To pray, you must love God and your neighbour

Quintus Heine

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

The basis of our relationship with God is his love for us and that he asks us to love him in return. Without love for God, you cannot have a relationship with him and you will not be able to pray. To have a living prayer life, you need to love God and your fellow man. You need to worship him and declare your dependence on him. You need to be his disciple!

Love for God: If you do not pray with an attitude of love, your prayer is nothing more than a formal request. Without love for God and your neighbour, you cannot escape from self-glorification. You will struggle to seek God's glory and to bring him all praise. Without love, you will not understand what God asks from you in his Word. Without love for God, you will not understand his heart. 1 John 4:8 says, Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Only when you are in a love relationship with God, will your prayer life be truly blessed, because now your prayer is not about yourself and your own needs. Now your prayer is for the glory of God and the building up of your fellow man! 1 Corinthians 13 we learn that love is the foundation of any relationship.

Love for your fellow man. Without love for your fellow man, you will struggle to pray for them. 1 John 4:20 says, Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. You will not be able to sincerely intercede for someone with whom you bear a grudge or have a bad relationship. Before you pray for someone you must be able to declare in your heart to the Lord that you love that person. Then your heart is pure and without an ulterior motive. Only then will you be able to pray for the benefit of your fellow man. The love in your heart is a wonderful way to cleanse your heart of your own ego. Love always seeks the will of God and the benefit of your fellow man.

Prayer: Lord, teach me your love so that I can bring praise to you and seek your will. Teach me to love my neighbour so that I can pray for them with a pure heart. Amen