Paul’s letter to the Corinthians includes a description of love so often read at weddings that it’s easy to forget it wasn’t written for a romantic occasion at all. It was written to a divided, difficult church, a reminder that real love is patient and kind, not just a feeling that arrives conveniently on cue.
These thirty verses are for Valentine’s Day, whether you’re celebrating with someone, missing someone, or spending the day single, and every version of that day can still hold real meaning.
Pray these over your relationships today, romantic or otherwise, and let love be defined the way this list defines it, patient and kind, not just decorated with flowers.
Prayer for Valentine's Day
1. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Prayer: Let this be the love I actually practice today, not just admire.
Grow patience and kindness in how I treat the people closest to me.
Keep pride from getting in the way of real love.
2. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)
“We love because he first loved us.”
Prayer: Let me love today because I’ve already been loved by you.
Remind me this isn’t something I generate on my own.
Let gratitude for your love overflow into how I treat others.
3. Song of Songs 8:7 (NIV)
“Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.”
Prayer: Let whatever love I have today be this kind of resilient.
Protect it from being easily swept away by hard seasons.
Give it depth, not just a single sentimental day.
4. 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Prayer: Let love today reflect who you actually are.
Give me the capacity to love well, not just romantically.
Remind me this isn’t optional, it’s central to who I am becoming.
5. John 15:13 (NIV)
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”
Prayer: Let sacrifice, not just sentiment, mark the love I show today.
Give me eyes to see where real love requires giving something up.
Grow this kind of love in my closest relationships.
6. Ephesians 5:25 (NIV)
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Prayer: Let husbands today love this sacrificially, not just on this one day.
Shape hearts to mirror this kind of consistent devotion.
Let love be visible in daily choices, not just Valentine’s gestures.
7. Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Prayer: Thank you for friends who love consistently, not just today.
Let me be that kind of friend to others too.
Give me gratitude for love that shows up in hard seasons, not just easy ones.
8. Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Prayer: Let love bind together whatever virtues I’m trying to practice.
Cover my relationships with something stronger than good intentions.
Let unity, not just affection, mark how I love people today.
9. Romans 12:9-10 (NIV)
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love.”
Prayer: Let my love today be sincere, not performative.
Give me devotion that goes beyond a single romantic gesture.
Keep me clinging to what’s actually good in my relationships.
10. 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
Prayer: Let love cover over the friction in my relationships today.
Give me grace before I need it, not just after conflict.
Deepen love beyond the surface, especially where it’s been shallow.
11. Psalm 136:1 (NIV)
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
Prayer: Let me thank you today for love that endures, not just feels good.
Remind me your love is the model for whatever I’m celebrating.
Give me gratitude that outlasts a single holiday.
12. 1 John 4:18 (NIV)
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”
Prayer: Let love drive out fear in my relationships today, not create more of it.
Give me the security to be fully known by the people I love.
Replace anxiety with the confidence real love brings.
13. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”
Prayer: Let this be true of whatever partnership I have today.
Bring the kind of support this verse describes into my relationships.
Give me someone, or let me be someone, who helps the other up.
14. Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
Prayer: Keep selfish ambition out of how I love today.
Give me genuine humility toward the people closest to me.
Let value for others shape my actions, not just my words.
15. Proverbs 31:10 (NIV)
“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”
Prayer: Let me treasure the people in my life the way this verse describes.
Grow noble character in my relationships, not just romantic gestures.
Remind me of the worth of the people I love today.
16. Romans 5:8 (NIV)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Prayer: Let me love others the way you loved me, before they earned it.
Remind me love isn’t conditional on someone else’s performance.
Meet the people in my life with grace today, not judgment.
17. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Prayer: Let love be the greatest thing I offer today, above gifts or gestures.
Anchor faith and hope in love that actually lasts.
Keep all three present in my relationships, not just one.
18. Song of Songs 2:16 (NIV)
“My beloved is mine and I am his.”
Prayer: Let this kind of secure belonging mark my closest relationship today.
Guard against anything that would divide loyalty or trust.
Deepen this mutual devotion over time, not just on this day.
19. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Prayer: Grow this fruit in me as I love people today.
Let patience and gentleness mark how I treat those closest to me.
Keep this fruit consistent, not just on holidays.
20. 1 John 3:18 (NIV)
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Prayer: Let my love today be more than words or a card.
Give me tangible ways to show love, not just say it.
Keep this love rooted in truth, not just sentiment.
21. Psalm 63:3 (NIV)
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”
Prayer: Let your love be what I celebrate most today, above any earthly relationship.
Glorify you through how I love others, not instead of you.
Remind me nothing compares to the love you’ve already given.
22. Ruth 1:16 (NIV)
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.”
Prayer: Let this kind of loyalty mark my relationships today.
Give me the same steadfastness Ruth showed Naomi.
Deepen commitment, not just affection, in my closest bonds.
23. Proverbs 10:12 (NIV)
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.”
Prayer: Let love cover the wrongs in my relationships today.
Keep bitterness from stirring up unnecessary conflict.
Give me grace where grace is genuinely needed.
24. 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)
“Do everything in love.”
Prayer: Let everything I do today, big or small, be done in love.
Keep love as the motive, not just the outcome I’m hoping for.
Let this simple instruction actually shape my whole day.
25. Psalm 145:8 (NIV)
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Prayer: Let me be gracious and compassionate the way you are today.
Slow my own anger or impatience toward the people I love.
Let this richness in love overflow into how I treat everyone around me.
26. Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Prayer: Give me humility and gentleness in my relationships today.
Let patience mark how I bear with the people closest to me.
Keep love, not frustration, as my default response.
27. John 13:34-35 (NIV)
“'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.'”
Prayer: Let me love others the way you’ve loved me, as the standard, not my own comfort.
Make this love recognizable to the people watching.
Give me the strength to love this way consistently, not just today.
28. Psalm 36:7 (NIV)
“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
Prayer: Let me take refuge in your love before I try to give love to others.
Remind me your love is priceless, not something I earn or lose.
Fill me up first, so I have something real to offer today.
29. Proverbs 3:3-4 (NIV)
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”
Prayer: Let love and faithfulness stay close, not just today but always.
Write these values into how I treat people daily, not just on holidays.
Keep me rooted in what actually matters in relationships.
30. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Prayer: Let me remember you delight in me today, whether I’m celebrating with someone or alone.
Rejoice over me the way this verse describes, regardless of my relationship status.
Let this be enough love for today, even before anything else is added.
Conclusion
Paul’s description of love was never meant to be limited to romance, and reading it again on Valentine’s Day is a good reminder of that. Patient, kind, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs, that’s a standard worth aiming for in every relationship, not just the one marked by roses and chocolate.
If today feels harder because you’re single or missing someone, the prayer for singles or the prayer for loneliness might speak more directly to where you are.
For celebrating a specific relationship today, the prayer for strong marriage and the love prayer for him or love prayer for her are good places to go next.