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Dear God,
You alone are holy, yet You readily accept everyone. Your kingdom is totally inclusive. Thank you for Your unconditional love. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) Being perfect, You would have a right to be choosy about who You adopt as part of Your family, but You accept all of us, regardless of our race, age, gender or appearance. Thank you for offering forgiveness and salvation to anyone who asks for it.
I am humbled by Your unbiased love and my lack of ability to love like You do. I tend to pay less attention to ________, exclude ________, choose not to be around those who ________ and generally avoid people who are ________. I cannot claim to have Your love in me, nor is Your love evident in me, if I am not accepting of others. Please forgive me for not loving and accepting others as You do (1 John 4:11).
As I pray for my child, ________, I ask that You would help him/her readily accept others. I ask that ________ would intentionally include other kids at playtime, be quick to put an arm around a child who is feeling left out, and be willing to stand up for someone who is being teased. Please give him/her a heart of love that warmly accepts others just as they are. When ________ is tempted to judge others, or to exclude those less fortunate, less talented or those who are just different, remind him/her of Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Finally, I ask that You would give our family opportunities to be around people who are different and to care for those who often experience rejection. Let us be the avenue for Your love to be expressed to them. God, we have not seen You, but Your Word says that if we love one another, Your love is made complete in us. Please live in us so our family members are able to love others as You have loved us (1 John 4:11-12). Amen.
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