Let us be reminded today that the end of the world is coming soon and to this effect Apostle Peter guided by the Holy Spirit on how we should live as we wait for the second coming of our Lord Jesus who is the groom of the bride-in-waiting; the Church.
Apostle Peter guided by the Holy Spirit that we should be earnest and disciplined in prayer and above all, show deep love for each other.1 Being disciplined in prayer implies praying always. As children of God who follow after the manner of Christ, we should realize that Christ prayed daily early in the morning during his life on Earth. This should be our attitude: to pray daily early in the morning. It is wise to talk to our Father in Heaven before speaking with anyone because he has plans for our lives. By praying early in the morning, we will be protected from falling in evil traps set before us.
In the past, I observed that whenever I was awakened by a phone call or talked to people before praying, I got drained in my spirit that I found it difficult to pray. My mind got preoccupied with voices from the conversations, resulting in postponing or cancelling my prayer devotion.
Thereafter, I realized that early phone calls can be schemes to disturb you so that you don’t pray as you should. To counter this scheme, I stopped picking calls, messages and physical visits before speaking with God. This has really helped me to remain consistent with my prayer devotion. But I must mention that this comes with discipline.
Discipline means exercising self-restraint to overcome temptations that distract us from doing what we know is right at any given time. There will always be distractions. But we must learn to avoid them. Discipline is having the courage to say NO to what is not part of your plan. Discipline subtracts and brackets out anything that is not planned. You need to have a prayer plan to exercise discipline. Praying early in the morning before you have any conversation is only possible with discipline.
Apostle Peter also mentioned that above all, we should show love to each other. Love is not how you feel but what you show. That is why God’s love is painful. You may have a negative feeling towards a person but because you want to please God, you will act as God demands. Apostle Peter mentioned two ways in which we can show love: by sharing our home with those who need a place to stay and by giving a meal to those who are hungry.
Furthermore, Apostle Peter wrote that love covers a multitude of sins. If we truly love, we will not embarrass anyone by exposing their sins. Like Jesus, we will treat people as he treated them. Jesus didn’t condemn the woman who was caught in adultery but protected her from people who wanted to stone her to death.2 Afterwards, when he remained alone with her, he forgave her sins and sent her back with a warning in a loving manner. Another instance where Jesus showed love is when he found a woman at Jacob’s Well who had five men in her life.3 Jesus revealed her sin without condemnation. This woman felt loved that she found someone who didn’t condemn her even though he knew her secret sins.
The instances given above are a wonderful case in point to draw lessons on how we can use love to cover sins. From the examples we can learn that lives are preserved and souls won to Christ when we don’t condemn sinners. Surely, this is the heart God wants you and I to have. The grace is available for us to be filled with the love of God. When we ask for it in prayer, God will give us.
As I conclude, let us remind each other that we are living in the last days. Jesus is coming back soon to judge us for our works. Therefore, let us be disciplined in prayer and show deep love for each other.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father thank you for your Son Jesus Christ whom you sent to reconcile us to you through his death. Thank you for his life which remains our light for living in the way that pleases you. I pray that you give me the power to live a disciplined life of prayer and a heart full of love for others in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen
Papa, Thank you for this message. It has really spoken to me. To pray always and show love even when it hurts the flesh. The sins of the flesh are many.
I have a question. I have a friend who has suffered abuse at the hands of her stepmother and step siblings and harshness from her father. Now she wants nothing to do with them despite their efforts to reach out to her.
Despite advice from friends and family from her mother’s side to forgive and forget, she says she’s forgiven them but wants nothing to do with them.
Is forgiving a way of showing love and how would one know they’ve really forgiven someone.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback and question.
Some experiences can be very painful and hard to forget. Forgiveness is a process. It requires gentleness and patience if you are to help your friend. You should continue praying for her heart to be healed and to be filled with God’s love as you continue speaking the word of God into her life. When healing has been perfected through the Word of God and her understanding of love is perfected, she will open up her heart to them.
Your friend is blessed to have a friend like you. She needs your prayers and help.