Praying with and for Love

For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. (Philippians 1:8-9)

Paul, writing to the church in Philippi, said, “I greatly long after you.” That’s not just about his pastoral duty, but reflects the heart of a father he had. True spiritual leaders don’t just preach or teach people; they carry them in prayer, in their thoughts, and through intercession.

Paul’s prayer went even deeper, expressing his desire for the church's love to “abound.” True love is never exhausted. The more you allow God’s love to shine through you, the stronger the anointing becomes. The enemy would love nothing more than to see churches filled with strife and infighting. If he can cause believers to be offended, competitive, or cold toward one another, he knows he can block God's power from working in that place. Grace flows where love is greater than our preferences.

Now, Paul was not teaching the church to pray based on emotional sentimentality. He said that love should lead us to greater knowledge. That word, knowledge, is epignosis in Greek, and it means to have discernment, recognition, judgment, and understanding. This means having the revelation about who you are in Christ, understanding what the enemy is trying to do, and how to always walk in victory.

Paul concluded by expressing his desire for the church to also pray for having this epignosis in “all judgment.” That word judgment means discernment. Without discernment, believers rush toward everything that looks good. Every new fad and concept is presented to them with slick marketing. However, with spiritual judgment, you can discern deception and make wise, Spirit-led decisions.

Practical Application

Learning to pray this over your family, your church, and your pastor means actively participating in building a church that abounds in love, walks in revelation knowledge, and operates in discernment. That is a church Satan cannot deceive or divide.

1 Thessalonians 3:12; Colossians 1:9