December Prayer

Father, we praise the awesome power of your love and grace poured out to us in the gift of your Son.

You sent the Lord Jesus to share the weakness of our worldly existence and yet bring the saving power of your Kingdom to bear on our sufferings, troubles, and misguided lives.

Every year in this season we are confronted with the temptation to seek happiness in material gifts and holiday busyness even as we encounter people and images every day that tell us of the great needs all around us.

May we pause to consider the miracle you have brought to bear on the desperate needs of your people and creation and be humbled by accepting our plight if you had not entered our troubled world and lives in this incredible way.

Through our Lord Jesus your Word has become flesh, a light shining in the darkness. May this Eternal Word dwell in us richly and His light shine into our darkened lives and then through us into a world living in that same darkness.

May His Light guide the world to your glory bringing new hope where there is despair and expectations so limited by life experiences and disappointments.

You have given us a Savior in Jesus Christ so that we may be set free to follow the paths of His leading as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

And, now with the angels let us praise His name, telling His story so that all may believe, rejoice with us, and share in His love and grace.

As we prepare to celebrate His birth, may we open the mangers of our hearts to receive the life only Jesus can give. May our Lord Jesus reign in ours and every human heart and bring peace, love, and great joy so that all may live in the unity of the Holy Spirt with You and our Lord Jesus, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Contributed by Jim Witherow