30 Days of Prayer: A Chalkboard Reminder

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”Romans 12:10

Zoom, FaceTime, Marco Polo, texting—basically anything tech-sprinkled with socially distant conversation, instead of connecting face to face—we were forced into a new and bizarre reality.

Admittedly, when social distancing began and invitations for connecting through video chats started coming in, I became frustrated. I was selfishly enjoying the lack of scheduled plans and preferred connecting with people at my convenience, through text.

Thankfully, one day, my eyes were opened to Romans 12:10, words penned by Paul that have been written on a chalkboard in my house: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

When this verse penetrated my heart, I was convicted that being devoted to something meant committing to one thing at the cost of losing something of lesser value. In this case, being devoted to my friends meant using a medium to connect that was out of my comfort zone and cost me my time. Honoring our friends often requires sacrifice and intention.

Jesus made it clear that the two critical things in life are to love God and love people. Pandemic, or no pandemic, that is our purpose.

Understandably, the specifics of how you challenge and devote yourself to honoring your friends may be quite different from my realization. However, we can all choose to fix our eyes on Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us on how best to lavishly love our friends during these troubling days.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you that you are in control and you give us purpose, even in the midst of this pandemic. We know our friends are struggling because we all are, so please prompt us to be devoted to honoring our friends in meaningful ways. Protect our friends and help them abide in you, so they might bear fruit in any season. We love you Jesus and pray these things in your strong and mighty name. Amen.

For Reflection:

• “God never intended for us to simply be the objects of His love. We are also called to be the instruments of that love in the lives of others.” Paul David Tripp.
• Ask God what you might need to give up, in order to be devoted to your friends this season.
• Listen to Upper Room by Hillsong Worship

By Adrienne Rohrs