Praying for love

And this is my prayer:

that your love may overflow
more and more
with knowledge and insight,

that you may be able to discern
and do
what is best,

that you may be truthful
yet inoffensive
as you innocently await
the Day of Christ.

Philippians 1:9-10

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, using a variety of Bible translations from Bible Gateway.

Most of the previous paraphrases on this blog have been collected into the book, What the Bible Says About Love. Lord willing, this begins a series on what the Bible says.


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God’s love fills the earth

O LORD,
Your faithful love
fills the whole earth!

Teach me Your Laws
of Love.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, paraphrased Psalm 119:64 after reflecting on the verse in a variety of translations on Bible Gateway.

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Living real love

1 John 3:16

How do we know what real love is?
Jesus!

He exchanged – surrendered –
His life on earth
for our lives eternal.

Now let’s give Him our lives
(give up our wants and wishes)
to provide for the needs
of our brothers and sisters
in Christ.

Mary Sayler, © 2017, prayer-a-phrased today’s Bible reading of 1 John 3:16 with the help of various translations found on Bible Gateway.

Mary's newest book PRAISE! with contemporary psalms and free verse poems has been released by Cladach Publishing 

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Loving like Jesus

Every time I’ve read John 13:34, I’ve been puzzled by Jesus’ words: “I’m giving you a new commandment: love one another.” Since I’ve heard that longer than I can remember, this word of exhortation did not seem new to me. But when I looked up the phrase “love one another” on Bible Gateway, I found no earlier reference.

In the Hebrew Bible, however, God says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Bringing that love down to earth, Leviticus 19:18 says, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In Matthew 26:37-40, Jesus put those two commands together by saying, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like unto it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

A problem arises, though, when people have trouble loving themselves, much less their neighbors! Nevertheless, God still wants this, and so the New Testament clarifies the concept of the true love to be found in Christ Jesus:

• He spoke healing words.
• He called people by name.
• He showed God’s love.
• He taught the kind attitudes we’re to have.
• He gave His life.
• He brought us life eternal.
• He called us to be brothers and sisters
• He empowered us to be children of God.
• He continues to pray for us now.

In the hours before His death, Jesus told His disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I’ve loved you, so you also must love one another,” John 13:34.

Hopefully, we’ll love and appreciate ourselves and our neighbors. Regardless, we must love one another as conduits of Jesus Christ, Whose love flows in and through us. We can't do this by ourselves, but we can agree to it. We can give Jesus' command our amen.

May the Almighty God our Father help us to allow Christ’s love to pour forth profusely. Let it be! So be it. Amen.


Mary Sayler, © 2017, with scriptures from many of the translations on Bible Gateway

Putting our loving actions where our mouth is

Dearest Children of God,
let’s not just talk about love
or say we love one another.
Let us demonstrate love
by actions
that show we truly care.

1 John 3:18 has been prayer-a-phrased in the lines above by Mary Sayler, © 2017, who used scriptures from many translations on Bible Gateway.

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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.

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Living the love

Romans 12:9-21 as prayer-a-phrased
by Mary Harwell Sayler

Let your love be genuine
and sincere.

Abhor what is evil.
Hold on to what is good.

Love one another
like an affectionate family.

Take delight
in honoring each other.

Be enthusiastic!

Let the Holy Spirit
glow in you
as you serve the Lord.

Oh, how blessed you are
to have hope!

Hope helps you to be patient
in times of trouble,
but keep on praying too.

Give what you can
to God’s people,
and warmly
welcome strangers.

Bless and do not curse
those who mistreat you.

Rejoice in the joy of others,
and weep with those who weep.

Regard everyone fairly
with equal care,
and never think of yourself
as better or wiser
than anyone else.

Do not pay back evil for evil,
but let your actions honor
all that's good.

As much as possible,
live at peace with other people
and look not to retaliate,
but leave it up to God.

If your enemies are hungry,
feed them!

If your enemies thirst,
give them something to drink.

Showing love like this
will convict them
and convince them of shame
as surely as if they carried
a pan of red-hot coals
on their heads
for everyone to see!

Let no evil defeat you,
but overcome evil
with good.


©2014, Mary Sayler, a life-long student of the Bible and poet-author of many traditionally published books, prayer-a-phrased the above poem by researching and reading the wealth of translations found on Bible Gateway.


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Love is more than paper hearts for Valentines

Real hearts bleed. Real people cry. But thank God, real love cares and listens.

“O, God, You’re aware of all my sorrows.
You have collected my tears in a bottle
and recorded each one in Your book,” Psalm 56:8.

Imagine! The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, knows and understands what we think and feel and takes note of even the smallest signs of our distress.

Prayer: Dear LORD God, Who created us and gave us the ability to feel, help us to express our emotions in a way that communicates, restores, and renews our loving relationships with other people, ourselves, and You. Help us, Heavenly Father, to turn over each wound, sin, or sorrow to be tended by Your perfect love.

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©2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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The Bible defines love

If you have ever been to a church wedding, you have probably heard “the love chapter” that the Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians in Corinth. This godly love strongly ties the knot to a beautiful marriage and the beautiful church body of Christ. First and foremost, however, this biblical description of Love firmly attaches us to the Almighty God Who empowers us to convey the power of love everywhere we go – in thought, in prayer, and, indeed, in deed.


1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of earth and of angels
but have not love, I am a noisy gong or clanging
cymbal. If I have prophetic powers and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge and have faith to
remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have and deliver up my body to
be burned but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is
patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. Love is
not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way
and is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at
wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they
will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for
knowledge, it too will pass away. For we know in part
and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes,
the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke
like a child. I thought like a child, and I reasoned like a
child. When I grew up, I gave up childish ways. For now
we see in a mirror dimly but then we shall see face to
face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully as
I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.



Prayer: Dear Loving God and Heavenly Father of Love, thank You for showing us Your view of true love – a love that does not include false moves or motives! Sometimes the love to which You call us gets hard, Lord, especially when someone treats us in a hurtful way. Keep reminding us to pray for our enemies. Keep reminding us to turn to You to talk over every unloving thing we encounter. Keep reminding us of the love You give us to give, instead of focusing on false notions of romantic love based on feelings. You, O Lord, created love. You are the action verb of true love given to us all in Jesus' Name.


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©2017 and 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler

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