I pray that ______________ will grow to love You, Lord our God, with all their hearts, and with all their souls, and with all their strength, and with all their minds. Enable them to love their neighbors as they love themselves. For this is what You, Lord our God, want them to doóto respect You, Lord our God, and do what You tell them to do. You want them to love You, serve You with their whole being, and obey Your commands and laws that You give them for their own good. Prompt them to be careful to obey every command You give them to follow and to love You, Lord our God, to do what You tell them to do and be loyal to You. (Luke 10:27; Deut. 10:12-13; 11:22, all ncv paraphrased)

"I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glory shines." "Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; with deepest awe I will worship at your Temple." "For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth." "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever." (Ps. 26:8; 5:7; 33:4-5; 23:6 nlt)

Ever-loving Lord, help me to love others, for love comes from You. When I am loving, gracious Father, I am born of You, and I know You. When I am unloving, I fail to demonstrate that I know You, Lord, for You are love. This is true love: not that I loved You, God, but that You loved me and sent Your Son as an atoning sacrifice for my sins. Jesus, I love You because You first loved me. But if I say, "I love You, Lord," and yet hate my brothers and sisters, I am a liar. For if I don't love those I see and know, I cannot love You, God, whom I haven't seen. I will follow Your command. I will love You, Lord, and I will love my brothers and sisters. (1 John 4:7-8, 10, 19-21 paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 32)

O Father God, since You loved me so much, I surely ought to love others. Yes, indeed, it is good when I truly obey Your royal command found in the Scriptures: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Therefore, I will be of one mind, full of sympathy toward others, loving others with a tender heart and humble mind. (1 John 4:11; James 2:8; 1 Peter 3:8, all nlt paraphrased)

Ever-loving Savior, this is how I know what love is: You laid down Your life for me. And I ought to lay down my life for others. And if I have any of this world's goods, material possessions, and resources for sustaining life and see my fellow believers in need and yet close my heart of compassion against them, how can Your love live and remain in me? As Your dear child, I will not love others merely in theory or in my speech, but in deeds and in truthóin practice and in sincerity. And I will follow this command; I will believe in Your name, Jesus, and I will love others as You commanded me to love them. (1 John 3:16-18, 23 amp paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 82)

"I sing to the Lord because he has taken care of me." "Lord, remember your mercy and love that you have shown since long ago." "Your love is wonderful. By your power you save those who trust you." "I trust in your love. My heart is happy because you saved me." I put my trust in You and rejoice; I will forever shout for joy, because You defend me; I love Your name and will be joyful in You. (Ps. 13:6; 25:6; 17:7a; 13:5 ncv not paraphrased; Ps. 5:11 kjv paraphrased)

Loving Lord, I won't just pretend that I love others. I will really love them. I will hate what is wrong and stand on the side of the good. I will love others with genuine affection and take delight in honoring them. I will have sincere love for my brothers and sisters in You, Christ, because I was cleansed from my sins when I accepted the truth of the Good News. So I will see to it that I really do love others intensely with all my heart. (Rom. 12:9-10; 1 Peter 1:22 nlt, all paraphrased)

Ever-caring Shepherd, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment. When I am afraid, I am not made perfect in love. For You have not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And now what do You, O Lord my God, require of me, but to revere You, to walk in all Your ways, to love You, and to serve You with all my heart and with all my soul. (1 John 4:18; 2 Tim. 1:7; Deut. 10:12 kjv, all paraphrased)

O Love eternal, direct my heart into the love of God and into patient waiting for You, Christ. I will keep myself in Your love, looking for Your mercy unto eternal life. Though I have not seen You, Lord Jesus Christ, I love You; though I see You not, yet believing, I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Now may Your grace be with all who love You, Lord Jesus Christ, with sincerity of heart. Amen. (2 Thess. 3:5; Jude 21; 1 Peter 1:8; Eph. 6:24 kjv, all paraphrased)

Lord, I pray that my love for others will overflow more and more. For "if I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever." Yes, Lord, "what is important is faith expressing itself in love." (Phil. 1:9a paraphrased; 1 Cor. 13:1-3; Gal. 5:6b not paraphrased, all nlt)

Jesus, I will live a life filled with love for others, following Your example. For You showed by Your life that "love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever." "There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love." Therefore, love will be my highest goal. (Eph. 5:2a; 1 Cor. 13:4-8a; 13:13 not paraphrased; 1 Cor. 14:1a paraphrased, all nlt)

February 15 Where Will Wisdom Be Found?

Who may ascend Your hill, O Lord? Who may stand in Your holy place? Where will wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? You understand the way to it, and You know its place. Lord, to fear You is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Therefore, I will turn my ear to wisdom and apply my heart to understanding. For You have promised to lead me in the way of wisdom and lead me along straight paths. (Ps. 24:3; Job 28:12, 23, 28 rsv; Prov. 2:2; 4:11, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 47)

Lord, from heaven You look down and see all mankind; from Your dwelling place You watch all who live on earthÛYou form the hearts of all and consider everything I do. Therefore, Lord God, I will listen to what You will say; for You promise peace to me when I do. I will listen to Your instruction and be wise; I will not ignore it. For You will bless me for listening to You, for watching daily at Your doors, for waiting at Your doorway. (Ps. 33:13-15, 85:8a; Prov. 8:33-34, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 50)

Jesus, as I join together with others for prayer and supplication, may we be of one accord. For You said that if two of us shall agree on earth as touching anything that we shall ask, it shall be done for us by our Father in heaven. For where two or three of us are gathered together in Your name, You are there in the midst of us. O holy Intercessor, answer our prayers because we trust in You. (Acts 1:14a rsv and kjv; Matt. 18:19-20 rsv and kjv; 1 Chron. 5:20b, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 62)

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against You, Lord. May I always remember that the plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. Deliver me from the woes of being an obstinate child so that I will not carry out plans that are not yours, forming an alliance, but not by Your Spirit, heaping sin upon sin. If I plot evil, I will go astray. If I plan what is good, I will find love and faithfulness. Deal with me, Your servant, according to Your love and teach me Your decrees, plans, and ways. (Prov. 21:30; 12:5; Isa. 30:1; Prov. 14:22; Ps. 119:125, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 63)

Creator of All, from one man You made every nation of people, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and You planned the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. You did this so we would seek You and reach out for You and find You, though You are not far from us. For it is in You, Sovereign Lord, that we live and move and have our being. Many are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us--we cannot begin to recount them all to You; were we to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. (Acts 17:26-28a; Ps. 40:5, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 64)

"My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart." "Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see." "Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me." For I am still confident of this: I will see Your goodness in the land of the living. (Job 17:11; Ps. 40:11-12a, 13 not paraphrased; Ps. 27:13 paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 66)

O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with all my heart. I will praise You, O Lord, among the people, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens and Your glory above all the earth, that Your beloved may be delivered; save me with Your right hand and answer me. God, You have spoken in Your holiness; I will rejoice. I rejoice in You, Lord, yes, and give thanks at the remembrance of Your holiness. (Ps. 108:1, 3-7a; 97:12, all kjv paraphrased)

Do good to Your servant, O Lord, and give me encouragement from Your Word; teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in Your commands. Teach me to be temperate, sensible, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness and endurance. God of hope, fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in You so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ps. 119:65-66; Titus 2:2 amp; Rom. 15:13, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 78)

Lord, I know that faith is the assurance, the confirmation, of the things I hope for, the proof of things I cannot see, and the conviction of their reality. For by the trust born of faith, Your servants of old had divine testimony borne to them by Your written and spoken Word and thus obtained a good report. In the same way strengthen me to fully believe the truth that was written long ago, standing in it steadfastly and firmly, strong in You, Lord, with the certainty of the good news that You died for me, never shifting from trusting You to save me. (Heb. 11:1-2; Col. 1:23a amp, all paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 79)

Holy Spirit, prepare _____________ minds for action, to be self-controlled, to set their hopes fully on the grace that will be given to them when You, Jesus Christ, are revealed. Urge them to be Your obedient children; deliver them from conforming to the evil desires they had when they lived in ignorance. For just as You who called them are holy, so I pray they will be holy in all they do; "for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:13-15 paraphrased; 1 Peter 1:16 not paraphrased)

Father God, as Your beloved one, I will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in Your work, knowing that my labor for You is not in vain. I will continue securely established and steadfast in my faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the Gospel. So then, just as I received You, Christ Jesus my Lord, I will continue to live in You, rooted and built up in You, strengthened in my faith as I was taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (1 Cor. 15:58 nkjv; Col. 1:23a nrsv; Col. 2:6-7, all paraphrased, A Woman's Pilgrimage of Faith, 226)

"I rejoiced with those who say to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.' "I praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." I sing to the glory of Your name; I offer You glory and praise. How awesome are Your deeds! Praise be to You, Lord God; let the sound of Your praises be heard. (Ps. 122:1; 9:1-2 not paraphrased; Ps. 66:2-3a, 8 paraphrased, A Woman's Walk with God, 93)

"Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God." (Ps. 86:6-10, A Woman's Walk with God, 94)