I read a passage backwards today and thought I’d share it with you. I’m teaching on Philippians 1:9-11 to our International Fellowship at Brentview this morning. Paul is sharing his prayer for them… what he really wants to see happen in and through them. It’s an important peak into the Apostle’s intimate prayer life. I wanted to soak up this passage in ways I hadn’t before… so in trying to summarize these verses I started at the end and worked back to the beginning. Here’s the passage the right way… followed by my backwards summary.
~Philippians 1:9-11~
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 until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God. (NIV)
~Backwards Summary~
God is praised and glorified when you are filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Being filled with the fruit of righteousness enables you to live pure and blameless lives because you are able to discern what is best. All of this happens as your love (for each other and for Christ) abounds more and more. So that is my prayer for you.