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Holy Spirit – fill us with your love!

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Moments in Prayer: February, 2023

The Fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22A)

Our February prayer focus is on prayers for the Holy Spirit to fill us with Love (Agape). This is the first quality in the fruit of the Spirit list we find in Galatians 5. The biblical concept of love as expressed through the specific Greek word agape involves the sacrificial giving of oneself for the ultimate well-being of others. It is not primarily about emotional feelings for someone (although these are wonderful and can be celebrated). Biblical love is actively lived out and is focused on what is God’s best future for the other. Actions that are unconcerned with God’s best future for others are unworthy of the name agape. 

We see this love exemplified by the Triune God’s work in history and centrally demonstrated through Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus is God’s great agape love embodied–forgiving sin; conquering the powers of sin, Satan, and death; and revealing what true life for humans looks like. When we pray “Holy Spirit—Fill us!” we are praying for God’s love to wash over us, to flood our inner life, and finally to stream through us so we can reflect that same sacrificial, active, and focused love today.

When we pray for Holy Spirit filling that produces love in us, we are praying for an ever-increasing agape love for God (cf. Luke 10:27) that bursts forward into worship. We are also praying for an ever-increasing agape love for others that shows itself in action (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 4:7). We are praying for an ever-increasing agape love for God’s beautiful world (cf. John 3:16) that leads us to both enjoy and steward well this gift. And finally, we are even praying for an ever-increasing agape love for our own selves (cf. Luke 10:27) that leads us to honour and care for our bodies, hearts, and minds in the direction of the fullness of life Jesus promised (cf. John 10:10). 

Praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us with the agape love of Jesus is a huge and comprehensive prayer that touches every area of our lives and through that prayer our families, our churches, our communities, and our world! May the Holy Spirit fill us with that love! 

Consider:

  • What would it look like today to invite the Holy Spirit’s agape love to wash over you and to flood your inner life? 
  • ˚ Where do you need the Holy Spirit to stream out this agape love toward God? Others? Creation? And Self? (make a list for each area) 

Pray words of invitation and welcome to the Holy Spirit for your own heart:

  • Welcome Holy Spirit! Come and fill me today! 
  • ˚ Welcome Holy Spirit! Wash over me and flood my life with the agape love of Jesus! 

Pray words of invitation and welcome to the Holy Spirit for your church family:

  • Welcome Holy Spirit! May this agape love of Jesus overflow out of my heart into worship! 
  • ˚ Welcome Holy Spirit! May this agape love of Jesus overflow out of my heart upon _________ today! (Repeat this with specific names of those in your sphere of influence. Be especially aware to include those you may find difficult to love today.) 
  • ˚ Welcome Holy Spirit! May this agape love of Jesus overflow out of my heart toward God’s good world! 
  • ˚ Welcome Holy Spirit! Fill our church with passion for the purposes of Jesus! 

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

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