Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
As we approach Valentine’s Day on February 14th, it’s difficult to enter a store without walking past aisles of cards, candies, balloons, and stuffed animals – all professing the same thing, love, or at least a form of it. Songs from every era tell us things like ‘love is all you need’ and ‘what the world needs now, is love sweet love’, but all of them fall short of explaining what real, true love is! We long for it, we search for it, we desire it, but unless we know just what it is, how it works, and where it comes from, we will spend our entire lives searching for it, but never finding it. All of the chocolates, flowers, cards, and balloons in the world will not be able to fill that void. We will be left empty.
As the world turns its attention to LOVE, let us, followers of Jesus use this as an opportunity to tell the world about Him! It’s an open door for conversations! Let’s turn our hearts and others toward the One, to God Himself, because ‘GOD IS LOVE’! And because He so loved us, He sent us His One and Only Son. This is a great season to pray and press into God’s love. To share with people who desperately want and need the unconditional love that only Jesus can give them.
We, who already know Jesus, desperately want and need that unconditional love to flow through us to others. Love that can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we pray for those we love, and we purpose to share His love with others, we need to prepare our hearts. A great way to do that, is to pray for ourselves through 1 Corinthians 1:13:1-8 by inserting ‘Lord, help me’ where the word love appears, and then praying that it will be so. In fact, let’s begin praying together and you’ll get the idea …
Lord, help me suffer long! Lord, help me be kind, not envy, and not parade myself. Lord, help me not be puffed up, behave rudely, seek my own, or be provoked. Lord, help me think no evil, not rejoice in iniquity but rejoice in truth. Lord, help me bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. Lord, help me to never fail those I love. In Jesus name, Amen!
Dion Elmore
Vice President
National Day of Prayer Task Force
