Remember this:
Paul made it a point of duty to God to pray frequently for the Philippian believers and their infant, persecuted church. He was thankful to God for their conversion when he preached the Gospel among them, and he knew that God did not leave Philippi when he was forced to do so. Paul could pray in a spirit of joyfulness for these fellow Christians because he was confident (verse 6) that God would continually work in them a work of godliness until He perfected it on the Day of Christ (the Rapture and Resurrection of the dead in Christ, see 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
And we pray:
O Spirit of God, we know that You are at work in every believer’s heart and life. We know that you take the things of Christ found in Scripture and show them to us and form the character of Christ within us. We ask in joy for what we know you will grant, that our fellowship with Christ and with one another will grow and increase by your power, as we faithfully lean on Your Word and apply its truths to our lives. Amen.