A prayer based on 1 John 4:7-16.

<aside> 🙏🏻 Our God, We love you, we trust you. But only because you first loved us.

How amazing and how wonderful it is that you first loved us. That you did so when we were impure, guilty, corrupt, unclean, and undeserving. That you did so when we were lost in our sins, helpless and hopeless, ungodly, and hostile and rebellious toward you.

How amazing and how wonderful it is that you first loved us. That you did so by sending your one and only Son into the world, to die, under your law and your curse, for us, so that we might live. That we might live spiritually, knowing you as our God and responding to you in love. That we might live physically, knowing that one day we will be raised from the death to enjoy life in the new heavens and new earth. That we might live eternally, enjoying this relationship we have with you our God forever. What love! What grace! you have shown to us.

And Lord Jesus, we are so grateful for what you have done and continue to do for us. For being that atoning sacrifice. For dying physically as your body gave up its life. For dying spiritually as you experienced what it meant to be forsaken by God. For dying eternally as you received the totality of what we deserve for our sins. Thank you that the wrath of God was poured out in full upon you until the penalty of sin was paid in full.

Lord God, how great is the love you have shown to us! With our hearts and our mouths we give you our praise.

And we pray that you would help us, by your Spirit, to respond to this amazing love you have shown to us, by loving one another. Loving those you have loved. Help us to encourage one another to keep believing in Jesus and to carefully follow His commands each day. Help us to care for one another, rejoicing with those rejoice, weeping with those who weep, bearing with one another when they test our patience, forgiving one another when they let us down and cause us hurt. Help us to take care that we do not threaten the unity we enjoy as a local church, by being divisive in what we say or do.

And may our love not just be limited to those within the church family. Give us a great desire and love for those in our community who desperately need to experience the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves. Bless all our efforts to speak to people about how Jesus is the Saviour of the world and how He can be their Saviour too. And as we speak of how you loved the world so much by giving your Son, would you be pleased to call them out of sin and death to salvation in Christ. Give them understanding, soften their hearts change their wills, and draw them to Jesus to be saved.

Amen.

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