Reading Philippians 1:1-11 brings tears to my eyes. Philippians 1:6 reminds me of my grandmother, Mimi. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Until she left this world for our eternal home, Mimi continually prayed this verse over my life, especially during the years that I wandered in the darkness, wanting to get as far away from God as I could. But she never gave up. She wrote that reference on every card, note, and letter she sent me. She whispered it in my ear. She prayed it aloud, and she loved and she forgave and she showed me the love of Jesus.

I am thankful for Mimi’s faithfulness and the way she modeled the power of prayer. My grandmother didn’t just hope God would hear; she believed He heard and He would answer. I remember lying in bed at my grandparents’ house as a child and hearing them pray together every night. They were rocks in my life. Mimi encouraged me regularly. Her home was an oasis in the storms—the one I grew up in and the one that I later created myself.

“He pursued me, rescuing me from my sin and brokenness. His good work continues.”

Through it, God planted seeds of faith in my heart as a child, watered by my grandmother’s prayers, unearthed in early adulthood. He pursued me, rescuing me from my sin and brokenness. His good work continues.

I don’t know that Mimi prayed the rest of this chapter for me; she never mentioned or referenced the next section. But reading it now, I can see evidence in my life. Afters years of following Christ, sometimes joyfully and faithfully, sometimes barely hanging on, my love for Jesus overflows. In spite of myself, I “keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.” I am beginning to “understand what really matters.” I am “filled with the fruit of my salvation.” I don’t think my life will ever be “pure and blameless,” but it’s a lot closer than it was before. My character slowly grows in righteousness, produced only by Jesus Christ. His good work continues.

“Afters years of following Christ, sometimes joyfully and faithfully, sometimes barely hanging on, my love for Jesus overflows.”

There is nothing about me that could make this happen. I’m not a “nice person;” I don’t have “a good heart.” But He is at work and He makes me more like Him. He changes me, my desires, my motives, my words, my actions. His good work continues.

What freedom we have knowing that God’s work in us is not finished! I am so thankful that His transformation of me never ends, and He will never give up on me, or you, until Jesus returns or He calls us home.

The questions I consider today: where does my responsibility lie? For whom am I giving thanks to God? And am I praying fervently for them? For whom am I modeling a faithfulness and persistence in prayer? In whose spiritual growth am I investing? May my life, and yours, be prayerful today and “bring much glory and praise to God.”