3 Day Bible Reading Plan - “Love, Hate, and Prayer”
Jesus ruins your prayer list. He expands it beyond our comfort. He puts people who have caused us great pain on there. This is a heavy calling, and it is not something we do alone. Jesus has done the same, being fully acquainted with the weight of such a burden, and He promises to carry that burden with you. When we respond to such a call, we step into a space of healing and potential revival. - Pastor Paul Crandell, 3/16/25
Day 1
Featured Verse: Matthew 5:43-48 - “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
How does Jesus’ command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" challenge traditional notions of justice and retribution in both religious and secular contexts?
How does the call to love enemies in this passage connect to the broader narrative of redemption and reconciliation in Scripture, particularly in light of Christ’s own example on the cross?
What are the ethical and emotional challenges believers face in obeying this command, and how might the Holy Spirit enable someone to overcome personal animosity to fulfill it?
Prayer Prompt: What might you pray when you think about someone who has wronged you, in light of Jesus’ call to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?
“To love an enemy is to conquer him, not with the sword, but with the heart.” - Henry Ward Beecher
Day 2
Featured Verse: Leviticus 19:18 - “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
What does this command suggest about the relationship between divine identity and human ethics?
How might the placement of the love command within the holiness code of Leviticus 19 suggest that loving one’s neighbor is an essential expression of being set apart as God’s people, and what does this imply for the relationship between love and worship?
What does Leviticus 19:18 reveal about the interplay between law and love in the Old Testament, and how might this influence our understanding of holiness as both a legal and relational concept?
Prayer Prompt: What might you pray to release any grudges or desires for vengeance you’re holding against someone, trusting God as the Lord who commands love instead?
“Leviticus bids us love our neighbor as ourselves—a command not limited by feeling but defined by action. God’s law does not ask us to conjure affection where there is none, but to will the good of others as we will our own, because He is the Lord who commands it.” - Alexander Maclaren
Day 3
Featured Verse: Acts 7:60 - “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
What does Stephen’s plea, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them," reveal about the nature of intercessory prayer and its role in the face of injustice or persecution?
What might Stephen’s prayer suggest about the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in enabling forgiveness under extreme circumstances?
What does Stephen’s forgiveness in the face of violent opposition reveal about the relationship between suffering, witness, and the advancement of God’s kingdom, especially given the presence of Saul (Paul) in the narrative (Acts 7:58)?
Prayer Prompt: What might you pray to find the strength and peace Stephen displayed, trusting God fully even in moments of suffering or injustice?
“Stephen, with his dying breath, prays for his murderers—‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’ Here is the spirit of Jesus shining in His servant. It is not enough to bear no malice; the true disciple pleads for mercy on his foes, proving that the love of Christ has conquered the hatred of the world in his heart.” - Charles Spurgeon