Philippians 1:9-10 (NIV) “9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
As parents, we all want what is best for our children, so that they can be prepared for their future and that they may have the ability make “good choices”. As their “spiritual parent”, Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was that they would be unified in love. Paul did not pray that the Philippians would have more love for him, or that they would listen to him more, but instead that they would be unified in growing their love, which would result in a greater knowledge of Christ and deeper insight.
Paul also prayed that the Philippian believers would have the ability to “discern what is best”, or differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad, vital versus trivial. Again, Paul prayed this not because he wanted recognition as a “good parent”, but instead so the Philippians would be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
Often one of the best ways to influence someone is to pray for him or her. As parents, we ought to pray for moral discernment, so we can maintain our Christian morals and values. As Christians, our capacity to develop a deeper knowledge of Christ is determined by our spiritual growth. As you grow in the Lord and put into practice what you have learned, your capacity to understand and to “discern what is best” will also grow.
