Praying Scripture

Philippians 3:7-11

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

“Everything as loss.” At the end of the day, how much is knowing Christ worth to us? How much is it worth to you? Think about it. Would you lose everything in order to gain Christ? Do you count everything else as dung? We all know that this is where we are supposed to be, but if we take an honest assessment of our hearts chances are we’re not completely there. Also, praying to get there, as if we know we’re not, is a dangerous prayer to pray because we can imagine the pain that involves getting there, that is the pruning, the stripping away. Many of us have already experienced that, the loss, the suffering that helps us to reconsider and refocus and reprioritize. But, it is worth it! “This light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). The worst pain and suffering we could imagine this side of heaven pales in comparison to the glory that awaits us. What it comes down to is knowing Christ.

This passage from Paul teaches us what our mentality needs to be. When we find ourselves not there, as ‘dangerous’ as it might be, we need to pray to that end. This teaches us what really matters at the end of the day, that is, knowing Christ, being found in Christ, having the righteousness that depends on faith attaining the resurrection. Having this focus helps us put everything else in perspective. This can be both convicting and comforting. Convicting when the things of this world are weighing too heavy on us, and comforting when things are being stripped away from us.

We often don’t know what to pray. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray. And Jesus, by praying the Word, taught us to pray the Word. As the Word of God teaches us what to prioritize, let that guide our prayer.

Lord Jesus, there is nothing greater than knowing you! Let that be our life’s pursuit, to know you more. Amen.