Prayer, the gift of love
by Gini Crawford
2/14/2007
revised 4/14/2013
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This is the time of year we think of love. In the month of February we think of loving others because of Valentine’s Day. (Don’t you love those Valentine cards that sing a song when you open them? Shopping for one is definitely a unique experience. I don’t think anyone cares what is written on them, just what is being sung. This is because everyone around you is opening the singing cards and either laughing or ooing and ahhing. Card shopping has gone from a quiet thoughtful experience as everyone reads the cards to a band practice setting. ) As spring unfolds we seem to feel the joy of new love. I think this is because the sheer beauty of God’s creation is blossoming all around us, shouting new life. Therefore, the thought of the resurrection seems to come into our hearts and minds. I don’t know about you but I can’t help but think of His greatest act of love towards us this time of year. This act of love is of course His death on a cross and His resurrection.
When we feel love for someone, don’t we want to give them a gift? Are you ever at a loss on what to give the person you love? Well, I have a suggestion. It will never wear out. It’s what everyone needs and most people want and it definitely lasts forever. The price of this gift is free but it has a worth that is priceless. What is it? It is the gift of prayer! Tell the person you love in a card, on a note, in a letter, by phone, or in person, that you will pray for them for the next month, or even better, for the next year.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 4:9-11 & 5:14-15 NASB®
In Mark 12:30 God tells us to love Him,
….and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NASB®
You might be wondering what in the world could you give God for a gift. Remember He owns the whole world and universe. So what can you give God to show your love for Him? Give Him the same gift you can give others, the gift of prayer! I feel other than you giving God your heart through Jesus Christ, prayer is one of God’s favorite gifts from you.
Prayer is communicating with God. True communication involves listening and responding. We listen to God by hearing, reading, studying, and mediating on His Word through various ways. We respond to God by talking to Him. Why not make a date with God, and give Him the gift of prayer? Your date can be a half day in prayer. (Don’t freak out, I don’t mean 12 hours but 2 or 3 quality hours with God.) Click here to see how you can “Spend a Half Day in Prayer”. or here for a PDF version.