Mark Hanby - The Prayer of Love Devotional: Daily Readings for Living a Life of Love

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LOVE WITHOUT LIMITS

THE PRAYER OF LOVE

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more

in knowledge and in all judgment ;

That ye may approve things that are excellent ;

that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness , which are by Jesus Christ,

unto the glory and praise of God.

PHILIPPIANS 1:911 (EMPHASIS ADDED)

A S YOU READ THROUGH THIS devotional on The Prayer of Love, you will discover its immense wisdom concerning love. In so doing, you will see love from a new perspective and become aware of its magnificent power to transform your life. Whether you have already experienced some of loves mysteries or are among the many who seek to discover its greater reality, this prayer will undoubtedly awaken you to new possibilities for giving and receiving love.

Our prayer is that it will allow you to shake off the encroaching tentacles of complacency and discouragement that sometimes whisper to each of usinsisting that unconditional love may be meant for others but not for ourselves. We pray that it will encourage you to realize that love without limits is available for you.

Love without limits does not just happen but is itself a result of allowing your current level of love to grow in understanding and application of principles that cause its manifestation. It requires an affectionate desire to challenge yourself to give and receive love.

To be transformed by love is not really about effort but about awareness and an openness to let love affect you and to become effective through you. To do this, you need to keep this prayer constantly before you until it becomes formed in you. To that end this devotional is a tool to help you in your pursuit of love and its many facets.

The intent of this devotional is to give you a useful tool for personal edification and for fostering spiritual development. When you understand the power of love and how to appropriate its wonder in your daily living, it will change your lifes focus and possibility.

This is a seven-week, or forty-nine-day, devotional. Since there are seven parts to The Prayer of Love, it allows the reader to focus on each aspect of the prayer one day each week for seven weeks. In this manner the reader will be able to apply each aspect of the prayer to his or her life in seven unique ways.

Because the order of these seven parts is significant, The Prayer of Love Devotional follows the same order given in the apostle Pauls prayer to the Philippians. Each week the cycle is repeated to allow systematic growth.

SundayAbounding Love

MondayKnowledge

TuesdayJudgment

WednesdayApproving Excellence

ThursdaySincerity

FridayWithout Offense

SaturdayFruits of Righteousness

The list is repeated seven timesseven being the number of divine revolutions and cycles. Seven times seven equals seven weeks/forty-nine days.

The Prayer of Love Devotional is specifically arranged to help you change old habits, develop new habits, and then reinforce your new behavior. Studies have shown that repetition is important in creating and breaking habits: it takes twenty-one days to break a habit and twenty-one days to make a new habit. The last week of the devotional exemplifies the validated New Man in Christ.

C HANGING H ABITS T WENTY-ONE D AYS

Week One: Inner Evaluation

Week Two: Defining Objectives

Week Three: Commitment

M AKING N EW H ABITS T WENTY-ONE DAYS

Week Four: Strengthening Character

Week Five: Operating in the Supernatural

Week Six: Living Your Ideals

R EINFORCING H ABITS S EVEN D AYS

Week Seven: Testimonies of a Victorious Life

Finally, the boxed excerpts are adapted from the original book, The Prayer of Love.

This simple prayer is a pattern for developing maturity in Christ. The seven parts listed in the apostle Pauls prayer form benchmarks to measure our ability to give, receive, and grow in love.

The Prayer of Love Devotional is an effective way to incorporate the seven principles of love into our daily lives.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

ROMANS 12:2, NKJV

T HE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD is the story of our redemptionits an unfolding legacy that spans generations. It is time to discover the secret element to this story that only those chosen can experience. Jesus said, It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given (Matthew 13:11).

What is its great mystery? The greatest secret is that the Kingdom of God dwells within you ! Gods vast wisdom, power, and love are limitless. It unfolds in you as you changeeliminating resistance and inadequate thinking to grow in the infinite perfection of Gods excellence.

The living Spirit of God already dwells inside you and cannot be alteredHes the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hes Almighty, All Powerful, and Eternal. Gods abounding love accomplishes the perfect will of GodHis love is transformational.

Transforming, or metamorphoo, literally means to have a form altered. God remains the samebut you can radically change from the inside out simply by altering your thoughts. Metamorphosis is the operation of the Holy Spirit renewing our mindsmaking it possible to prove or test whats good or acceptable until you reach the perfect plan that yields the best for you.

Begin now to take steps toward renewing the thoughts of your mind. If a thought of why you cant do something or why you wont succeed or if a fearful what if enters your mind, you must immediately take action.

How can you tap into more of His Greatness and Power? How do you sense Gods Presence within you? When do you rely on the inner promptings of the Spirit to guide you? What happens when you do?

When you pray with understanding Let my love abound, you set in motion spiritual forces that cannot be held back. Your love must abound and increase until it becomes the God kind of love.

ADAPTED FROM THE PRAYER OF LOVE

FOR YOUR THOUGHTS:

The first reason for mans inner slavery is his ignorance, and above all, his ignorance to himself. Without self-knowledge, without understanding the workings and function of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself; he will always remain a slave, the plaything of forces acting upon him. This is why in all ancient teachings the first demand at the beginning of the way to liberation was to know thyself.

GEORGE GURDJIEFF

P LATOS WISE COUNSEL KNOW THYSELF was the advice given to each person who entered the ancient Greek temple at Delphi. The Greeks believed that any liberation of the body and soul first began with careful introspection. The thorough evaluation of our feelings, thoughts, and motives reveals our strengths and weaknesses.