Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 13
Family Discussions for a New School Year
Paul’s prayers differ from the average. How many of us have prayed for others to have depth of insight?
[This post can be read aloud in under 7 1/2 min.!]
*This is DAY 13. Click here to see all days.
DAY 13/MONDAY
Philippians 1:9-11
In Depth of Insight
“And 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, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
My mom complimented me when I was a teen by saying I had a lot of insight. Since then, I have really liked that word!
insight:
| the ability to understand a person or a situation very clearly; the understanding of the truth of a situation | merriam-webster.com (Kids Definition) |
| the power or act of seeing into a situation | merriam-webster.com |
| a power to see what is not evident to the average mind | merriam-webster.com (Choose the Right Synonym) |
Insight brings to mind the old Transformers slogan, “More than meets the eye.” With insight we can go deeper, we can see under the surface. In knowing Jesus, we can go from an acquaintance-type relationship in which we don’t know Him as well as we know some of our classmates or coworkers, to being closer to Him than we’ve ever been or could ever be to anyone else!
The Right Kind of Meditation
“Oh, how I love Your law!
Psalm 119:97-104 (NIV)
I meditate on it all day long.
98Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on Your statutes.
100I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey Your precepts.
101I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey Your word.
102I have not departed from Your laws,
for You Yourself have taught me.
103How sweet are Your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104I gain understanding from Your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.”
Psalm 119:99 says, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes.”
The psalmist has more insight (deeper understanding of knowledge) than all his teachers (communicators of knowledge) because he meditates on God’s statutes (laws, instructions).
What does meditate mean?
meditate:
| to spend time in quiet thinking : reflect | merriam-webster.com (Kids Definition) |
| to consider or examine attentively or deliberately; implies a definite focusing of one’s thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply | merriam-webster.com (Choose the Right Synonym) |
Biblical meditation, then, is to spend time quietly thinking & reflecting on Scripture; to consider or examine God’s Word attentively & deliberately; a definite focusing of one’s thoughts on the Bible so as to understand it deeply. This meditation has nothing to do with sitting in the floor with legs crossed “ohm-ing” to yourself.
Meditation on God’s Word can lead to insight.
(Psalm 119:99)
King Solomon’s Insight
“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.”
I Kings 4:29 (NIV)
God gave Solomon — 3rd King of Israel & son of King David — “very great insight.” According to I Kings 4:31, “He was wiser than anyone else.” Solomon wrote about insight in his proverbs.
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2for gaining wisdom and instruction;
Proverbs 1:1-2 (NIV)
for understanding words of insight…”
Right off the bat, Solomon tells us Proverbs is, among other things, “for understanding words of insight.”
“…indeed, if you call out for insight
Proverbs 2:3-5 (NIV)
and cry aloud for understanding,
4and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.”
Solomon writes that in calling out for insight, looking for it and searching for it, you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
“How much better to get wisdom than gold,
Proverbs 16:16 (NIV)
to get insight rather than silver!“
“Buy the truth and do not sell it—
Proverbs 23:23 (NIV)
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.”
Getting insight is better than getting things of monetary value. Solomon could know this firsthand: he had great insight and greater riches “than all the other kings of the earth” (I Kings 10:23; II Chronicles 9:22).
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
Proverbs 21:30 (NIV)
that can succeed against the Lord.”
If you have insight which opposes God, that insight will fail. Unfortunately, Solomon had experience with this, too:
“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been…
6So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done…
9The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10Although He had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this is your attitude and you have not kept My covenant and My decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son…’
14Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary…
23And God raised up against Solomon another adversary…”
I Kings 11:4,6,9-12,14,23 (NIV)
When you turn your heart away from the Lord, all the knowledge & insight in the world can’t help you. There is only one solution: repent! Turn your heart back to the Lord, confess your sins, and devote yourself to following Him.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9 (NIV)
In Depth of Insight
Back to our main Scripture:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…”
Philippians 1:9 (NIV)
Paul prays that the Philippians would go deeper in their knowledge of God. This reminds me of something the writer of Hebrews shared.
“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…”
Hebrews 6:1 (NIV)
We must start with the elementary teachings, learning the basics of the faith, the simple, straightforward gospel as Paul shared it in I Corinthians 15. This is not where our learning should stop!
To be taken forward to maturity, we must move beyond the basics and go deeper, not only continuing to grow in knowledge, but also in depth of insight.
Start Where You Are
The next step for you is the one just above where you are.
If you only…
- read the Bible on Sunday, then start reading the Bible more often than that.
- pray twice a week, then start praying more often than that.
- discuss the Bible with no one, join a small group!
For teens: I encourage you to join a Bible plan in which you read through the entire New Testament with a small group or at least one person who can hold you accountable.
*The YouVersion Bible app has a 90 days through the NT plan (my teens did it in 2020), and The Bible Recap NT plan (which includes book intro videos and a daily podcast), plus other options.
I am currently reading through the entire Bible chronologically in a year for the 3rd year in a row. I was a Christian for 31 years before I read the Bible all the way through! I had plenty of good reasons (a.k.a. excuses) for not doing it, but once I did it, I couldn’t believe I had waited so long!
*I use The Bible Recap plan on the YouVersion app. The key to it for me is being part of a group that is reading through the Bible together. We can comment to each other on what we’ve read & check to see if everyone is keeping up. It’s great accountability! The Bible Recap has a lot of helps and resources. Last year my then 14-year-old read through the Bible in a year! He’s over halfway through his 2nd year now as a 15-year-old. I’m a little proud. 🙂 There are many in our church (my husband included) who are using the M’Cheyne One Year plan on YouVersion or on the Dwell app.
Bottom line: Wherever you are in your knowledge of God & Jesus, however much insight you do or don’t have, just take the next step. Do it today!
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV)
DAY 13/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
May our family’s love abound more & more in knowledge and depth of insight so that we may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to Your glory and praise.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 13: Paul's prayers differ from the average. He prays for the Philippian believers to gain depth of insight.
This was good.
Thanks, Dubya!