A Quiet Prayer
Finding Sanctuary ~ Day 16
Love. Without it, we are noisy gongs, clanging about (1 Corinthians 13:1).
We are called to love one another (John 13:34-35). Sometimes, though, I wonder if our feeble human attempts at loving others look more like a list of nice actions: open the door for someone, say hello, mow a neighbor’s lawn. Et cetera. I’ve done this myself.
Whole books are written with the message to “be kind” and this is fine. Kindness is, after all, one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But today I want to move beyond a simple list of kind actions, and instead, ask God to grow in me a heart of love for others.
I want to genuinely love other people, but in our sin-riddled human state, we are naturally turned in on ourselves, and the digital realm gives us all the tools we need to stay focused on yours truly.
Perhaps the best way to love others is to begin by asking God to help us in this area. Let’s ask God to fill us with his love that it might overflow in us and through us to others.
Shalom.
Denise
A Quiet Prayer
Lord, thank you for each new morning you give us. We know that we are only here by your grace. Help us to grow in our love for others, more and more, so that we may become living testimonies as to how we have been changed by your love — for without your love, we cannot know true love because you are love, and by your love we are able to love others. We thank you and praise you. In your loving name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
A Few Notes…
*You can access the 31-day journal for free as a PDF at this link:
*Join me each day in July as I reflect on the book Sanctuary — a 31-day devotional to cultivate a quiet heart in a noisy and demanding world. You can grab your own copy at this link:
*And as always, no part of this newsletter — nor anything I have ever published — has been made with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or ghostwriters. All of my words, including any accidental typos, are my own, except for when I quote others with appropriate citations and links.