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A Prayer about Suffering with the Savior

by | Dec 31, 2021 | Christmas, Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Suffering with the Savior

Comforting Father,

As this year draws to a close,

I know many who, like me, 

look forward to a new year, 

hoping that it will soften the harsh edges 

of last year’s grief, looking forward to new joys. 

May it be so. 

And yet, as we consider the words of Simeon 

to Mary and Joseph, 

we see that the call of a Christian 

is to know the abiding joy of our salvation 

even as we suffer piercing swords in our souls. 

Jesus was born to die. 

We are called to be reborn to die—

to our consuming agendas, 

to our self-salvation strategies, 

to our demand for certainty and control. 

Like Mary and Joseph, 

we are always richly blessed 

by our Savior. 

Like Mary and Joseph, 

we will at times endure piercing pain 

as we follow our Savior.  

May we embrace our calling 

with hearts of hope, 

knowing that our Savior 

“endured the cross” 

“for the joy set before him,” 

the joy of making us your beloved children. 

In the name of our Suffering Savior, Jesus, 

we pray. Amen.

Read Luke 2:33-35. 

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A Prayer about Drawing Near to the Throne of Grace

by | Dec 28, 2021 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Drawing Near to the Throne of Grace

Gracious Father,

In these days between Christmas and New Year’s, 

some of us find ourselves in seasons of doubt. 

Some feel regret over Christmas conflicts, 

others feel remorse over sins habitually committed.

Wherever we find ourselves,

may we hear you calling us 

to confidence:

Draw near to the throne of grace!

There you will find your sympathetic priest, 

“who was tempted in every way and yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15)

He became the perfect sacrifice 

and presented this sacrifice to me, 

and now, united with him, 

you are cleansed from your sins.

Come to me with confidence.

You will find mercy and grace 

to help you in your time of need.”

Forgiving Father, of all the invitations 

we may receive this holiday season, 

none is so generous and comforting as this one. 

Thank you! 

May we receive and believe it.

In the name of our sympathetic priest, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Read Hebrews 4:14-16.

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A Prayer about Seeing the Light

by | Jan 6, 2021 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Seeing the Light

Glorious God,

Though the twelfth day of Christmas has come and gone,

the defrocked trees lie dried and withered by the curb,

may we see the glory of Christ-with-us,

the good news that our light has come,

today and every day of this year.

Peel the scales from our eyes,

that we may see the light that has overcome the thick darkness,

your grace, and your glory,

your mercy and your kindness to us in Christ.

Indeed, may all “nations come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3).

Open our eyes to see the great ingathering of your people,

“the sons …come from afar…the daughters carried on the hip…” (Isaiah 60:4).

Radiate our hearts with this good news today and every day.

In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 60:1-5.

A Prayer about Our Sympathetic Priest

by | Dec 27, 2020 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Our Sympathetic Priest

Father,

It’s two days after Christmas.

As we worship you today, may we grasp afresh the life-changing reality that

Jesus, in his sinless humanity,

is sympathetic to our weakness.

How can this be?

In my favorite book of the year, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund

explains it so much better than I can:
“It is in our ‘weaknesses’ that Jesus sympathizes with us.”

[Sympathize means “to suffer with.”]

“Sympathize here is not cool and detached pity…

In our pain, Jesus is pained; in our suffering,

he feels the suffering as his own even though it isn’t…

His is a love that cannot be held back when he sees his people in pain.”

(Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, page 46).

Oh, Lord, thank you for sending a suffering and sympathetic Savior.

May we grab hold of this truth and let it change our hearts.

May we rest in Christ’s sympathy for us,

even as we battle sin, even as we suffer in a fallen world.

In Jesus’ sympathetic name. Amen.

Affiliate link to Gentle and Lowly. 

A Prayer about a King Who Became a Baby

by | Dec 25, 2020 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about a King Who Became a Baby

King Jesus,

On this Christmas morn, I marvel at your humility.

You, the King of the cosmos, the Ruler of the universe,

deigned to become a cooing, crying, wetting, nursing infant.

You chose to make yourself weak and lowly,

utterly dependent on a human mother and father for food, warmth, and shelter.

In becoming poor, you gifted us with the abundant riches of your grace.

Open our eyes to rejoice over your great gift to us—your marvelous mercy.

May we not only receive it but may we share it lavishly with a dark and hurting world.

In your humble, reigning name. Amen.

Read Philippians 2:1-11.

A Prayer about a Silent Night

by | Dec 24, 2020 | Christmas, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about a Silent Night

A prayer about a silent night:

Heavenly Father,

It’s shaping up for many to be a pretty silent night—

We will stay home rather than attending a Christmas Eve service in person,

no hilarious scenes of shoving siblings during the invariably chaotic children’s sermon,

no warm hugs from beloved friends who have become adopted family.

My family is missing this tradition this year.

In the silent and still days, may we listen and look.

May we hear the angels singing, “All is calm, all is bright,” and know that day is coming.

May we see that it in fact, has already arrived with the “Son of righteousness”

who has lived, died, and risen with “healing in his wings.”

May we remember that no matter how different this Christmas looks than the past,

we have reason to rejoice.

Your glory is streaming from heaven above,

and your light has shone in the darkness.

And you will “soon” return to restore our joy finally and forever.

Read Malachi 4:2; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:68-79.