Disciples are to show the love of God, even in prayer. This daily devotional looks at how love encompasses forgiveness to show others what religion – our relationship with God – truly is.
Nuggets
- Our prayers show where our hearts are because it shows how we love others.
- Our prayers must be that others come to submit their lives to God.
Devotions in the Conditions of Power in Prayer series
Spurgeon told us the conditions and essentials that are needed to be met in order to access God’s power when we pray. The essentials are having child-like obedience, reverence, trust, love, ways, and spirit.
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We said that faith had to be prevalent. What else did Spurgeon list?
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Let's Put It into Context #2
Prayer is a two-way communication with God in which we pour out our soul to Him.
The Universality of Love
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5: 43-48 ESV)
Our prayers show where our hearts are because it shows how we love others.
We as disciples are supposed to love all. We do not get to pick and choose on whom that love falls.
The second greatest commandment confirms that. It specifies love our neighbor (Mk. 12: 31). Neighbor means everyone.
Glossary
Greatest commandments
These verses in Matthew remind us that includes loving our enemies. We are to not only love them, but we are to also pray for them.
It is logical that praying for them shows God where our hearts are. To see this, we have to look at forgiveness.
Butler expanded our knowledge of forgiveness. He wrote, “The duty of forgiveness does not forbid resentment, but the excess or abuse of it.”
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That hit me because some think forgiveness means that we make it look like the incidence that caused the breach never happened. It looks like we as disciples are supposed to give up our principles and feelings to make things all better.
Butler said nope. If we retain excessive resentment, it leads to anger. The resentment keeps the contention riled up so that nothing is really resolved by the forgiveness because it is not true forgiveness.
The duty of loving our enemies ties into sobriety. Being sober is a character trait distinguished by self-control, genuineness, and sound moral judgment. It is a calm and temperate disposition.
Glossary
We aren’t going to extremes when we are sober. It is a moderate and reasonable disposition.
Butler argued that the origin of the dispute is built on passions of the individuals. We must be allowed to be passionate about things. This passion, however, must be appropriate.
Let’s circle back. In order to truly love our enemies, we have to forgive them. We take our animosity against someone and flip it to loving them.
If, as Tillotson said, the basis of love is relation and likeness, we start looking at our enemies in a different light. We see them as people made in the image of God if nothing else.
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Glossary
When we start seeing them in this revised light, we see their needs instead of their righteousness, as Beecher said.
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Won’t we be more inclined to pray for them then? We tend to fill our prayers with physical needs instead of spiritual needs.
The Religion of Love
Our prayers must be that others come to submit their lives to God.
Let’s look at this a different way. Not only must our prayers be based on love, so must our religion — our relationship with God.
Isn’t that what the New Testament teaches?
We’ve talked about loving God and loving others as being the way to gain perfection. Beecher tied them together even more. He wrote, “No man can love God except through the practice of loving men.”
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If there is no substitute for loving man, but worship of God requires it, that worship would be offered through prayer. Remember, prayer is our direct communication line to God.
Think of it this way, too. Our job description says our duty is to preach and make disciples.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Our goal should be to win our enemies to Christ. We don’t do that. Only God can do that. Our prayers and love for them helps God change their hearts.
Making the Connections
The love that we have for others must show that our love is different from worldly love. It must show that we have Christ in us and that it is His love we are also extending to them.
How Do We Apply This?
Be mindful of the manner in which we make enemies.
Be kind to others.
Follow Christ’s example of dealing with the enemy.
Increase our love of God so that we can increase our love for others.
Resources
Father God. We praise You that You are a God of love. We want to have Your love within us. Help us to show others this love so that they may turn to You before it is too late. Amen.
What do you think?
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