Pray to Love, Love to Pray
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
I Cor. 16:14 (NRSV)“I pray to be more loving in my heart.”
The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman
Dear Prosperity Partners and Friends,
“I pray for you, you pray for me. I love you, I need you to survive”, says the song lyric by Hezekiah Walker. When we pray, we are reminded that we live in the midst of an Omniscient God who knows every detail from the beginning to the end. Once we pray, the sense of burdens falls away. Our soul sings, ‘Gonna lay down my burdens’ and we do just that. Intuitively we know, ‘God’s Got This.’
Sunday’s sermon titled, ‘Pray to Love, Love to Pray’, reminded us that our love for God keeps us praying. Our trust in God keeps us hopeful. Our belief in God keeps us on the path of faith and away from the path of fear. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he introduced them to a language that would unite them in the awareness of God’s love towards them. It also affirmed God’s love within them and others. Prayer, therefore, is a blessing from the one who teaches us to pray. It is also a blessing for the one who learns to pray as well as those for whom we pray.
1. When we pray, we deepen our relationship with the One to whom/with whom we pray. Prayer creates an intimate level of energy flowing between the parties who pray.
Prayer is divinely connected to its subject. We must, therefore, be very intentional about how we pray, to whom we pray, and for what we pray.
2. Prayer is Love’s Language. When you pray, pray to:
a. Be a God Lover.
Love God more than your prayer requests. God lovers see the Good possibilities in unlikely appearances and experiences. This makes them God (Good) Lovers.
b. Be committed to spending time, consciously, in God’s presence.
While prayer is not limited to a body position, it is wise to have a deep commitment to spending time in God’s presence.
c. Be receptive to God’s voice in your soul.
Just as we listen to radio, podcasts, Utube videos etc., so, too, must we listen to God’s intuitive voice that whispers in our soul. It has a message for us.
d. Be obedient to God’s call on your life.
‘You’ve got to move…when God gets ready, You’ve got to move’, says a song lyric. Once we hear God’s instruction, we must move into right action.
e. Be consciously aware that God’s love is inclusive of all and not exclusive to some.
No matter whom we may perceive as an enemy, let us know that God’s love escapes no one. Anyone can choose to ‘bury’ love deep down inside so that its magic seems lost forever. However, in the end, all we all want is to love, and to be loved. Love is all we have, really. Love is all we get to keep. Everything else fades.
f. Love for the sake of loving. Let your desire to ‘Be’ override your desire to ‘Get’.
Dr. Howard Thurman’s quote sums up this point: ‘I want to be more loving in my
heart.’ ‘Be more loving’ rather than trying to ‘get more loving.’
3. Your prayers establish within you a ‘well of love’ that is deep enough to sustain you during times of drought and plenty; hurt and healing; sadness and happiness and doubt and faith.
What a joy to know that love buoys us, keeping us afloat whether life’s tide is high or low, and when our tears flow. Give thanks for God’s love that never fails to sustain us.
Our Prayer Insight:
‘The world needs praying people – people who recognize the presence of God in all persons and situations. There are no membership fees, no dues, no references required to become part of this new community of pray-ers. The only requirement is the commitment to prayer in our own hearts. Our prayers will move out from our hearts and encircle Earth with a mantle of compassion, kindness, and peace.’
Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla’s, The Quest for Prayer: Coming Home to Spirit
Let’s Pray
God of Love,
Thank You for Your presence working through and for me and others. Your love works its magic in every situation that concerns me. It
uplifts me, blesses me, encourages me, provides for me, loves me, and empowers me. I am grateful to live in love and to know that love lives in me. Together, we are an unbeatable team.
Thanks God. Amen.
