praying that believers will learn to recognise and pursue what is the best, the very best for other people.
[14:56] SPEAKER_00: Now what specifically did he have in mind?
[14:59] SPEAKER_00: Well, since the prayer before talked about the gospel and the verses after this will also talk about the gospel, I suspect the gospel, the good news of Jesus, is central to his view here.
[15:11] SPEAKER_00: See, the Philippians had already demonstrated their love by supporting Paul's ministry, remember.
[15:17] SPEAKER_00: They shared in the spread of the gospel, and Paul is praying that their growing love will lead them to value these things, the things that mattered most, and what is more important than helping people to come to know God through Christ.
[15:32] SPEAKER_00: There are many good things we can do for people out there.
[15:35] SPEAKER_00: We can encourage them, we can help them financially, we can care for their practical needs, and all of those things are important, and it's good to do all those things.
[15:44] SPEAKER_00: But the greatest things you can ever do for someone is to introduce them to Jesus Christ and let them hear the good news, because that is the best thing, the most excellent thing.
[15:56] SPEAKER_00: And if our love is genuinely growing and we care more and more about the things Christ cares about, because after all, Jesus I came to seek and save the lost, then the more we love him, the more we will care about that mission that he's given us.
[16:11] SPEAKER_00: We'll support it with our efforts and with our prayers, and even perhaps support it with our resources.
[16:18] SPEAKER_00: In fact, in the context of this letter to the Philippians, it seems fair to say that growing love will naturally lead, he says, to a growing concern for the spread of the gospel.
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: And that's the second thing that Paul prays for.
[16:31] SPEAKER_00: So first is that their love should be abundant but discerning, and second, the ability to recognise and pursue what is truly excellent and best for the other person you're praying for.
[16:44] SPEAKER_00: But the third is a fruitful life.
[17:28] SPEAKER_00: Now in his letter, his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul contrasts the temporary with the eternal, the outward with the inward, and the visible with the invisible.
[17:38] SPEAKER_00: In other words, he's urging believers to value spiritual and eternal things above merry material and temporary things.
[17:47] SPEAKER_00: So when Paul prays that the Philippians would approve what is excellent, he seems to be praying that they would learn to value what matters most in life, the real spiritual realities that lie behind things, those eternal priorities, and the things that will last forever, that won't fade away with rust or rot.
[18:06] SPEAKER_00: Which brings us to the third part of his prayer, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness.
[18:15] SPEAKER_00: Remember, as I said, these requests in each verse build one on another.
[18:20] SPEAKER_00: Abounding love produces the approval of what is excellent, which then goes on to produce a fruitful life.
[18:27] SPEAKER_00: Love is the root, but fruitfulness is the result, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are the result.
[18:33] SPEAKER_00: But Paul says first that you may be sincere.
[18:37] SPEAKER_00: Now the word was used to describe fine property that had been tested in the sunlight to make sure there were no cracks hidden within the wax covering.
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: It's where our whole English idea of the word sincerity comes from, and Paul is saying be that, under the examination of the light of God, be the genuine article, be real, be transparent and authentic, and if love is growing and your priorities and rat are right, integrity will naturally follow.
[19:08] SPEAKER_00: But Paul also prays that in doing this that we should be without offence.
[19:13] SPEAKER_00: Now the idea is not that we should speak the truth firmly, that it is not by what we say that we should become a stumbling block to other people, which of course again fits perfectly with his emphasis on love.
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: So Paul, as he does say elsewhere, says, Love will do no harm to your neighbour.
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: A loving believer doesn't tear people down or try to trip them up spiritually or prove a point that they're wrong about something.
[19:40] SPEAKER_00: Love ultimately seeks the good of other people.
[19:43] SPEAKER_00: And Paul then concludes by saying, being filled with the fruits of righteousness.
[19:48] SPEAKER_00: So these are the righteous actions, the fruit that flows out of a transformed life.
[19:53] SPEAKER_00: And Paul immediately tells us two things about these fruits of righteousness.
[19:58] SPEAKER_00: They are by Jesus Christ, in other words, they come from Him, and they are given who be to the glory and praise of God.
[20:07] SPEAKER_00: In other words, they are done and are experienced through our dependence on Christ, and when they are done, they bring glory to God.
[20:17] SPEAKER_00: Now there are some people out there who can do the right thing but do it for the wrong reason.
[20:22] SPEAKER_00: Maybe they want recognition, applause, appreciation, but biblical righteousness is different to that.
[20:29] SPEAKER_00: It serves Christ, it depends on him, but it always points people to God.
[20:34] SPEAKER_00: That's why a person serving the Lord can continue even and should continue even when nobody notices, because their ultimate audience isn't the people around them, it's God.
[20:46] SPEAKER_00: And Paul's prayer has unfolded this journey towards God so that God can work in the lives of other people beautifully.
[20:55] SPEAKER_00: It comes from abounding love which produces excellent judgment, which produces this fruitful life.
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: Or to put it simply, love equals excellence equals fruitfulness.
[21:08] SPEAKER_00: When love grows and is bounded with knowledge and discernment, it begins to be able to choose what matters most in life, and when that happens, the result is a sincere, fruitful Christ honouring life.
[21:23] SPEAKER_00: But before we leave the passage itself, let me give you one final illustration.
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: Many years ago I read a book called The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
[21:31] SPEAKER_00: It was about T.
[21:33] SPEAKER_00: E.
[21:33] SPEAKER_00: Lawrence, the man who's called Lawrence of Arabia, and how he unified the Arab nations and brought them alongside the Allies in the build-up and between the Moors.
[21:45] SPEAKER_00: Now after World War One, Lawrence of Arabia, as I'll call him, took several Arab readers with him to Paris.
[21:54] SPEAKER_00: He showed them all the famous sites there, the Arc de Triomphe, the tomb of Napoleon, and all the grand buildings of the city.
[22:01] SPEAKER_00: But you know what fascinated them the most?
[22:04] SPEAKER_00: The bathroom taps and the plumbing in the hotel they were staying in.
[22:08] SPEAKER_00: They could turn a handle and water would come pouring out.
[22:12] SPEAKER_00: Now coming from the desert, they thought this was amazing.
[22:15] SPEAKER_00: They would turn the water on and watch it flow and turn it off and then do it again.
[22:21] SPEAKER_00: And when it came time to leave, Lauren said he walked into one of the rooms and discovered one of these guys was trying to remove the taps, I think faucets you call them in America, but we forgive you for that.
[22:32] SPEAKER_00: He tried to remove one of these taps with a wrench, and he said, So he said to him, What are you doing?
[22:37] SPEAKER_00: And the man replied, I'm taking these home.
[22:39] SPEAKER_00: So we can have water like this.
[22:41] SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, Lawrence had to explain to him that the tap, the faucet, wasn't the source.
[22:46] SPEAKER_00: It was only the tool that was connected to the source.
[22:49] SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of the point Paul is making here.
[22:52] SPEAKER_00: Some people are trying to produce righteousness and change in other people by attaching a sort of tap to their lives.
[22:59] SPEAKER_00: They try harder, they make resolutions, they use tactics, psychological, coercive, they adopt religious habits, but nothing really changes in them or the other people because they're not really connected to the source.
[23:13] SPEAKER_00: The source, Paul says here, is Jesus Christ.
[23:17] SPEAKER_00: And he says that the fruits of righteousness come through Jesus Christ and are always to the glory and praise of God.
[23:24] SPEAKER_00: They're not something we can stick or glue on the outside of our lives.
[23:27] SPEAKER_00: They have to grow with inside us from that heart that's been transformed first our own by God's love in how to pray for other people effectively for what is actually best for them.
[23:41] SPEAKER_00: So what does Paul pray?
[23:43] SPEAKER_00: He prays that their love, the people he's praying for, their love would abound, and that they would approve the excellent things, and that these other people would be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
[23:55] SPEAKER_00: So if you want to grow spiritually and you want to pray for other people, this prayer really gives us a roadmap, friends.
[24:02] SPEAKER_00: Grow in your knowledge of God's love, then allow that knowledge to produce discerning love and prayer, and as your love matures, you can begin to value what really matters and what you really should be praying for, not only in your own life, but in the life of others.
[24:17] SPEAKER_00: And if you value what really matters, then the promise here is that righteous fruit will begin appearing in your life and maybe even in the life of others around you.
[24:29] SPEAKER_00: So I really think this prayer offers us a pattern we can follow.
[24:33] SPEAKER_00: This is the kind of prayer that parents could and should pray for their children.
[24:38] SPEAKER_00: It's the kind of prayer that husbands and wives can prayer for pray for each other, and it's the kind of prayer that church members should and could pray for one another.
[24:48] SPEAKER_00: I wonder if you've ever considered taking a church directory and praying through it.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: Now, not in one day, of course, if you go to one of these mega churches.
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: A learned church would keep you busy for quite a while.
[24:59] SPEAKER_00: But take a few names each day and pray Paul's prayer.
[25:03] SPEAKER_00: Lord help the love and your love abound in them.
[25:07] SPEAKER_00: Help them choose what is excellent in life, the best for them in life, and fill them with the evidence of it with your righteous fruitfulness.
[25:15] SPEAKER_00: That's a really powerful word to pray, I think.
[25:18] SPEAKER_00: But finally and most importantly, I believe that this prayer praying in this way really can reveal to us what really changes people.
[25:28] SPEAKER_00: And here's the great truth that runs through these few verses.
[25:32] SPEAKER_00: What you aim at in life determines the result, and what you love determines what you do.
[25:39] SPEAKER_00: Everything in this prayer, I think, points to that reality.
[25:43] SPEAKER_00: Paul prays that their love will approve and aim for what is righteous and excellent in life, so that they will produce this fruit.
[25:51] SPEAKER_00: The root is love, and the fruit of that love is their behaviour.
[25:55] SPEAKER_00: Change what people love in life, and you change the person.
[25:59] SPEAKER_00: Now, can we do that ourselves?
[26:01] SPEAKER_00: Well, no, but God surely can, and that's what we're called to pray for other people.
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: When someone you know is going in the wrong direction or approving the wrong things, making destructive choices for themselves, the ultimate issue is not really their behavior, which is what most people focus on.
[26:19] SPEAKER_00: The deeper issue is their affection, the direction of their affections in life.
[26:25] SPEAKER_00: They love the wrong things in life, but we can pray that God changes those things that they love in their lives.
[26:32] SPEAKER_00: That's the core of this player.
[26:34] SPEAKER_00: Very simply, take for example, money.
[26:36] SPEAKER_00: Paul says in another letter that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and if a person loves money, that love of money will begin to direct their lives.
[26:46] SPEAKER_00: People who love money will begin to serve money, they will pursue money, they'll sacrifice for money, and eventually they'll neglect the things that really matter the most.
[26:56] SPEAKER_00: Money can buy food, but it cannot satisfy all of our appetites.
[27:01] SPEAKER_00: It can buy you a nice bed, but it will not buy you sleep.
[27:04] SPEAKER_00: It can buy you medicine, but it doesn't guarantee you health.
[27:07] SPEAKER_00: It can buy a house, but it will not make a home.
[27:11] SPEAKER_00: It can get you entertainment, but it won't necessarily bring you joy.
[27:16] SPEAKER_00: It can certainly buy you a place of influence in a church pew, but it will not buy you heaven.
[27:23] SPEAKER_00: You see, if you love the wrong things in life and if you will then pursue the wrong things, but if you love the Lord, then everything changes.
[27:32] SPEAKER_00: You begin to value what is good.
[27:35] SPEAKER_00: You seek wisdom instead of mere information.
[27:38] SPEAKER_00: You seek to change your character instead of how you just appear.
[27:43] SPEAKER_00: Eternal things instead of those temporary things he talked about.
[27:47] SPEAKER_00: God Himself is what you seek and aim for instead of the lesser treasures in life.
[27:53] SPEAKER_00: And from that kind of directed love, out of it comes the transformed life.
[27:59] SPEAKER_00: So if there's someone you want to see change, pray for what they love in their lives.
[28:05] SPEAKER_00: Pray that God redirects their affections, pray that he teaches them to love what is truly valuable and best for them in life, because what you love determines what you do.
[28:15] SPEAKER_00: And when God changes what a person loves, he changes the person from the inside out.
[28:22] SPEAKER_00: And that of course can be you or it can be someone that you love and are praying for.
[28:28] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with me today.
[29:15] SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you need to pray for yourself or for someone else in your life who desperately needs to change.
[29:21] SPEAKER_00: Well, simply ask God to fill your heart and theirs with a greater love for Him.
[29:27] SPEAKER_00: That's the starting point.
[29:29] SPEAKER_00: Because when that love is aimed for, that is the type of love that can change, and everything else can begin to flow from that.
[29:37] SPEAKER_00: So, until next time.
[29:39] SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me again today.
[29:41] SPEAKER_00: In another next episode, we'll continue as we move through Philippians chapter 1.
[29:47] SPEAKER_00: We're going to cover verses 12 to 26 tomorrow and discover how Paul maintained his strength, joy, and indeed his perspective while sitting effectively in a prison cell.
[29:58] SPEAKER_00: And we'll ask an important question: how can you and I develop resilience when life doesn't go according to plan?
[30:06] SPEAKER_00: If you've ever felt trapped by your circumstances, discouraged by setbacks, or wondered how to keep going when life is difficult, I think you'll find Paul's answer both practical and deeply encouraging.
[30:18] SPEAKER_00: So I do hope if you're here for the first time you'll choose to come back and join me again as we continue our journey through Philippians.
[30:26] SPEAKER_00: It really is a love letter to the church, and if you're a believer, then you're part of that church community.
[30:33] SPEAKER_00: But until then, I simply pray for you that the Lord will fill your heart with his love and teach you to value what is excellent and me also, and to produce in your life the fruit that ultimately brings glory and praise to him and him alone.
[30:49] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with you.
[30:51] SPEAKER_00: I'll see you back again really soon.
[30:53] SPEAKER_00: Bye bye, Fanaha!

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