A Life Shaped and Re-shaped by Prayer

Wednesday, Week 1 - Philippians 1:12-18a: Naming the Prisons

I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.

Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment.  What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.

Paul is writing this joy-filled letter from prison.  He names his imprisonment and he acknowledges that there is a measure suffering in that.  Prison is a place of confinement, of depravation, and of being limited in where you can go and what you can do.  

Think of your own limitations and constraints; name three.  They might include an oppressive atmosphere at work, hefty responsibilities, or illness within your own body. Admit it; life would be so much freer if it were otherwise; (though given our own human sin, perhaps not).  

Now consider the prisons of your own making; like limitations that have come because of bad habits or choices, or the unwillingness or inability to let something go that you know you should, and then there’s the voice of the inner judge.  The inner judge is the one who consistently denies that you are God’s beloved unless you approach perfection or make your mark.  The inner judge may tempt you to strive for personal glory (even within a very small circle) while at the same time stoking your own inner feelings of inferiority.

We begin our prayer acknowledging our belovedness; breathe in belovedness, breathe out the toxic words of the inner judge.  We continue with gratitude, giving thanks for the gift of life itself, and for the gift of Christ who frees us to be connected with God and whose words have the power to counter the voice of the inner judge.  Then we may admit or confess our limits trusting that God always works in and through limited people like us.

I have these burdens O God, help me carry them.  I have all of these constraints, and I confess that some are of my own construction; nevertheless, be at work in my life and make my life meaningful in spite of them.  Amen.

Note: for those who want to go deeper – read the post below.