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A Prayer about Joy in the midst of Sadness

by | Dec 21, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Grief, Joy, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Joy in the midst of Sadness

Celebrate joyfully in the Lord, all the time. I’ll say it again: Celebrate!

Philippians 4:4

Lord,

I love how one theologian translates Philippians 4:4 

and what he teaches us about joy 

in his advent devotional:

Joy goes “hand in hand with hope:

it doesn’t mean 

that everything is already just as it should be,
only that with Jesus now enthroned as Lord 

we know it eventually will get there.”*

He encourages us to feel 

the depth of our emotions, 

including grief, 

because Jesus did. 

Today and every day of this week, 

I pray for my friends and for myself:

May we celebrate the joy Jesus brings,

even if we’re feeling sad or frustrated or lonely, 

knowing this is not the way it will always be, 

because you sent your Son into the world 

to make all things, 

including our emotions—

new.

In Jesus’ hope-bringing name. Amen. 

Read Philippians 4:4-9.

(From N.T. Wright’s Advent for Everyone, A Journey with the Apostles).

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



 

A Prayer about the Rising Sun of Righteousness

by | Dec 20, 2023 | Advent, Christmas, Christmas, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Seasons & Holidays, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about the Rising Sun of Righteousness

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2

Lord Jesus,

By this time in the Christmas season, 

we’ve probably sung “Hark the herald angels sing” 

around 20-30 times, 

depending on our playlists. 

One of my favorite lines is, 

“Hail the Sun of Righteousness! 

Light and life to all He brings, 

Risen with healing in His wings.” 

But sometimes we sing 

without knowing what it means. 

After all, we know Jesus isn’t an angel, 

and he doesn’t have wings. 

But then we remember the poetic allusion 

to Jesus in Malachi, and things fall into place. 

The image of the rising sun with its wings 

(rays spreading throughout the earth) 

was also used by Isaiah 

to describe God’s glory 

rising over the earth: 

“but the Lord will arise upon you, 

and his glory will be seen by you” (Isaiah 60:2). 

Oh, Lord Jesus, 

how we need your light to come, 

your glory to spread over us! 

We long for the freedom of forgiveness 

that truly heals our hearts, minds, and bodies; 

we long for the healing 

that fills us with the kind of joy 

that sends us bounding about like calves 

leaping from their stalls (Malachi 4:2). 

How we look forward to the day 

when you return 

and your glory covers the earth 

and your healing is complete.

In your righteous name. Amen.

Read Malachi 4:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-3. 

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



 

A Prayer about What Jesus Came to Do

by | Dec 18, 2023 | Christmas, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Seasons & Holidays, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about What Jesus Came to Do

The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.

1 Samuel 2:7-8

Holy and Just God,

You bring death, and you bring life –

Thank you for bringing death to sin in our lives; 

Thank you for bringing us new life in Jesus.

You bring poverty, and you bring wealth;

Thank you for showing us 

that our accomplishments or lack thereof, 

our right-ness or lack thereof —

are not what make you value us;

Thank you for making us wealthy 

as your adopted children in Christ.

Father, from generation to generation, 

you care for your faithful ones

Thank you for protecting us in our every step.

You put stumbling blocks in the path of the sinner;

Thank you for rescuing us from the miry road, 

where we were ever stuck in sin;

Thank you for setting us on the way 

of those who trust in you. 

Holy, Just, and Merciful God, 

you know our world is a wreck:

You know the terror, 

you know the divisiveness, 

you know the hatred.

Thank you for sending your King, 

the only ruler who can truly restore peace on earth.

We are glad he has come,

and we pray he will come again soon

to establish your shalom finally and forever. 

In the name of the holy infant, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Read 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

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

 



 

A Prayer about Making Room for Jesus

by | Dec 16, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Making Room for Jesus

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Lord Jesus,

Sometimes I think the innkeeper has gotten a bad rap 

in all of our Christmas programs 

for not making room for the baby Jesus. 

After all, if he had known 

the Messiah would be born in his inn, 

wouldn’t he have found him a room?

As I consider his story and the busy days of the Christmas season, 

I pray that we will see who you really are—

the Messiah, the King of Kings, 

who humbled yourself to take on humanity, 

who submitted to being born in a stable 

and laid in a feeding trough.

I pray that we will make room for you 

in our noisy hearts. 

Still us and silence us 

that we might hear your kind invitation 

into the space of forgiveness, 

into the deepest, truest love 

we have ever known. 

By your Spirit, move us toward you, 

the one who came to live among us 

that we might live forever with you. 

In your hospitable name.

Amen.

Read Luke 2:1-7; Psalm 46:10.

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



 

A Prayer about Waiting at Christmas

by | Dec 15, 2023 | Christmas, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Waiting at Christmas

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Coming Savior,

In this season of “advent,”

 as we remember your first coming, 

we anticipate many things, 

some eagerly, some anxiously. 

Some of us are waiting eagerly for family members to arrive 

or to give a special surprise we have long planned 

or to sing Silent Night at the Christmas Eve service. 

All of those are sweet things to look forward to. 

Others of us are quite literally in waiting rooms 

as a loved one undergoes surgery 

or in waiting seasons wondering when we will get a new job 

or weeping as we continue to mourn a lost loved one 

and wondering when the pain will pass. 

Whether we are anticipating the many joys of this season 

or weeping as we wait for renewed hope, 

may we never forget that we are waiting for you to come again. 

May we be strong in your strength, and

may we take heart in your consolation, 

knowing that you are “coming soon,” 

and that when you come,

 you will bring the perfect peace and joy 

this season is really all about. 

We will know intimacy with you and with others 

as we have never known before. 

We will know the rest of never struggling with sin again. 

We will know the joy of serving you 

in the best work you’ve designed us for—

to multiply your glory forever and ever. 

Today, we will focus our hearts 

and our hopes on the horizon, 

looking for your next appearing.

In your en-couraging name we pray. Amen.

Read Psalm 27; Revelation 21 and 22.

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



 

A Prayer about a Baby Who Took on Our Burden

by | Dec 14, 2023 | Christmas, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about a Baby Who Took on Our Burden

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,

you have shattered

the yoke that burdens them,

the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor. Isaiah 9:4

Lord Jesus,

Many of us will probably see at least one nativity scene today. 

If we do, or even if we don’t, 

pause us in our busyness 

to wonder about this remarkable story:

This baby lying in a manger would be you, 

our Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

You, our Prince of Peace,

would be the warrior 

who brought peace for us 

and for the cosmos 

by dying on a cross.

You, our Prince of Peace, 

would deliver us 

from the oppression of evil and sin.

You, our Prince of Peace, 

would free us 

from the burden of guilt and shame.

You, our Prince of peace, 

would beckon us to come to you, 

to be yoked (united) to you, 

and to know the rest only you can bring. 

May we truly marvel at this wonder 

and find our rest in you today. 

In your peace-bringing name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 9:1-7.

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