Dressed in love

Above all things
deck yourself out
in love
which ties you
to Christ’s perfection!

Colossians 3:14 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017.


Praise God, these prayerful paraphrases have now been collected in the book, What the Bible Says About Love.

Lord willing, this will be the first of a series on prayer-a-phrased scriptures about a variety of Bible topics, so please let me know which biblical subjects you’d most like to see in one book. Thanks and blessings.

…

God’s love, day and night

By day
the Lord aims
His love
toward me!

All night
His song runs
through me —

a prayer
to the God
of my life.

Mary Sayler, ©2017, prayer-a-phrased Psalm 42:8 after reflecting on the verse found in a variety of translations on Bible Gateway.

…

Not seeing but believing love

Jesus, I’ve never seen You,
but I love You.

I cannot see You right now,
but I believe
You’re here,
loving me.

What joy!

No words can describe
the glorious delight
found in You, knowing
You will save me.


1 Peter 1:8-9 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, ©2017, using many of the translations on Bible Gateway.

…

Jesus: The Love Offering

Here’s what real love really is –
no, not our love for God.

Real love is God
in love with us.

God the Father sent
His Son to die in our place –

to take away our sins,
our mistakes, our
wrongdoings,

to become
the one truly needed
sacrifice –

for God to forgive us –
fully,
wholly –
making amends.


Mary Sayler, © 2017, prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in 1 John 4:10 using various translations found on Bible Gateway.

…

To the young or inexperienced

1 Timothy 4:12-16

Beloved,
give no one cause to look down on you
just because you’re young or inexperienced.

Set a good example
by the way you speak, act,
and show love, faith, and
wholesome behavior.

Keep reading God’s word
before teaching
or exhorting anyone else.

And do not neglect
the God-given gift
you have received –
conferred to you
through the church.

Practice these things.

Be committed to them.

Then your spiritual growth
will be a blessing to everyone.

Take care of yourself
and what you say
in teaching others.

As you keep on doing
your work in the Lord,
you’ll receive saving grace
for yourself and all who listen.

© 2015, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased these words from today’s Epistle reading in 1 Timothy by drawing on a variety of translations on Bible Gateway.

…

For God so loved the world

John 3:13-17

And Jesus said,
“No one has gone up to heaven
except The One
who came down from heaven:
the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in Him
may have everlasting life.”

For God so loved the world,
He gave His only Son
so that everyone
who believes in Him
might not perish
but have eternal life.

For God did not
send His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that, through Him,
the world might be saved."


© 2015, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased these lines from today’s Gospel reading in John with the help of translations on Bible Gateway.

…

Deck yourself out in love

Colossians 3:12-17

You are God’s chosen ones –
the holy elect –
dearly loved!

Now clothes yourselves
in mercy, kindness,
gentleness, and patience,
so you can bear up
under complaints
and forgive one another
as the Lord has forgiven you.

Beyond this
clothe yourself in love –
the perfect bond –

and let the peace of Christ
control your hearts.

You’re called to be
One Body in peace,
so be thankful!

Let the word of Christ live
in you richly
as you teach
and exhort one another
with wisdom,
singing Psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs
with hearts given in grace
to God.

And whatever you do –
whether in words or actions –
do all in the Name
of the Lord Jesus
with thanks to God our Father
to Whom we belong
in Christ.

© 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s reading from Colossians with help from the many translations on Bible Gateway.

How to imitate Christ’s love

Philippians 2:1-5

Beloved,
If you can find any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort in God’s love,
any fellowship in the Holy Spirit,
any compassion and any mercy anywhere,
you’ll bring joy to the Family of God
by having the same mind,
the same love,
the same loving thoughts
to unite your hearts.

Instead of focusing only on yourself
and the attention you might like,
focus on other people
and their needs.

Then you’ll see – really see –
and look out for others
The Way
Christ Jesus looks out
through His love for you.


©2014, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s Bible reading in Philippians 2:1-5 by comparing translations found on Bible Gateway.

…

Living Love

As the Father loves His Son,
so Christ loves you.

Live in His love.

If you obey the LORD,
you will indeed abide –

dwell, settle down, and reside –

in Christ’s love
as He lives in the love
of our Father.

How?
Love one another
as Christ loves us!

No greater love can we possess
than this: His love
laid down for our lives.


© 2013, Mary Sayler, prayer-a-phrase, John 15:9-13

Bible-taught love

Dear Child of God,
teach others about true love:

Let the older men know
to show self-control,
thoughtfulness, and wisdom
with sound faith, patience,
and a pure love
that endures.

Let the older women know
to live with reverence
for God and life,
avoiding too much wine
and unkind words of any kind
as they teach what’s good
and show young women how
they should respect their husbands
and love their families –
becoming their biggest fans!

Such behavior will reflect well
on the Word of God.

And, as you urge young men
to show control, let your life
display a sure way to integrity,
gravity, and pure speech
that speaks well for each
of us in Jesus’ Name
as true love puts evil to shame.

© 2013, Mary Sayler, prayer-a-phrase, Titus 2:1-8

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#Valentine from God

Holy, holy, holy
are you to the LORD –
treasured and held
by the heart of God.

Even though few,
the LORD loved you
and kept the vows
sworn to you
as Family.

With power, the LORD
bought your freedom

from anything that enslaved you,
from anyone who held you hostage
from anywhere foreign
to where God Is.

And, therefore,
you can be sure of this:

The LORD, your God
is the only God,

loyal to all who
accept the covenant
with the LORD God,
Who Is and Will Be
keeping a faithful
love vow with your
whole Family for
a thousand generations,
starting now.


© 2013, Mary Sayler, prayer-a-phrase, Deuteronomy 7:6-10

The Power of Love on Pentecost

"Our hope in God will not disappoint us because God poured Love into us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” Romans 5:5.


The power of Pentecost – given first to Jews then to Christians – coincides this year with Memorial Day Weekend, offering all peoples of God a powerful time to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a return to Torah principles empowered by God’s love.

Prayer: Dear Lord God and Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your gift of the Torah through Moses and Your gift of eternal life through the Risen Christ. We remember these gifts on Pentecost when You poured out the gift of Your Holy Spirit to all peoples willing to receive Your good gifts. Help us to stay open to You and Your power of Love at work in our lives on earth. Remind us to pray for Your empowerment and guidance to make the kind of difference You want us to make in this world.

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©2012, Mary Sayler. Thank you for acknowledging this site, especially as you share these prayers and devotionals with others. If you would like brief articles on a variety of Bible topics, poetry, and writing, see Blogs by Mary . May God bless your Memorial Weekend and beyond with an outpouring of Pentecost power and Holy Spirit love.

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Loving Our Enemies

In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus taught His followers a different way of looking at things and responding to other people. As He told us, "You have heard it said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you and pray for those who use you or treat you spitefully.”

Thank God that Jesus Christ commanded us to love our enemies without demanding something as humanly impossible as liking them!

From a biblical perspective, love has little to do with preferring people to whom we fondly respond. Instead, godly love calls for upright actions whereby we act with care, kindness, and consideration for the well-being of others, including unsavory characters and the people we dislike.

Wanting to please and obey God would be reason enough for us to love our enemies, but God just might have more in mind. For example, loving our adversaries could disarm them, calm them, heal them, and help them to hear what we have to say about our forgiving Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Even if earthly foes bully us, our prayers promptly propel our enemies into a spiritual realm protected by the power of Almighty God. Think of it! What blessings, what spiritual awakening, what new hope of reconciliation could our loving prayers bring to the most highly unlovable people?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father of All, forgive us for wishing anyone ill! Help us to convey Your love to everyone with whom we have contact. Give us Your words of blessing, especially to our families, other Christians, and church leaders, but also to those who wish us ill or, worse, who malign You. Help us to do good and be good examples of Your forgiving love in Jesus’ Name.

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©2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. If you want to offer these words and prayers to your Bible study group, church, or anyone, great! Just please acknowledge the site or point people to this blog. God bless you, your loved ones, and every foe.

Holy Week shows us everything the Bible says about love

“For God so loves the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in Him will not perish, but have
everlasting life. For Christ did not come
into the world to condemn the world, but
that through Him the world might be saved,”

John 3:16-17.

“For this reason, I bow my knees unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named, that He may grant
you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power by His Spirit
in your inner self, so that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith – and that you, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able
to comprehend with all the saints what is
the breadth and length, depth and height,
and to know the love of Christ – the love
which surpasses knowledge, that you might
be filled with all the fullness of God.

“Now to him Who is able to do far more
abundantly than anything we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to Him be the glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, forever
and ever, without end. Amen,”

Ephesians 3:14-21.


Prayer: LORD God and Heavenly Father of all, as Lent ends and Holy Week begins, please help us to accept Your overwhelming love that we might fully turn to You and fully return to the church in the healing power, love, and forgiving embrace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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©2012, Mary Sayler. Thank you for acknowledging this site when sharing its devotional thoughts with others. For a variety of Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary. May God bless your Holy Week.

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