This prayer is for anyone who wants to love well: a spouse who feels distant, a child who is hard to understand, a friend who has been hurt, or a heart that feels too tired or guarded to give freely. Pray it when you are quiet in the morning, before a difficult conversation, or at night when you are thinking about the people you are responsible for. You can read it aloud exactly as written, or use it as a starting point and speak in your own words.
Prayer for Love
Father, you are love, and every good way I have ever loved someone has come from you. Thank you for loving me first, even when I was slow to notice. Today I bring you the people in my life whose hearts feel far from mine. Some of them I have hurt with my words or my silence. Some have hurt me, and I find it hard to forgive. Soften what has grown hard in me. Show me where I have been impatient, proud, or careless, and help me to ask for forgiveness without making excuses.
Teach me to love in the ordinary moments: when I am tired, when someone is slow to change, when my own needs feel louder than theirs. Give me patience that does not give up, kindness that does not depend on how I am being treated, and honesty that is never cruel. Where love has grown cold, warm it again. Where I have been afraid to be close, give me courage. Let my love be something people can see and trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Lord, fill my heart with your love today. Help me to be patient when I am tested, gentle when I am tempted to be sharp, and generous when it costs me something. Soften me where I am hard, and show me the person in front of me the way you see them. Let my love for them point them toward you. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud…
(WEB)
Pray this verse by naming one specific trait of love, such as patience or kindness, and asking God to build it into how you speak to the person on your mind today.
1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
(WEB)
Use this verse to thank God that your love for others begins with his love for you, and ask him to let that love flow into your relationships.
Romans 12:10
In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another…
(WEB)
Pray this verse for the relationships where you feel the most distance, asking God to help you honor the other person and put their good before your own comfort.
Ephesians 4:2
With all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love…
(WEB)
Bring this verse before God when you are short-tempered, asking him to give you humility and gentleness in place of impatience with the people you live and work alongside.
Colossians 3:14
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
(WEB)
Pray this verse over your home or your closest relationships, asking God to let love hold everything else together in unity and peace.
How to Pray This Prayer
Choose a quiet time, such as first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee or in the car before you walk into work. If a particular person is on your mind, hold a pen or sit with your hands open on your lap, as a reminder to release that relationship to God. Read the prayer slowly, pausing after each sentence to let God speak to you about what needs to change in your own heart.
You can also pray this with someone else. A spouse, a close friend, or a small group can take turns praying the lines for the people in their own lives. Ask one another to check back in during the week and to celebrate small signs that love is growing, even when the relationship is still hard.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who loved you first fill your heart with a love that is patient, kind, and steady. May he give you grace for the people who are difficult to love and the wisdom to speak truth with gentleness. May the people around you feel his peace through you today.
