Pray First
December Prayer Theme: Love
This month, our corporate prayer theme will be love. What more appropriate theme in the month where God expressed his ultimate love by giving us his son?
About love
In the Bible, we are exposed to 4 kinds of love:
1.) Eros - sensual or romantic love; see Proverbs 5:18–19; see also Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 7:5; Ecclesiastes 9:9.
2.) Storage - familial love examples include Noah and his wife, Jacob's love for his sons, and the intense love the sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus. In Romans 12:19, we are commanded to love one another in this way.
3.) Philia originates from the Greek term phílos, a noun meaning "beloved, dear ... a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way Jn 13:35 and
4.) Agape is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This term defines God's immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. It is the divine love that comes from God. Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.
Suggested outline
Week One: Pray for your love relationship with God. How can you improve it? Are you speaking the same language? Pray to spend more time together. Express what you love about God. Make some post-its and place these strategically.
Week Two: Love your enemies (Part 1). Think large scale and individually. We will pray on a large scale first. Who are the opponents of Christ in the world? The US? Wyoming? Sweetwater County? Green River and Rock Springs? This is a warfare prayer, so put on your full armor of God before standing in the gap on behalf of others. (Eph 6:10)
Week Three: Love your enemies (Part II). This is a chance to pray for those who build your patience and long-suffering. The prickly neighbor, the guy who cut you off on the interstate, the coworker who gets on your nerves, the friend or relative you are estranged from. Try to think of at least 1 person a day. I suggest following up by doing something nice for one of these folks.
Week 4: Pray to learn how to love yourself more. Ask Gid to fill your cistern. How can you love yourself more? Ask God to show you and help you change the behaviors that hurt you and hold you back in your relationship with him, others, and yourself. Make a prayerful plan to work on one of these areas and share it with someone close to you who can hold you accountable.
Alternative Outline
Pray each week for the development of one of the four kinds of love in your life.