A Prayer to Know God's Love - Your Daily Prayer - February 26
A Prayer to Know God’s Love
By: Kyle Norman
Bible Reading: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for each other.” - 1 John 3:16
Read or Listen Below:
The other morning, I was sitting in my local coffee shop, drinking my coffee and listening to the background music. One by one, popular songs were played from across the decades, all declaring the glories of love. Most of the songs were sappy and sentimental as the artists sang on and on about the wonders of feeling loved and adored.
Love is one of the main things we search for in life. It is an instinctual drive we all have. Who doesn’t want to be loved? Who doesn’t want to have people around them looking at them with joyful delight? Love makes us feel like we are noticed; it makes us feel like we belong.
The search for love can take many forms. Some search for love in romantic encounters, some in the warmth of friends, some in the gathering of family or wider community. Others search for love through artificial means: bottles, pills, and wild adventures. They chase an ecstatic experience, the rush of endorphins, and the raising of the heartbeat. Of course, when those things fade, it’s time to pursue another avenue.
How do you search for love in your life? Where do you go when you need to be reminded that you belong in this world and that you matter? Where do you look to if you don’t feel loved?
John reminds us that the ultimate expression of love is found in Jesus Christ, and it is found at the cross. Jesus, as the flesh of God, spreads his arms wide on the cross as the most profound expression of lovingkindness towards us. On the cross, love is extended to us, no matter who we are, no matter when we live, and no matter what we face. The love we receive from family, friends, and lovers, as good and healing as they can be, are but pale imitations compared to the love that exists in the heart of God. It is only in light of this tremendous sacrifice that God made for us that we can experience the full realization of what our hearts desire. John says, “By this we know love"—true love, encompassing love, earth-shattering love—"that Jesus laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16).
If we wish to know love in our lives, we need to embrace Jesus and embrace the cross.
But here’s the tricky thing: We don’t always feel loved, do we? We don’t always feel like our day is filled with heavenly delight. In fact, there may be times when we feel unloved or wonder if God’s love has been removed from us because of mistakes or sins of the past. Have you ever struggled to feel God’s love for you?
Take heart. The love of God, received in Jesus, is a fact—it’s not a feeling. Jesus went to the cross as an event in history, which means its truth exists regardless of how we feel. And so, we are called to dare to believe that despite what we struggle with, despite how we might feel in the moment, the love of Jesus remains with us and over us. And with that daring realization, and the resolve to live in that truth, John urges us to share that love. For the love of God, presented to us in the death of Christ, is not something to just receive. In fact, if we only think about receiving the love of God, holding in, possessing it, and keeping it secure within ourselves, we will end up missing it.
Instead, the love of Jesus, born into our hearts, surrounding us through the power of the Spirit, works through us. We only fully realize this love when we extend it to others. And so, John connects the love that we receive from Jesus with the love that we give to others. Just as Jesus laid down his life for us, so we ought to lay ourselves down for the good, the healing, and the encouragement of others. Then, not only will we experience the perfect expression of Christ's love, but his love will pulsate through us and bless those around us.
Let's Pray:
Dearest Jesus,
Thank you for the love that you show me through your sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for the love that you extend over me, continually, and without fail. Lord, there are times in my life when the pressures and weights of this world quench my reception of this love. There are also times when I find it hard to express your love to the people around me. Jesus, I pray that you make your love ever more real in my life. Remind me, I pray, that your love is a fact of my life, Your love is something I can count on even when I don’t feel it, and it is something I can extend even when it feels difficult. This is because you, O Lord, are the incarnation of love, and you are with me always.
I pray all these things in the name of Jesus, my Loving Savior. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang
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