Dear God, our Heavenly Father,
Tonight we come together in expectation of Christmas. We thank you for the many gifts we will give and receive. We wonder what we might get, and hope what we've bought for others will be enjoyed. We praise you for giving the most valuable gift, by sending your son Jesus, the Messiah, into the world as both God and Man, sharing the human experience with us. You are the God who Provides, and so we thank you both for our little presents this year, and for your incredible gift of salvation that those little gifts all represent. Help us to keep Jesus in mind with every gift we unwrap.
We look forward to seeing family and friends. We pray for all those who will be travelling tomorrow, or who are travelling now. Please keep them safe, keep the roads safe, and keep drivers aware and awake. We pray that family celebrations will be full of joy and happiness. We pray that there will not be anxiety or fighting or awkwardness. You know what it's like to make a dangerous trip to an awkward family, God - you came to earth as a little baby, and even from the beginning people wanted to kill you. We are sorry for our own part in that - we acknowledge there are times when we don't want you to be God, and we argue and disagree with your ways. Please place us on the safe road that brings us back to you.
There's lots to worry about at Christmas - making sure we have enough food, that people aren't allergic to it, that everyone will enjoy themselves; that everything is perfect. We worry about family members who don't get along. We worry about living up to high standards for our families. Please give us peace in our hearts and our minds about all of these things. Bring your peace into our homes and our celebrations, so we can enjoy Christmas together with happiness and joy. You have already brought us peace in our relationship with you, by the coming of Jesus Christ, who died and was resurrected so that we might know great and eternal peace with you. Thank you.
We pray for those whose Christmases may not be full of joy. To those of us who are poor, unemployed, facing job cuts, or are pushed out of home by enemies, give all the same joy in knowing that you are the God who Provides, and give us thankfulness that salvation is freely given for us all. We pray you would give everyone things to enjoy this Christmas, and we're thankful for the generosity of people who give toys and tucker for the needy.
Give those of us who are sick this Christmas an inner joy that comes from knowing you, and the peace that only you can give, peace that is even bigger than our personal health. We thank you for those who care for the sick over Christmas time, because sickness rarely takes holidays.
We pray for those of us who are alone, or miss those that are no longer with us, that you will draw near to us and give us that same peace with you, so that we can know we are never alone when we have you. We also thank you for those people who open up their homes at Christmas to those who are lonely, and pray that they will be blessed by sharing Christmas with friends and strangers.
And we pray for those who don't know you, don't know your love or your peace or your salvation. Without you, Christmas is an empty holiday of meaningless food and drink with family and friends. We pray that you will open their eyes and soften their hearts, so that they might accept the true message of Christmas - that God is with us, and his name is Jesus.
We come together not just in expectation of Christmas tomorrow, but of Jesus returning and an eternal future in heaven with you.
And it's in Jesus' name that we pray these things. Amen
Give those of us who are sick this Christmas an inner joy that comes from knowing you, and the peace that only you can give, peace that is even bigger than our personal health. We thank you for those who care for the sick over Christmas time, because sickness rarely takes holidays.
We pray for those of us who are alone, or miss those that are no longer with us, that you will draw near to us and give us that same peace with you, so that we can know we are never alone when we have you. We also thank you for those people who open up their homes at Christmas to those who are lonely, and pray that they will be blessed by sharing Christmas with friends and strangers.
And we pray for those who don't know you, don't know your love or your peace or your salvation. Without you, Christmas is an empty holiday of meaningless food and drink with family and friends. We pray that you will open their eyes and soften their hearts, so that they might accept the true message of Christmas - that God is with us, and his name is Jesus.
