Love, Pity, Mercy

In Hosea 2:23 it says, “…I will have love, pity, mercy for her who had not obtained love, pity, and mercy…” The Book of Hosea is an example of how God’s people would wander away from His love.

As I was reading this recently, I was reminded of my prayer list (which is quite long) and the people I am praying to return to God. These words touched my heart – love, pity, mercy. I looked up these words in the dictionary and this is what I found:

Love – strong liking or affection.

Pity – feeling of compassion for another’s grief or suffering.

Mercy – compassion or leniency toward an enemy or foe.

As we pray for the people in our lives who really need Jesus, let’s have love for them. And along with that, let’s have genuine compassion for their grief or suffering. And this one really spoke to me: Let’s have leniency toward an enemy or foe. The Message translation says, “I’ll have Mercy on No-Mercy.”

So join me! As we pray for those who desperately need Jesus, let’s pray with love, pity, and mercy, believing that as God is at work in their hearts, they are coming back to trusting Him!