The prayers of Paul

This is a series of the prayers of St Paul found in the letters attributed to him in the order he is believed to have written them. Letters to the same place or person will be treated together with the first letter to that destination.

This prayer shows two two-way processes, it shows that prayer is two way, Paul talks about his prayers for the Philippian Church and also about their praterd for him. The other two way if the narrative immediately after the prayer which shows the division of feeling in Paul’s soul when faced with his wishes to carry on spreading the Gospel but also to be with God and escape suffering. It is summed up in the famous verse, “ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Verse 21).

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance.

Philippians 1: 18b-19 ESVUK

The picture above is of the rocky outcrop above Wessenden Reservoir, West Yorkshire, and shows the contrast between bleakness and beauty found commonly in the Pennines.

This is the third prayer in Paul’s letter to Philippian Christians. I look at it as one prayer only that Paul tends to go off on tangents which are longer than the subject he is talking about or the prayer he is praying, as is the case here. I know about this tendency as I do it myself frequently. It is difficult to stop.

Paul wandered off to talk about the spread of the Gospel, remembers he was in the middle of a prayer, finishes the prayer and wanders back onto the tangent. It is very much a train of thought thing, but at least he stays on the subject of rejoicing, even rejoicing that those who oppose him are also spreading the Gospel. For Paul, it is not about being a superstar celebrity speaker but all about the good news of Jesus Christ being spread that is important.

The deliverance, or salvation, Paul talks about is not about being saved when you follow Christ, but about him being sure that whatever the outcome of his trial before Nero, which he is awaiting in prison, the outcome will be good for the gospel. Salvation, being saved isn’t a special spiritual word, it means rescue. In the same way that someone can be rescued from a burning building or from a sinking boat, we are saved through no merit of our own from the consequences of our sin, and from separation from God.

Prayer is two-way. Let’s pray for each other, that we may be saved from whatever trials of life we are facing.

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