I pray that you open my heart, sharpen my wit, and expand my understanding for people.

Lord, open my heart. Open my heart to everything and everyone. I want my heart to overflow into every encounter that I have. Whether I’m speaking with someone who thinks the same way, lives in the same skin, follows my belief system, or dislikes everything I am associated with, I pray that they experience nothing but Your love while in contact with me. I pray that you give me the vision to understand what an open heart looks like to them. I want to receive everything that they are, respect what they believe, and love them in their differences. I pray that you reserve a spot for them in my heart where they may restfully reside with confidence and assurance that I am a safe haven for them and will always be their advocate, standing up for them when they are in need or feeling low. When I disagree with them, change my heart from hateful to heartfelt, from reserved to respect, from bitter to belonging. When someone hates me, let me remain peaceful, understanding they might not understand Your Love and what that truly means. Your love is what should fill my open heart.

Lord, sharpen my wit. I am receiving an open heart from You, but do not allow me to be careless with my heart. Guard it, and allow me to keep my wits about me, knowing when the other is willing to trample over me. Help my mind ignite moments of self-realization so that I can be aware of when I am wrong, when I am hating, and when I need to remember Your heart. Let my wits be weary of others and what they love, knowing that their conviction and beliefs can possibly be as strong as mine. Never let me take it too far, Lord, but allow me to use my wit to love them with an open heart.

With a heart and mind, I now ask for understanding, so that I can use the resources you have given me effectively. So much is going on in our country and around the world, and I cannot imagine how differently people would be acting if we took a moment to understand the other side. Allow me to have conversations with friends and loved ones, those that are hurting, those that are hating, those that are hated, so that I can further understand them. In my understanding, I can love that person, and hopefully they will also be able to understand. Give us all the time, patience, and heart to understand our opposite. The one who opposes us, or the one that we oppose, is another human being. This is another person. This is a creation. You, Lord, created these people, all of them. You didn’t just create me. You didn’t just create white people. You created white people, black people, Asians, Italians, Africans, Christians, Jews, Muslims. The one that I am hating is the same person that You created. Allow me to realize that and further understand them.

I love you, Lord. Allow me to love others the way you love me. If the person reading this is in a season of hate, dissipate that. Relieve the reader of hate. If they are hating another, fill them with love. If they are being hated, fill them with love. Lord, open my heart, sharpen my wit, and expand my understanding for all people.