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A Prayer about Happy Holidays

by | Nov 28, 2022 | Advent, Christmas, Christmas, Daily Prayer, Seasons & Holidays

A Prayer about Happy Holidays

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Psalm 98:4

Joyful Lord,

It’s already happening. 

I feel my inner Grinch creeping, 

ready to make a sneak attack 

on the poor unsuspecting checkout folks 

who cheerfully call out, “Happy Holidays” 

after I’ve just bought Christmas ornaments. 

Lord, I know they’ve been told what to say. 

Lord, I know that Christmas 

has become commercialized. 

And yet, these stores will still play songs like,

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come, 

let earth receive her King,” 

and “Hark, the herald angels sing, 

‘Glory to the newborn King.’”

 So rather than getting all grinchy 

when someone tells me, “Happy Holidays,” 

help me to joyfully respond, “Thank you,” 

or even, “Joy to the world!” 

Help me to see that even the “secularization” of Christmas

offers prime opportunities 

to share the true reason for our joy — 

we have a great King, 

and that King has come, 

in the form of a baby human! 

It’s game-changing news, 

but many don’t know it. 

May we seek this season 

to share this news 

in the best way we know how, 

by living and loving 

in the fullness of our Savior’s joy!

Amen.

Read Psalm 98; Luke 2:8-20.

 

Get Elizabeth’s Advent devotional for free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/34no8c805q.

 

A Prayer about Waiting for Redemption

by | Jan 2, 2022 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Waiting for Redemption

Heavenly Father,

What an attractive old woman Anna was. 

She was widowed young, 

after only seven years of marriage, 

and then she spent the rest of her life single. 

It would have been so easy to become bitter, 

especially in a society in which widows 

and single women were often outcasts. 

And yet, you gave Anna the gift 

we all most desire in this Christmas season, 

the gift of believing redemption would come 

in the midst of the broken story of her life, 

of the lives of her people. 

She spent years waiting for redemption, 

watching for you, 

waiting at your “home,” the temple, 

believing you would show up there one day. 

And she didn’t hide, 

keeping her hope to herself—

she was a prophetess, 

sharing the good news about you with others. 

Lord, would you make us like Anna 

as we await your second coming? 

Would you transform our vision 

so that what we solely seek 

is your arrival? 

Would you transform our tongues 

so that what we simply speak of 

is your salvation? 

Would you even allow us today 

to receive our King as Anna once did long long ago? 

In Jesus’ returning name we ask. Amen. 

Read Luke 2:36-38. 

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A Prayer about Jesus’ Tears

by | Dec 29, 2021 | Christmas, Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Jesus’ Tears

Generous Father,

Even though the day most people exchange gifts 

has come and gone,

 or maybe especially because that day 

has come and gone, it’s a good time 

to contemplate this baby in the manger. 

Many of us love the Christmas lullaby 

“Away in a Manger,” 

but I do think the authors got one thing wrong: 

“The little Lord Jesus, 

no crying he makes….” 

That can’t be right.

Babies cry. 

They express their need for food, 

clean diapers, 

and sleep 

by crying. 

Jesus was fully human, 

and he likely cried when he was a baby, 

especially if cows were mooing in his ear. 

Heavenly Father, may we never forget Jesus’ true humanity, 

but also may we believe in his deep sympathy, 

his passion for and with us. 

Not only did he cry as a baby, 

he wept as a man 

over his friend Lazarus’ death. 

He came to reverse the curse of sin 

by submitting to death on a cross. 

He sweated blood  

as he agonized in the garden 

over his impending death. 

Yes, Lord, Jesus wept. 

May we affirm the cries of the baby Jesus 

and may we trace the tears of our Savior. 

In his sacrificial name we pray. Amen. 

Read John 11:28-44; Luke 22:39-46.

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Do you need help finding rest in Christmas?

Four-part devotional series designed to help you…Slow down. Let go…of the frenzy, worry, rush…
Hear the story of the wonders God has done—in the lives of people who also struggle with fear, anxiety and loss of hope.

FOUR WEEKLY GUIDES|FIVE DAILY ACTIVITIES 

Day 1: Devotional

Day 2: Reflection Questions

Day 3: Story Starters

Day 4: Prayer

Day 5: Music

A Prayer about Christ’s Humanity and Ours

by | Dec 27, 2021 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Christ’s Humanity and Ours

Holy God,

I love how creeds and confessions

help us see new things about our faith. 

The Belgic Confession, 

in confessing the truth of the incarnation 

reminds us that both the body and the soul 

are essential to our humanity:
“And he not only assumed human nature 

  as far as the body is concerned 

  but also a real human soul, 

  in order that he might be a real human being. 

For since the soul had been lost as well as the body, 

  he had to assume them both to save them both together.”*

Thank you, Lord, 

for sending Christ in the flesh, 

to remind us that our bodies 

belong to you and are beloved by you.

Thank you, Lord, for making Christ 

a real human being, 

and yet without sin.

who, though without sin, 

can fully sympathize with our weaknesses, 

in heart, soul, mind, and body.

Being sinless, he was the perfect sacrifice

for our sins, 

and died

that we might live eternally 

with and for you.

In gratitude for the greatest gift of Christmas, 

may we glorify you with all of our being.

In Christ’s fully human, fully divine name. Amen.

Read Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 22:37.

*(From Belgic Confession of Faith for Advent and Christmas).

A Prayer about “Happy Holidays”

by | Nov 30, 2021 | Advent, Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about “Happy Holidays”

Joyful Lord,

It’s already happening. 

I feel my inner Grinch creeping, 

ready to make a sneak attack 

on the poor unsuspecting checkout folks 

who cheerfully call out, “Happy Holidays” 

after I’ve just bought Christmas ornaments. 

Lord, I know they’ve been told what to say. 

Lord, I know that Christmas 

has become commercialized. 

And yet, these stores will still play songs like,

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come, 

let earth receive her King,” 

and “Hark, the herald angels sing, 

‘Glory to the newborn King.’”

 So rather than getting all grinchy 

when someone tells me, “Happy Holidays,” 

help me to joyfully respond, “Thank you,” 

or even, “Joy to the world!” 

Help me to see that even the “secularization” of Christmas

offers prime opportunities 

to share the true reason for our joy — 

we have a great King, 

and that King has come, 

in the form of a baby human! 

It’s game-changing news, 

but many don’t know it. 

May we seek this season 

to share this news 

in the best way we know how, 

by living and loving 

in the fullness of our Savior’s joy!

Amen.

Read Psalm 98; Luke 2:8-20.

Pray through Advent with a daily prayer. Get the daily prayer in your inbox at 6 am central. Subscribe now (Check Daily Prayer on signup) and get Elizabeth’s Advent devotional for free. 

Get Finding Rest in Christmas for Free

I want rest!

Do you need help finding rest in Christmas?

Four-part devotional series designed to help you…Slow down. Let go…of the frenzy, worry, rush…
Hear the story of the wonders God has done—in the lives of people who also struggle with fear, anxiety and loss of hope.

FOUR WEEKLY GUIDES|FIVE DAILY ACTIVITIES 

Day 1: Devotional

Day 2: Reflection Questions

Day 3: Story Starters

Day 4: Prayer

Day 5: Music

How Long? When to Expect the Long-Expected Jesus

by | Dec 22, 2020 | Christmas, Devotional, Weekly Gospel Meditation

How Long? When to Expect the Long-Expected Jesus

When Can We Expect the Long-Expected Jesus?

The last few days, a lyric sticks in my head…a long-ago line from a John Denver and the Muppet’s Christmas cassette tape I used to pop in on my way home from the Young Life Christmas tree lot:

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…

(that’s from the days when they fattened a goose to kill for Christmas dinner, children)…

Christmas is coming, but what about Christ?

Yes, we can feel it, Christmas is bearing down on us….But do you ever, as I do, stop and ask, “But what about Christ?” “I know Christmas is coming, but when is Christ coming?”

Do you ever get weary of waiting, short on patience for peace on earth to be a forever thing? Do you ever feel faint of the fall, heavy of heart over hard stories at Christmas-time? If so, then I invite you to join me in singing the old hymn of expectation, “Come thou long-expected Jesus”:

Consider this stanza and how it addresses our hopes, fears, needs and longings in these sometimes-dazed days the week before Christmas:

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.

Charles Wesley

Why not call the long-expected Jesus into the hard parts of your Christmas?

  • Christmas details causing chaos? Come, thou long-expected Jesus.
  • Family togetherness raising tension? Come, thou long-expected Jesus.
  • Economic forecast raining on your planned parade? Come, thou long-expected Jesus.
  • Stay-at-home orders ruining your Christmas gathering plans and raising your anxiety level? From our fears and sins release us.
  • Pre-Christmas preparations exposing your sin nature? From our fears and sins release us.
  • Attempts to make everyone happy stealing your joy? Let us find our rest in thee.

Without Christ, the Christmas season threatens to draw out the worst of our fears, sins and restlessness. Call to him, for the merry message of Christmas is that he comes to you. Christ the King stands ready to release us from our sins and fears; he invites us to rest in the hope and joy of the manger-child.

A Prayer about the Coming of Our Long-Expected Jesus

Come, we pray, Lord Jesus, come. Make our hearts ready to be your home. You alone are our dearest desire, our sweetest joy, our every expectation. In your very-near name we pray, Amen.

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Do you need help finding rest in Christmas?

Four-part devotional series designed to help you…Slow down. Let go…of the frenzy, worry, rush…
Hear the story of the wonders God has done—in the lives of people who also struggle with fear, anxiety and loss of hope.

FOUR WEEKLY GUIDES|FIVE DAILY ACTIVITIES 

Day 1: Devotional

Day 2: Reflection Questions

Day 3: Story Starters

Day 4: Prayer

Day 5: Music