A Prayer to Walk in God’s Love on Valentine’s Day - Your Daily Prayer - February 14

A Prayer to Walk in God’s Love on Valentine’s Day
By: Whitney Hopler

Bible Reading:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40, NIV

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Valentine’s Day shines a spotlight on romantic love. While that’s fun to focus on if your romantic life is going well, it can also be painful if you’re single. Thankfully, from God’s perspective, love has never been limited to romance. There are many ways to express love, and many opportunities to do so, every single day. 

Of course, you have lots of choices to make on any given day – and with all you have to do, you can get so busy and stressed that you lose a sense of what’s most important. Matthew 22:36-40, a religious leader asks Jesus a question that cuts straight to the heart of faith: What matters most? Jesus’ answer still guides us today: love. Jesus says that loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves are what matter the most, from God’s perspective. 

Jesus doesn’t list achievements, religious performance, or perfect behavior. He just points to love. So, if you’re wondering how to honor God on Valentine’s Day, this passage gives a clear answer: choose love, again and again. 

You don’t have to feel a constant emotional high in order to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. All you need to do to obey the first commandment is choose love as much as you can when you’re choosing your words and actions day by day. 

Love matters most to God because God is pure love at his core. The more you choose to be loving with what you communicate and what you do, the closer you can get to God and experience the joy of his love. Putting love into action in your life will show you that love is much more than a feeling; it’s an action. Every time you choose loving words and actions, God’s love flows through your life. Your choice to be loving connects you with your loving God. In the process, you’ll be blessed, and so will everyone around you. 

You can follow the second commandment – loving your neighbor as yourself – when you just do your best to love other people day by day. You can do so through intentional kindness, forgiveness, and service. Choose to treat yourself well, and choose to treat others with the same care you give to yourself. 

Valentine’s Day can be a powerful reminder that love is meant to be practiced. Whether or not you have romantic love in your life to celebrate this Valentine’s Day, you can still take advantage of all sorts of opportunities to love and be loved. Jesus loves you – and he calls you to respond to his love by loving God, yourself, and other people as much as you possibly can.

Jesus points out that everything that God wants you to do to live faithfully depends on choosing love. When you do your best to choose love, God will meet you where you are and send love flowing powerfully through your life. God is at work through you whenever you choose love. You don’t have to wait until you feel more loving to start acting in love. Often, love grows as you practice it. 

So, this Valentine’s Day, choose to let love guide all your important decisions. Let Valentine’s Day be the first day of a fresh commitment to walk in God’s love every single day from now on. You don’t need to be perfect to start this new habit; you only need to be committed to choosing love, as best you can. When you make mistakes, God’s grace will meet you there. But when you do choose love successfully, you’ll be blessed in the process, because walking in love means walking closer to God. 

Choose love this Valentine’s Day and beyond. Let it shape all your daily decisions. When you do your best to choose loving words and actions, you’ll experience the power of God’s love in all situations!

Let’s Pray:

Dear God, thank you for loving me first and for showing me what true love looks like through Jesus. On this Valentine’s Day, please help me make and keep a fresh commitment to choosing loving words and actions. I pray that I’ll be able to choose love every single day from now on, with help from your Holy Spirit. Help me love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, and let your love flow through my life so I can love myself and other people. Teach me to develop a lifestyle of kindness and service as I walk in your love in all situations. Thank you, God. Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Nodar Chernishev 

Whitney Hopler helps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website at www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.

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