Philippians Prayer: I thank God for you!

Verse 3-5
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

Who do you thank God for? Is there someone you thank God for when you remember them? Paul in his regular set times of prayer was compelled to remember the gathering at Phillipi. When talking about prayer here, he is praying for someone who is lack something. He is praying because he knows that the Lord can fill that need. Notably Paul prays with joy! If you know this particular book, you will know that joy & rejoicing is something that is mentioned throughout the book. We know that joy is not dependent on our happenings like happiness may be. Joy sees past the events of the day to God who is working out his will for us. When Paul prays for them, he remembers how they are his partners in the gospel, they have contended with him for the cause of the gospel. He remembers how they had given him financial support. Not that he was looking for this as he had learnt to be content in any situation as we see in chapter 4 of this book.

Father, help us always to see past the events of the day and pray with joy.