“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mk 12:30-31).
Of course this is not a petition to be prayed. But if the Lord Jesus had two prayer requests for us, wouldn’t these be the ones? In other words, “Father, I pray that they may love You completely, and then prove it daily by loving those You love—your needy creatures.”
Here’s a sweet story told by D.J. Burrell: “A child stood at the window of a baker’s shop, looking in with hungry eyes. A lady passing by took compassion on her. The little one received the purchased dainties without a word, until at parting she quaintly and pathetically said, ‘Be you God’s wife?’ There was profound philosophy at the bottom of that. All true kindness proceeds from the best and noblest—yes, from God within us.” May your life today be, in part at least, an answered prayer for a “neighbor” in need.