Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your heart and for inviting prayer over these plans. It is good to bring every detail before the Lord and to want His will above our own, trusting that His love goes before us and dwells within us.
Your request speaks much about love, and Scripture helps us understand what true love is. The Bible teaches that God is love and that love is a fruit of His Spirit in our lives. We love because He first loved us, not because we first loved Him. That is the wonder of it. His love for us is not caused by us, it flows freely from Him, and when we receive it we learn how to love rightly in return.
Scripture shows different kinds of love. One kind is physical and largely self seeking, looking for what it can get and calling that love when it is often closer to desire. Another kind is emotional and friendly, the affection we have for family and friends, which is often reciprocal, we love because we are loved in return. But the deepest kind is spiritual, a giving and selfless love. It is the love with which God loved the world when He gave His Son. This love suffers long and is kind, it does not seek its own, it loves in deed and in truth and not only in words. This is the love that marks those who know God, for everyone who loves in this way is born of God and knows God.
It helps to keep that distinction in mind as you pray about this first meeting. A spark or strong feeling and happy memories are natural desires, but they are not the measure of true love. True love is tested by whether it gives, whether it is patient and kind, whether it seeks purity and truth, and whether it helps both persons walk more closely with Jesus. Ask the Lord to fill you both with that kind of love, the kind that wants what is holy and best for the other, even above what feels good in the moment.
That also means surrendering your plans fully to His perfect will. Rather than asking Him simply to bless what we have already decided, we ask Him to shape our desires to match His. For those who follow Christ, love between a man and a woman is meant to find its fulfillment within the lifelong covenant of marriage, and intimacy and living together belong within that covenant. If this is a romantic relationship, pray that the Lord would make His will clear, that He would be your first love, and that whatever grows between you would honor Him in purity and in truth. If you both know Christ, that shared love for Him and for His people will be the firmest foundation. If there is any difference in faith, seek counsel from Scripture and from mature believers, for the Word warns that being joined closely with one who does not share your faith can lead away from the Lord.
I will pray with you for the practical needs you mentioned. May the Lord grant safe travel and peace along the way, and may He provide for every financial need according to His wisdom and care, so that worry does not overwhelm you. May He watch over those you leave behind, including family and pets, and keep them in His care and comfort. May He give favor where it is needed for work and other responsibilities, as He sees fit. And above all, may He give you both clear discernment, mutual understanding, and grace in your time together with family and friends, that your words and actions would reflect His love.
Father, thank You for Your great love shown to us in Jesus Christ, that while we had no reason to be loved You loved us and gave Your Son for us. We thank You that we can know the beauty and blessing of that love. We lift up this time of travel and meeting and ask that Your will be done in every detail. Fill these two with Your Spirit and let Your selfless, giving love be perfected in them. Teach them to love not only in word but in deed and in truth, to be patient and kind, and to seek what honors You. Grant safety, provision, and peace, and guard those who remain at home. Lead them in wisdom, keep them in purity, and draw them ever closer to Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.
Your request speaks much about love, and Scripture helps us understand what true love is. The Bible teaches that God is love and that love is a fruit of His Spirit in our lives. We love because He first loved us, not because we first loved Him. That is the wonder of it. His love for us is not caused by us, it flows freely from Him, and when we receive it we learn how to love rightly in return.
Scripture shows different kinds of love. One kind is physical and largely self seeking, looking for what it can get and calling that love when it is often closer to desire. Another kind is emotional and friendly, the affection we have for family and friends, which is often reciprocal, we love because we are loved in return. But the deepest kind is spiritual, a giving and selfless love. It is the love with which God loved the world when He gave His Son. This love suffers long and is kind, it does not seek its own, it loves in deed and in truth and not only in words. This is the love that marks those who know God, for everyone who loves in this way is born of God and knows God.
It helps to keep that distinction in mind as you pray about this first meeting. A spark or strong feeling and happy memories are natural desires, but they are not the measure of true love. True love is tested by whether it gives, whether it is patient and kind, whether it seeks purity and truth, and whether it helps both persons walk more closely with Jesus. Ask the Lord to fill you both with that kind of love, the kind that wants what is holy and best for the other, even above what feels good in the moment.
That also means surrendering your plans fully to His perfect will. Rather than asking Him simply to bless what we have already decided, we ask Him to shape our desires to match His. For those who follow Christ, love between a man and a woman is meant to find its fulfillment within the lifelong covenant of marriage, and intimacy and living together belong within that covenant. If this is a romantic relationship, pray that the Lord would make His will clear, that He would be your first love, and that whatever grows between you would honor Him in purity and in truth. If you both know Christ, that shared love for Him and for His people will be the firmest foundation. If there is any difference in faith, seek counsel from Scripture and from mature believers, for the Word warns that being joined closely with one who does not share your faith can lead away from the Lord.
I will pray with you for the practical needs you mentioned. May the Lord grant safe travel and peace along the way, and may He provide for every financial need according to His wisdom and care, so that worry does not overwhelm you. May He watch over those you leave behind, including family and pets, and keep them in His care and comfort. May He give favor where it is needed for work and other responsibilities, as He sees fit. And above all, may He give you both clear discernment, mutual understanding, and grace in your time together with family and friends, that your words and actions would reflect His love.
Father, thank You for Your great love shown to us in Jesus Christ, that while we had no reason to be loved You loved us and gave Your Son for us. We thank You that we can know the beauty and blessing of that love. We lift up this time of travel and meeting and ask that Your will be done in every detail. Fill these two with Your Spirit and let Your selfless, giving love be perfected in them. Teach them to love not only in word but in deed and in truth, to be patient and kind, and to seek what honors You. Grant safety, provision, and peace, and guard those who remain at home. Lead them in wisdom, keep them in purity, and draw them ever closer to Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.
