50 Days of Prayer for Fellowship CRC

1 Cor. 12:31-13:13, “But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

“Strive for the greater gifts.” I am going to guess, gentle readers, that not many of us have heeded this admonition of the Apostle Paul.  Read the list of gifts he mentions in the preceeding verses 28-30.  Have we ever asked to obtain a single one of them, let along “striven” for them? 

Be that as it may, Paul is not satisfied to stop with that admonition; he still wants to point us to something “greater”.  This greater thing is, of course, love, which he will spend the entire next beautiful chapter extolling as the thing we must strive for, above all else. 

We have spoken much about prayer during the past 50 Days of Prayer, but we must also speak of love. That is, love must be the excellent way which fuels all of our prayers.  Just as the gifts like prophecy, tongues, knowledge and giving are “nothing” without love (13:1-3), the same is true of our prayers. If our prayers lack love, they are nothing.

Let love be the reason you intercede for the church, the world, your neighbour. Let love be the reason you pour out your supplications to the one who can rescue you. Let love be the reason you pray for petition God for anything. Let love inspire your laments and tears. Let love be the reason you say “Amen” to every prayer you hear.

Ask and strive for love. Pray that this most excellent way, the way of love, would be both great and growing in everything that we do. 

So we pray,
Father God, God who is love, fill us with your love.  We love because you first loved us.  Fill us with your love. May love motivate, illumination, punctuate and evaluate our prayers.  You have given us his most excellent way to live and to pray.  Teach us to pray in love. Amen.