Discipleship Week 4: A Gospel-Centered Prayer Life

Philippians 1:9-11

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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.”

Often our prayer life focuses around the circumstances of our lives: Health concerns, financial worries, relationship struggles, and more. And the bible tells us to pray for these things and ask for what we need (Matthew 7:7-11). We can and should pray for these things! But if these circumstances are at the center of our prayer life, than our prayer life will inevitably become self-centered, simply a checklist of personal needs that we go through and not much else.

But Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is explicitly gospel-centered, and the priorities of the gospel are clear in his prayer: 1) For their love to abound (both for God and for each other…you can’t have love for one without love for the other!), with 2) knowledge and discernment (love is not a fluffy, sentimental thing; to love God and others we have to truly know God and others, and have that love encompass our entire being), so that 3) they continue grow in spiritual maturity and towards perfection, for the glory of God (the gospel should constantly be transforming us, and we should never be satisfied with a spiritual plateau or spiritual mediocrity in our lives).

So our goal should be to have a gospel centered prayer life, and pray these gospel priorities for ourselves and for each other: 1) Grow in love for God and for each other, 2) have that love encompass our entire being (heart, soul, mind, strength), and 3) allow the gospel to continually transform us and not to settle for spiritual mediocrity.

1. How do you pray? Are your prayers more self-centered or more gospel-centered? How can your prayer life become more gospel-centered?

2. What are some practical ways you can grow in love, either for God, for others, or both?

3. What are some ways that your love is inconsistent (i.e. you say you love God but have hatred towards someone, you say you love God but show no obedience to his commands, etc…)? How does this inconsistency impact you sharing your faith with others?

4. What are ways you are on a spiritual plateau and not allowing the gospel to transform you?