All things are held in balance by You, dear God. In love, You gave us free will – the ability to reason and choose our actions. And freedom is a double-edged sword. We can choose to love or we can choose to hate. And we do both. We fall so short of Your righteousness on our own steam, Lord. Help us return to Your heart – to the plan You set in place at our foundation – an intimate relationship entirely dependent on You. Paradise on this side of the veil will only return to earth when You come again, so until then, help us be a light to show others the way to You. We may be the only “Jesus” some will ever know.
Our marching orders are to love each other. You said, “A new command I give You: Love one another. As I have loved You, so You must love one another” (John 13:34). Your words are not a suggestion. Your words are a call to action of our own free will, to love as You love us. But Lord – Your love went to the cross. Your love suffered and died. Selflessly. For us. It is not easy to love like You, Lord. Your love requires sacrifice. But truly, Your love is the only answer to all the troubles our free will has caused.
You know the heart of humankind – that we cannot love like this without You. So You provided the WAY for us to love like You…YOU! Then we must lay down our own life, die to self, use our free will to choose…YOU. And Your Spirit born anew in us releases Your power to love like You! How else could we love the unloveable? The lost? The enemy who hates us? Thank You, Jesus, for being the WAY of love.
So Lord, in the power of Your Spirit I pray for our world, our nation, our cities, our neighborhoods, and our families. We all need You. Help us to be open to Your love in us. Let it flow through our hearts and out to others. Help others be open to receive the outpouring of Your love – those who need it most – the hurting, angry, empty, broken, suffering, wounded, sick – all who are in need of You. No matter our circumstance, we each have the capacity to give love and receive love and give love again. You command us to do it, and You provided the way for us to do it. So dear Lord, make us an instrument of Your love…our world desperately needs it.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.