November 29

Read: Philippians 1:9-11

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more.., being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9, 11).

The Prayer For Transparent Holiness

“And this I pray’! Surely all that follows ought to be heavily underscored, for the apostle never prayed for trivialities. That for which he poured out his soul in fervent prayer should engage our fullest attention. The object of the prayer is fivefold. Shall we today make this quintet of petitions very personal?

“The first prayer is for the education of my love in spiritual knowledge, ‘That your love

may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.’

“The second is for the regulation of love by spiritual discernment. ‘That ye may approve things that are excellent.’ We must sharpen our faculties of moral perception until we can discern between that which is actually good and that which only appears good.

“The third request is for the perfection of my love. ‘That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.’ The test of this sincerity is that I shall be honestly willing to let light shine through me, to evince the true character of my principles and motives… and that is possible only to the sanctified heart.

“The fourth petition is a prayer for the manifestation of love. ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness.’ As long as carnality lives in me it will seek and find occasion to act. Until we are transparent in holiness we cannot be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

“The fifth petition, ‘Till the day of Christ,’ looks to the consummation of love, when my soul shall be joined to its Saviour in immediate and uninterrupted fellowship for all eternity” (W. E. McCumber).

Prayer For Today

May my life be “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”