A Prayer to See Love the Way God Does
By Alicia Searl
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
- Love makes the world go round.
- All you need is love. Make love, not war.
- Love is love.
All these quotes have something in common. They were used when people desperately needed peace, unity, and love. Grabbing at a sense of belonging and ultimately craving love. But these sayings are “man” made. They were created to define love, but they all miss a crucial element. There is no mention of God in any of them! Not saying that God cannot be in them, but He is not the main focus. Ok, my friend, this is where things get a little messy. Bear with me for a moment.
On the surface, speaking these simply sweet “love phrases” sounds nice enough, but what’s not discussed much is that something is lurking underneath (as with anything created by man). It’s called the tainting of our flesh. In essence, these quotes, sayings, and phrases are all very misleading. While they long to embrace love, they look at the worldly view of love, not the perspective of love that God designed.
Let’s take the current trend of “love is love.” This basically says that we define love. We get to say what love is and how we want to honor and celebrate it. Not God, but us! Unfortunately, this is leading us into very dangerous territory, especially as the views of love vary from person to person. When we remove God (Who is love) from the context of love and let our own fleshly desires in, love is no longer patient or kind. It begins to envy and boast. It dishonors others and becomes self-seeking. It is easily angered and keeps records of “right” and wrongs, all while delighting in evil. There is no need for protection as it deems untrustworthy and hopeless.
Manmade love will always fail. This is happening in our society, and we are seeing an uptick in accepting and celebrating types of love that go against God’s will and way for our lives. Sadly, the most vulnerable and innocent, our children, are caught in this sinful and lustful love trap. Friend, we are living in disheartening times. So, what do we do? We choose God’s love, and we love as Jesus did. We love with patience, kindness, and humility. However, we do not tolerate or delight in evil but rejoice in the truth and share it with our children. We strive to protect them and speak up for righteousness while holding fast to the fact that God has them and us. We need to spread the truth that our God is the God of love. He created it. He designed it, and He gets to define it. The pure nature of the love God created is meant to bring us closer together as humans, but more importantly, to bring us into a deeper relationship with Him.
Let’s pray:
Gracious God,
You are such a good God. A faithful Father that loves us without end. Thank You for Your unfailing and unwavering love. Please help us share that love with others. While it is disheartening to see the many ways our world embraces love, as believers, help us be a light and share the beautiful and unconditional love You offer.
Lord, please protect our children and build a barrier of protection around their hearts. Help them see and feel Your love so that they will be encouraged to share Your love with others as they grow up in a lost world. We ask that You speak into the lives of the lost. Change hearts and transform minds. We are all searching for love, so lead and guide us on how to share our hearts and love others as You would have us do. Please bless our relationships with our fellow brothers and sisters, our families, our spouses, and those desperately searching for Your love. We ask all these things in Your Precious Name. Amen.
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Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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