21 Days of Prayer & Fasting 2021: Day 16

DAY 16: LOVE
Tuesday, February 23

READ
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

REFLECT
As the hub is the center of a bicycle wheel, love is the center of this spiritual fruit cluster. All of the qualities mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 develop around love, which is the foundation of the Spirit-filled life. Without love, it is very difficult for the other qualities to exist.

Loving others who are similar to us is one thing, but it is a whole different matter to love those who are different than us. Yet, Spirit-produced love will lead us to love others in a way that is otherwise impossible. Max Lucado writes,

“We are creatures of comfort and creatures of habit. We like the familiar and predictable. We like agreement over conflict. Peace over disruption. These are the things that makes us feel happy, content, at rest. And all these things—comfort, familiarity, agreement—are achievable as long as we interact only with people who are just like us. People who are part of the same political party, church denomination, ethnic group, or country. People who like what we like and dislike what we dislike. That is all find and good, but there is one problem. To live in the world we live in today, we are bound to interact with someone who is different from us.”[1]

1 Corinthians 13 describes the way of love by listing qualities that are similar to the fruit of the Spirit. In our modern context where loving others who are different than us is not often seen, the love of the Holy Spirit can make a tremendous impact. Understanding how Christ has loved us, warts and all, can motivate us to love others in spite of their shortcomings and our differences with them.

RESPOND
Spend time in prayer, following the Upward, Inward, Outward, Upward format.

Upward: Who God is; What God has done, is doing, will do
Inward: Who you are; How you live
Outward: Intercession for others; unified prayer focus with Pathway

TODAY’S PRAYER: God, remind us of the great love you demonstrated for us through Jesus. Show us how we can love others like you love us. Transform our hearts so that 1 Corinthians 13 describes the way we love others. Help us to love as you love!

Upward: Thanksgiving and Worship