Heavenly Father I praise You for Your love toward me. I praise You for helping me to learn to trust You beyond all other things. I give You this morning and ask that You command it to be well, for only through Your Spirit can I command the morning. I come before You with all humility and ask for Your blessing on this day for my family, friends, and my church.
Holy Spirit Your word says: “Love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love faults not itself and is not puffed up, does not behave itself improperly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked thinks no evil.” [1Cor. 13:4&5] Holy Spirit help me to begin to understand love and to demonstrate it as Christ did. Help me to be obedient to what James admonished when he wrote, “My beloved brothers, let every person be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.” [James 1:19&20]
Holy Spirit help me to live my life by being quick to hear, slow to speak, and even slower to become angry. Help me to demonstrate humility and love, not hate. Help me to respond to those who try to hurt me with words or are angry with me, with grace and mercy, and consciousness toward forgiveness. Help me to be as strong as Christ was before all who tried to speak evil at Him. Let me live my life knowing my pride is not worth someone’s salvation or anger. Let me also remember, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” [2 Corinthians 10:3-5] Holy Spirit help me to put this into practice. Help me to demonstrate love even though often it is the hardest and most costly thing for me to do.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen. [Philippians 1:9-11]