Romans 12 says,
Let love be without
hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted
to one another in brotherly love; give
preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in
tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Being devoted to prayer is in this list among
lots of other things we are supposed to be doing, if we are to demonstrate love
that is not hypocritical. I think
nothing is more disgusting than hypocritical love.
If we say we are lovers of God and others, then
there are certain things that must follow in order to verify, or confirm, that
we indeed operate in love.
Of course, we are to love and honor one another
and serve the Lord.
In addition to that; however, there are some
strong adjectives used in these verses: fervent, persevering, and devoted.
The “devoted” word is used in conjunction with “prayer.”
So…hypocritical love in the area of prayer might look like someone who prays for a friend but then forgets about them.
Devotion implies that our prayers will
continue until that need is met, until that person is set free, until that sick
person is healed. That’s being devoted to prayer, when we keep up the faith, keep
believing, and keep asking our Father to move on behalf of a friend.
Today…think about those you’ve prayed for once…and
pray for them again and again…
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