A prayer based on Song of Songs 1:1-2:7.

<aside> 🙏🏻 Our Lord and our God, There is no-one like You and there is no-one who has loved us like You have done through Your Son.

We praise You for the security we have because of His love for us. Though we are sinners by nature, by choice and by practice and our hearts are dark, yet we are also lovely to You because we have been clothed and covered by the righteousness and perfection of Christ. We thank You that His loveliness became our loveliness when we put our trust in Him. We thank You that He has dealt with all our sins, removing them far away, and now He takes great delight in us. We thank You that He has promised to be with us always to the very end of the age. That He will never leave us or forsake us. We thank You that by faith we can hear Him say to us those six comforting words – “Fear not, I am with you!”

We praise You too for the satisfaction we have because of His love for us. That because of this love we can say that we shall not be in want for His love is a providing love, a caring love, a refreshing love, a comforting love, and an embracing love. We thank You that because of His love we have in Him every spiritual blessing. That we are chosen, redeemed, reconciled, justified, sanctified, saved from the wrath to come, adopted as children, accepted, forgiven, provided for. We thank You that we have the hope of an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade, a peace that passes all understanding, the knowledge of God’s will, the empowering of His Spirit, a new family and a new identity.

We praise you that this security and satisfaction we enjoy is because we have taken shelter under the most wonderful banner of all, that speaks of how You have shown the love You have for us. That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Your love as King Solomon sang is truly more delightful than wine.

Yet even though all this is true, we foolishly look for this security and satisfaction that only Your love can give to us in other places. To our shame, our hearts are tempted by the false offers of the gods of this world. We chase after temporary pleasures that are momentary rather than clinging to what will last forever. For this we are truly sorry and seek your forgiveness, trusting that You will for Your Son’s sake.

And we ask for Your Spirit to be at work in us to help to stay faithful to Him. To rejoice in what He offers to us now and in its all fullness when He returns. As we wait for that glorious day, may we encourage one another to see how wonderful and marvellous Jesus and His love for us is. And in response, love Him, trust Him, follow Him, delight in Him, and long for Him and His coming. Amen

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