May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
Lord, I pray for a heart that loves and has a steadfastness to be able to endure the hardships and difficulties that I will be confronted with today as I engage others. I confess it is typically not the circumstances that I am confronted with that take the most out of me. It is the people. Their unpredictability and often self-serving motivations many times fly in the face of what I believe You are calling me and them to do in the moment. This leaves me in a place of frustration and impatience. Yet, I realize that they too are Your creation, formed and shaped for a purpose. And many times they are being directed by You, Who is not only shaping and forming who they are to become, but also using them to shape me. Help me to remember to love them with the love of Jesus regardless of how I experience them. Help me to be patient with them, trusting and believing that You are at work in them and through them even as You are at work in me. Remind me that through them You are also causing things to work out for my good, and in many cases, theirs. Keep me mindful of the awe-inspiring intricacies of the outworking of Your will in this world. Then I am confident that Your love will pour out from me to them while I walk before You through trials and tribulations with the steadfastness of Christ. I pray this in His Name.