Philippians 1:3-4 - The most underused word in Christendom?

"I am giving thanks to my God upon every remembrance of you, always, in every prayer of mine on behalf of you all, making the prayer with joy..."

-Every time I think of you, Paul says, I thank the Lord.  Would that God would so use me in people’s lives that they couldn’t help but give thanks to God every time they thought about me.  What is remarkable is that in this situation Paul was the one who had been aiming to bless the Philippians.  He was the one who was evangelizing and planting the church there and was discipling the young believers in how to follow Christ and live for Him.  And we know that many people in Philippi had Paul to thank for helping them to find forgiveness and hope of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  Yet he was constantly grateful for them.

-Paul is praying for these folks, and the word for prayer here has the idea of asking for something, but he is not anxious or worried or burdened for them per se.  He is full of joy.  These are indeed prayers of thanksgiving and celebration.  Every time he thinks about them, he offers up a prayer of joy and thanksgiving.  And now he is telling them (and probably not for the first time).  Surely there is a person or persons who God has used in your life to encourage you, teach you, help you find and follow Jesus.  Take stock of those who have been a particular blessing to you and take a moment - many moments - to celebrate and thank God for them.   Let them know - again - that God has used them.  This is more than simply saying thank you, it is, "I thank God for you!"  But thanks has got to be the most under-utilized word in the Body of Christ.  Apparently we cannot overuse it since Paul says he was always using it!  Surely we are way too quick and ready to take for granted and forget.  We strain out a gnat and criticize and judge and complain and tear down someone for whom Christ died.  Where are the words of life to build up and bless those God has used in our lives?  Many of our leaders - many of us - live much of our lives never knowing when (or even if) God has ever really used us in the life of another.  Let the Lord use you to bless someone else by letting them know that God has used them in your life.  

-And thus we get our first glimpse of Paul’s absence of self.  As we will see, it was not necessarily what they specifically did for him that stood out to him, it was what they did for Jesus that mattered most.