Today I offer a prayer for having discernment when loving sacrificially. Sacrificial love, though a wonderful thing to practice, can lead to burnout or exhaustion if we don’t handle it well. Burnout / exhaustion will rob us of the joy the Lord has for those who are obedient, so let’s ask God for help balancing all of this.
Father God, our Glorious and Sovereign Lord, holy, holy, holy, is your name. Jesus, You have shown us the greatest love of all, laying down Your life for us, so that we may lay down our lives for others. We have been crucified with You so it’s no longer us who live, but You Jesus who lives in us. Through Your sacrificial love You have enabled us to live by faith in You, and You redeemed us for an eternity with You. May Your steadfast love within us remain patient and kind, rejoicing in the truth, bearing all things, hoping in all things, and enduring all things. Spirit please guide us moment by moment, transforming and renewing our minds, so we may discern our Father’s will, that which is good, acceptable and perfect. For we know You intercede for us according to our Father’s will, helping us to know the unknowable and discern His commands. Father, we love You, therefore we strive to keep Your commandments in obedience to You, for they are not burdensome. You also say that You bless those who hear Your word and keep it. Therefore we praise You for Jesus’ sacrificial love within us, the Spirit’s gift of discernment, Your sovereign will that aids us moment by moment, and the rest that You generously promise to those who are weary. May we never stray from the sound of Your voice, dwell in the joy you abundantly provide, and bring You honor and glory with every act and word, forever and ever, amen.
[Inspired by Jn 15:13, 1 Jn 3:16, Gal 2:20, Jn 3:16, 1 Cor 13:4-7, Rm 12:2, Rm 8:27, 1 Jn 5:3, Lk 11:28]
~ Conqueror in Training