Family Matters

by Darla Noble

For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:8-11

Today’s verses are part of Paul’s message to the Christians in Philippi—his brothers and sisters in Christ. He is telling them how concerned he is about their faithfulness to God and that he is continually praying for their spiritual growth.

The beauty of Paul’s words is the sincerity of them. While we obviously don’t know Paul personally, to be able to say we heard him praying for the people in Philippi, we know he did because of his unwavering dedication and selflessness to proclaim the Gospel no matter what…even to the death. We know he did because all Scripture is God-breathed; meaning each and every word is true.

Now let me ask you this: How often do you really pray for those you say you will pray for? How dedicated are you to your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Do this: Choose three or four people in around you to specifically pray for each week of 2017. Let them know you are praying for them in case they have something special they would like you to pray about.