Like A Good Neighbor

"but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18b

"And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Words of Jesus, Mark 12:31

I received the loveliest email from my friend the other day.  In closing she wrote, "I'm praying for you, Tracy, as I pray for myself."

What a beautiful thing to say and do!  Her words brought a whole new meaning to 'loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.'

Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is the second greatest commandment.  It follows the greatest commandment of all, loving the Lord thy God with all our heart, soul and mind.  Loving our neighbour as ourselves, is a very important commandment and yet I think it's a very neglected commandment.

How can that be, when it's so important in the eyes of our Lord?  Could it be that we are too busy, perhaps too selfish to think of anyone but ourselves?

Loving our neighbour as thyself requires active, compassionate care for others equivalent to the care we give ourselves.  It requires kindness, fairness and respect rather than just 'feeling.'

It provides the same measure, (if not more) for safety and provision.

It's giving our neighbour's the 'first and the best' of all things as if we were giving them to ourselves.

And like my special friend reminded me in her letter to me, praying for each other in the same way as we pray for ourselves is also very important.

So, what and how should we pray for others? The bible gives us many examples.  

Our Pastor prays 3 John 2 at the close of our church services:

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Ephesians 3:16-20 is also a great prayer to pray for others!

"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."

Or, Colossians 1:9-11

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God: Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience, and longsuffering with joyfulness;"

These are just a few examples of how we can pray for each other as we pray for ourselves.  When we pray for help, safety, strength, comfort, wisdom, understanding, and for our physical needs we can pray the same things for our friends and neighbors.

That my friend, is what loving our neighbor is all about.

I'm thankful to have such a praying friend...

    And I want to pray for my friends like that too...

        But that's just me!