Gracious Heavenly Father,
I know I’m supposed to love my neighbor. This isn’t new. But I must confess that I can easily forget this simple commandment. Or I can allow myself to belief that if I’m generally “nice,” this counts as love. Forgive me for neglecting something so central to discipleship as the call to love.
Help me, dear Lord, to love my neighbors today. Give me eyes to see how best to care for them. Give me ears to hear what they’re really saying. Give me a heart of compassion, so that I might extend your love to them. I ask especially for fresh insight for how I might love those closest to me: my wife, my children, my colleagues, my extended family, my brothers and sisters at church.
As I care for people in tangible ways, may your love flow through me to others. Make me a channel of your love, dear Lord. Amen.