A Prayer to Embrace God's Love - Your Daily Prayer - May 16

A Prayer to Embrace God's Love
By Lynette Kittle

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and send His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” - 1 John 4:10

Growing up, I had a wonderful father who made me feel loved. All of my life, I was confident of his love for me. Because I did have his love, it hasn't been difficult for me to believe God, my heavenly Father, loves me, too. Sadly many individuals don't grow up with the kind of fatherly love I experienced. Countless men and women grow up without an earthly father's presence, much less his love, so the thought of God as Father and His loving them is difficult for them to believe, receive, and accept.

God Is Love's Only Source
There is nothing we can do to earn God's love. It's not based on who we are or what we do or don't do. It's all based on who God is, and He is love (1 John 4:16). Despite what the world may tell or try to convince us, God loves everyone. No matter what our culture promotes, there is no other source of love on earth. Therefore, everyone and everything else claiming to be love is a counterfeit. The enemy of God goes to great lengths to make us think He doesn't love us. The devil does this by lying to us about God, and if we don't know the truth about Him, we'll believe those lies. John 8:44 describes the nature of the devil and of those who believe his lies.

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

God's Word Reveals the Truth
We can only know who God truly is and His thoughts toward us through God's word. His words tell us exactly who He is and what we mean to Him. As the saying goes, talk is cheap, but God hasn't just said He loves us. He has gone out of His way to prove His great love for us. We are of such great value to God that He gave His only Son to die and cover the cost of our sins (John 3:16).

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God's love is so great for us that He was willing to sacrifice so that we might live forever with Him. As 1 John 1:9 explains, "This is how God showed His love among us. He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him."

Let's pray:
Dear Father,
I ask You to open my heart to receive Your perfect love. Forgive me for believing the enemy's lies and for the times I've willingly turned away from You. Free me from earthly hurts and wounds that keep me from drawing close to You. O Lord, You are the only source of love in this world because You are love. Give me a tender and grateful heart towards You for loving me first while I was still dead in my trespasses. Thank You for Your gift of Jesus, our atoning sacrifice, which washes away my sins with His blood and reconciles me to You. Help me today and every day to come to You and receive Your unconditional love in my life. Soften my heart and teach me to believe and receive Your tender love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/tracielouise

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.

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