The songwriter gave us the familiar words:

Precious memories,
How they linger,
How they ever flood my soul:
In the stillness of the midnight,
Precious, sacred scenes unfold.

The Apostle Paul, when he wrote the book of Philippians was locked in a Roman prison. While in that prison awaiting trial, he thought much of the believers at Philippi. The memories he had of these believers we're indeed precious memories. No doubt he thought back to the events that unfold in Acts 16. He thought of the conversion of Lydia and her household, the poor slave girl that had been demon possessed, and the Philippian Jailer. He thought of each of the dear Christians at Philippi and the work God had done there. He thought of their friendship and companionship through the years. It had been ten years since he had seen them, and in his dark, damp and dreary prison cell, precious memories flooded his soul.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow." In the stillness of Paul's midnight of sorrow and trial, Paul found comfort and joy as precious memories lingered, flooding his soul with sacred scenes. One writer called the church at Philippi, "Paul's sweetheart church." These believers were special to his heart. In the opening verses we learn how special they were to his heart.

Paul began the letter with his customary greeting: "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1-2) Then as precious memories flooded his soul, he expressed his feelings for them. As we see the feelings he had for them there are some great lessons to learn about building, developing, and proper relationships that will leave precious memories.

First, think with me of:

1. HIS REMEMBRANCE OF THEM WAS WITH GREAT APPRECIATION!

We read in verse 3, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." These believers were first of all in Paul's mind. In his words we see:

A. How Thoughtful He Was Of Them.

Paul spoke of "every remembrance." The word "remembrance" speaks of recollecting, being mindful, thinking of something or someone. The word "every" implies that he thought of them often. They were ever on his mind and in his thoughts. Like a husband and a wife, parent and child, pastor and his people, he thought of them continually.

I think one of the failures in our life is how forgetful we are. We are a lot like the couple that was sitting in church when the wife suddenly said, "Oh, honey, I forgot to turn off the electric iron before we left home.!" He looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry dear, it won't burn long. I just remembered I forgot to turn off the faucet in the bathtub."

How forgetful we are of what God has done in our life. How forgetful we are of those God has put in our life. How forgetful we are of the blessing of each. There are some things we should never forget and some people should we never forget. These should be on our mind continually. Much too often we find ourselves saying, "You know, I haven't thought of that in years," or "I haven't thought of him or her in years." Paul had never forgotten what God has done at Philippi, nor had he forgotten the people he had met at Philippi.

In his words we also see:

B. How Thankful He Was For Them.

Each time that he thought of them, he thanked God for them. Each time they came to his mind, his heart was filled with gratitude. I am told that our word "thank" evolves from our word "think." The ideal is that if we think it won't be long and we will be thanking. As Paul was thoughtful of them, he was thankful for them.

Paul could not say that of every church. To the church at Galatia he wrote, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?" To the church at Corinth he wrote, "I could not write unto you as spiritual, but as carnal." To be very honest, there are some cases, when we think of others, it brings sadness. We think of those who have hurt us. We think of those who disappointed us. We think of those who are no longer serving God. To remember certain ones brings back dreadful memories rather than delightful memories.

When the face of certain ones come to our minds we think of the lie they told, the unkind word they spoke, the dishonesty of their life, the thing they did or the thing they didn't do. When Paul thought of these believers he had only good thoughts. They did not bring sadness to his heart, but gladness. His thoughts of them were not depressing but delightful. He was thankful for every memory he had of them.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "The man who has forgotten to be thankful, has fallen asleep in life." When was the last time that you gave thanks to God for those who have been a blessing to you such as your pastor that preaches to you the Word of God, your teacher that teaches your Sunday School class, the deacons and Church leaders that work and give of their time to see that the church stays faithful and blessed of God, the choir director, musicians, and singers that bless your heart service after service, and the people that God has used in your life to instruct and inspire you?

What happens is that we get so caught up in our own lives, become so busy and preoccupied, that we are not thoughtful thus are not thankful. William Shakespeare wrote: "O lord, that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness." George Herbert once said, "Thou who hast given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart."

When was the last time that you not only thanked God but you also thanked them? As one has written, "'Though right it is to give thanks, true gratitude will live thanks." There are some we should write, call, tell, and show we are thankful for them.

2. HIS REQUESTS FOR THEM WAS WITH GREAT ADMIRATION!

We read in verse 4, "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy." Paul not only had them in his mind, he also had them in his prayers. Whenever he thought of them he not only lifted his heart in praise, he also lifted his heart in prayer.

We see that:

A. He Prayed Purposefully for Them.

The word "prayer" and the word "requests" are the same word. They speak of asking God specifically for something. It describes bringing our petitions before God. Paul prayed for them and prayed with a purpose. He prayed for the needs that he knew of in their life.

There is no doubt that the area of our greatest failure is our prayer life. Someone has said, "The popularity of a Church is measured by its Sunday morning attendance. The popularity of a preacher is measured its Sunday evening attendance. However, the popularity of the Lord is measured by the prayer meeting attendance."

Even greater a failure is how we fail to pray for others. Prayer requests go in one ear and out the other. People with needs are not much more than a name in the Church bulletin. Their needs are heard but we seldom prayed for them. Warren Wiersbe said: "Talking to God about His people is certainly as important as talking to His people about God."

A little child traveled alone from Scotland to London to have a series of operations for her twisted body. Because of the distance, she had to leave her family behind. A sympathetic nurse tried to condition to the child to the routine of the hospital, introducing her to the doctor and different ones. When everything was explained, the nurse asked, "Do you have any questions?" The child answered, "Yes, who is going to pray for me?"

We also see that:

B. He Prayed Particularly For Them.

Notice the words "for you all." These words indicate that he prayed for each of them. He called them out one by one and by name before the Lord. He did not pray, "Lord, bless the saints at Philippi," but prayed, "Lord, bless Joe, Bill, Mary, at Philippi."

I believe that one of the greatest lessons that we could learn about prayer is not only that of praying specifically for something but praying particularly for someone.

Thirdly, we see that:

C. He Prayed Perpetually For Them.

Notice his words, "always in every prayer of mine." He prayed for them continually. Every time they came to his mind, he prayed for them. Every time he prayed he called their name out of God. Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." I believe we could add a few words in that statement and read it, "Pray for others without ceasing."

We also see that:

D. He Prayed Pleasurably For Them.

It was "with joy" that he prayed for them. When he thought of them it was with thankfulness. When he prayed for them it was with happiness. His prayer for them was not with a troubled heart, but a thrilled heart. It was with joy that he prayed as he thought of the work they were doing for God: "For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now" (1:5). It was with joy that he prayed as he thought of the work God was doing in them: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Vs.6). 

Thirdly, think with me of how:

3. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM WAS WITH GREAT AFFECTION!

They were in his mind, in his prayers, and in his heart: "Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace" (Vs.7). He thought about them, prayed for them, and was personally close to them.

Notice the:

A. The Deep Love Paul Had For Them.

There was the love Paul felt from them. Paul had felt and experienced their love while he was in prison and all through his ministry of spreading and sharing the gospel. They had been one with him, for him, and to him. Notice verse 8, "For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." There was the love Paul felt for them. The word "bowels" literally mean "inward parts." It was used to refer to the seat of emotions. It would mean the same as when we say, "I love you with all my heart."

One of the great commandments of the Bible is to "love one another." In fact, the Bible states that one of the evidences of genuine conversion is our love for one another (I John 3:14). Tertullian, one of the early church fathers and leaders (A.D. 192) wrote; "The heathen are wont to exclaim with wonder, see how these Christians love one another! They are more ready to die for one another, and the heathen are more ready to kill for one another."

All too often our love is nothing more than words. I think of the fellow who called his girl friend: "Darling, I love you. I'd climb the highest mountain for you; I'd swim the deepest stream for you; I'd fight a jungle of lions for you; and if it doesn't rain, I'll be over to see you tonight."

Someone has written:

Love has eyes that see human needs.
Love has ears that hear human needs.
Love has feet that run to meet human needs.
Love has hands that minister to human needs.

Also notice:

B. The Divine Love Paul Had For Them.

Notice that he described his love for them as "in the bowels of Jesus Christ." The deep love he expressed was because of a divine love he had experienced. It was Christ's love in him that enabled him to love so deeply. Someone says, "I can't love so and so." You can when the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart. When God's love has been experienced it gives us a capacity to love as never before.