Prayer on love

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3.1)

I borrowed a sermon. Yep, I said it! I borrowed a sermon . . . actually, I adapted a sermon from Rabbi Judy Shanks at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, CA. She wove in her sermon with the musical Rent’s Seasons of Love. I adapted it with my own personal stories and used someone from the choir to sing excerpts of Seasons of Love. More importantly, I used the lyric “How do you measure your life in love?” as a theme for the interactive prayer stations.

Interactive prayer stations are a wonderful opportunity for people to reflect on how God calls us to live in love, act in love, and be love. The interactive prayer stations are meant to be intergenerational. (For more specific instructions on layout, purpose, design, and more ideas, you can view previous posts tagged under “Interactive Prayer Stations.”) You can see more pictures of these prayer stations here.

Interactive Prayer Station #1: Love Thy Neighbor

Materials: Huge Dry Erase Board, Dry Erase Markers, Candles

Interactive Prayer Station #2: Signs of Love

Materials: Video Projector, Screen, Big Post-Its, Sharpies, Newsprint, Random Acts of Kindness Video

Interactive Prayer Station #3: Balancing Love

Materials: Long Branch or Stick, Strips of Paper, Thick Crayons, Candles, Ornament Hooks, Melted Crayon Heart Board

Interactive Prayer Stations for Toddlers & Kids:

The chancel area was decorated with paper hearts and pictures of images measuring love to house the interactive prayer stations. The stations were centered on the senses.

Materials: Brown Lunch Bags, Number Boxes, Spoons, Rainbow Sprinkles, Mini Marshmallows, Mini Chocolate Chips, Hot Cocoa packets, m & m’s, Peppermints, Sandpaper cut into hearts, Cinnamon Sticks, Glue, Paper, “Love” Stamps, Embossing Stamp Pad, Heating Tool, Sugar Free Kool-Aid, Clear Embossing Powder

You will need an adult to supervise these stations given the use of heat and the difficulty of embossing.

Ingredients for Smelling Embossing Powder:

Mix 1 part sugar-free drink mix to 1-1/2 parts Clear embossing powder. For example, you would mix 1 teaspoon drink mix with 1-1/2 teaspoons of Clear embossing powder. You’ll have a scented embossing powder!

Note: For the scent, select a sugar-free flavored creamer or sugar-free drink mix for your project, such as sugar-free Kool-Aid® or cocoa. Why must the mix be sugar free? Because heated sugar crisps and browns. When choosing the right drink mix, consider both color and scent. Colored embossing powder will work for scratch-and-sniff images; however, unless you use embossing powder that is the same color as your drink mix, the colors may blend strangely. For visual instructions, click here.

Directions for embossing:

• Stamp your image on a colored ink pad and on your card.
• Sprinkle the embossing powder over your stamped image. Dust off the excess powder.
• Using the heat tool, heat the powder until it melts.

Recipe of Love:

1 Packet Hot Cocoa Full of Love

2 Peppermints of Joy

3 Spoonfuls Mini Marshmallows of Fluffy Kindness

4 Spoonfuls Mini Chocolate Chips of Understanding

7 Spoonfuls Mini M&M’s of Colorful Laughter

8 Spoonfuls Chocolate Sprinkles of Patience

Lavish with Hugs; Sprinkle with Kisses; Add a smile on top

Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13.4-7)

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HIS love is unlimited for all eternity.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” – Song of Solomon 8:3

Love might just be the most powerful entity that affects both the emotional and mental states. In other words, love can alter the way we act and think about a particular individual/entity. A mother’s love for her child is always unparalleled and a man’s always so possessive of the attention his lady shows. We can even call that jealousy and from experience, the greater the love, the greater the jealousy. That said, God is an extremely jealous Father. He is also an all-encompassing family that offers so much more in our times of need. So, His love compels Him to be with us through thick and thin. And since we’re our Father’s children, we can’t help but emulate such characteristics. Still, attention must be paid to the fact that tempering the love of God with ours leads to an eternal bond between people. And in favor of such blessing, we have the following love prayers that work quite well.

Prayers for Love and Relationships

God, I stand before you today once more as one of Your beloved. And my presence here is because of my significant other (husband, wife, spouse). I plead that You strengthen the love between us so that it may last for eternity. Our bond will be unbreakable like the promise You made to Abraham. Lord in the Heavens, any hurt or pain causing complications that’ll cause problems in this relationship—Father, completely remove it and replace it with happiness and gleeful acceptance. I thank You for listening to my prayer of love and In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.

Prayer for Love to Return

God, I thank You for granting me the resolve to stand before You today in acceptance of my faults and wrongs. I know I have treated him/her badly and the pain I’m feeling is due to my levity on the part of his/her feelings. Please, God, I pray for an opportunity from You to apologise for my wrongdoings. He or she is the other half of me—the one that makes me whole. Father, I believe he or she is my completion and I pray that he returns to me. With open hands, I’ll welcome him/her into my warm embrace. Thank You once again for another miracle, Amen.

Prayer about Love for Others

Loving You is the best thing that has happened to me Oh Lord. You have stood by me ever since the fateful day that I accepted Your company. You have showered me with Your pure love, blessings, miracles, and divine protection. In fact, this prayer is only due to Your power. By which, You kept me alive to see today and to make a request. I pray, Father in Heaven that You open the eyes of my family and friends. And for the ones who love You like I do, Father keep both their eyes and mine open to Your devotion and adoration. I bless Your divine name for this deep and short prayer for love. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.

Prayer for Love and Happiness

Looking back Lord, I understand that happiness is key to having a love-filled relationship. And from my experiences also, I know You hold that key. God, I want You to open the door of joy in our lives so that this relationship will endure. It will easily endure ups and downs and the trials of time. Let me breathe in the aroma of sweet love and fully immerse myself in the happiness given by my partner. Father, I give thanks to Your name over the answered prayers, Amen.

Prayer for the One You Love

Love is the emotion that drives me here Lord. I love him/her enough to pray on his/her behalf and You love me enough to make level all my worries. Father, I need You to take good care of “Name”. He/she, despite the act, is always in need of Your favour and I pray that You show him/her more than enough. He/she shall be protected, raised heads about others, and miracles will be performed in his or her life. Praises be sung about Your everlasting mercy, and In Jesus Name, Amen.

Prayer for Love and Marriage

As required by every child Lord, I bring my beloved to ask for Your blessing. He or she has been faithful, caring, and patient—so, I stand before You today, basking in Your glow as I ask that he/she be the one for me. I want a peaceful and joy-filled marriage that’ll be inseparable. Love shall be shared between us and there will be calm always. Father, prosperity in the areas of procreation, financial stability, and spiritual awareness shall complement our love. I thank You for Your daily attention to my needs, Amen.

Bible Verses for Love

A few bible verses compiled for your consumption daily.

“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:22-24

The relationship between man and wife has been established from the beginning. Such meetings with your significant others are thus ordained by God.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Completion cannot be attained without a significant other. In fact, life isn’t so simple without your other and the verse above explains what that is about.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” –  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

This is the kind of love that our Father has towards us. It’s also the kind of love that we should emulate towards each other (significant other, friends, and family). 

“A friend loves at all times.” – Proverbs 17:17

The word “friend” isn’t limited to your close pals only. It’s a position that can be filled by God, your partner, and family.

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Sometimes love comes easy. The experience of unity, peace, and harmony makes loving each other fun and satisfying. It just feels like all is right with our world.

Sometimes love is a great sacrifice.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27-28

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” Luke 6:32

Regardless of our circumstances – our hurt feelings – our assignment is to love.

In Colossians 3, we are instructed to put on our new self because we are naturally going to find ourselves dividing and making enemies with people who do not “do life” our way. Jesus modeled for us loving those who don’t get you and even betray you. Then He offered to fill us with Himself so that He could love those who are hard to love through us.

Walking in love is a choice to let Jesus use us as a vessel of His own selfless love for other people.

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

As I think about putting on Jesus’ robe of righteousness (His ability to do life God’s way), I realize I have to let go of something (my selfish, sin nature) to reach for it. I can’t have both. I have to choose.

When my attitude is a clenched fist of hatred or disgust at what a person has done, I am not reaching for His robe. I too full of myself and there is not enough room for Him to fill me with His perfect thoughts, words and actions of love.

His perfect love casts out the fear that we can not survive being wronged in “this way.” His perfect love “binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

We were made for harmony with God and others. But because of the reality of sin and the evil one, we have to wrestle our will to the ground to get to it. Putting on love is the way to the harmony we crave in our relationships.

We are weak, but He is strong. So our humble (I need Your help) prayer can be this:

Father, I want to wear love in my relationship with ______. Work in my heart a spirit of forgiveness so that I can move toward ___ with Your thoughts, Your feelings, and the purposes of Your heart. 

Show me my sin so that I can confess it and release it. Help me release everything that stands in the way of being love to those you love so much. Empty me of me so I can be filled with You. 

Use me as an agent of binding Your family together in perfect harmony. In Jesus I pray, Amen

Putting on love someone includes interceding for them. Our generous God has given us the opportunity to stand in the gap and ask Him to pour out on their lives all that He wants to give them. We know that He wants them to “put on love” and they are struggling to get there. So with a clean heart, we pray …

Father, in the name of Jesus, I place the robe of righteousness on _____. I reach for it on ____’s behalf and invite You to move in Your extraordinary way so ____ can receive Your love. You have the power to break through the spiritual blindness, to heal the hardness of  ____’s  heart, and to free ____ from the chains of hatred and insecurity. I specifically ask You to heal _____ in ____’s life.

You are love and I invite You to fill ____ with the love that binds ____ together in perfect harmony with me and others.

Nothing is impossible with You. You can do more than I can ask or imagine. Today I’ve imagined ____ putting on love and I’ve asked You to make it a reality. I know You can do this and more.

Let it be so, Lord.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20

How are you putting on love? What is it costing you?

How will your choice to put on love glorify God throughout all generations?

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