Lord, I do want to love you with all that I am. And I want to love you by loving others in your name. Forgive me, Lord, when I fail to be loving, especially to those who are closest to me . . . my wife, my children, my family, my colleagues, my neighbors. May my love for you inspire and enrich my love for others.
Help me, dear Lord, to love those I find hard to love. You know who they are. How easy it is for me to ignore them, to dismiss them, to judge them, to do anything but love them. Forgive me for failing to act toward them with Christ-like love. Help me to extend your love to them through words and deeds of kindness and compassion.
I am reminded today to pray for your church, Lord, that we might love each other. Sometimes it seems as if your people are meanest to one another. Church disagreements can be so nasty, so unlike what you have envisioned for us. Help all of our people to love one another, dear Lord .In Lord Jesus I Pray.Amen.