EACF 40 Days of Prayer 2020
Day 12: Pray for Loving Community
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have 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. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." - 1 John 4:9-11 ESV
As God brings us out of sin and into His goodness, we pray today for the goodness of being part of a church community. The apostle John said God manifested His love to us by sending Jesus to bring us new life. That was a very real and world-changing act of love for us.
But Jesus lived so long ago, so how can we really feel the love of Christ today? John said it's by sharing Christ's love with one another. We are God's hands and feet, we are God's voice and heart, we are the instrument God uses to express His love to each other of us. This is why our prayers for one another are so important...and why encouraging notes are so meaningful. If each of us does what we're called to do as part of God's church, each of us will also receive tangible displays of God's love through the loving care of our fellow church members.
Don't let the opportunity to show Christ's love to people today. Ask them how you can pray for them. Send them an encouraging note. Buy lunch or coffee for someone, or send them a link to a YouTube video you think they'd find funny. Share God's blessing of goodness. And pray for at least two people to experience this goodness through our relationships at church, to feel plugged in. I promise you, that when we do this, God really does show up! "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."
This is day 12 of praying for good.
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