Prayer For 4th Week Of Advent
Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan.
Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Oh, God-With-Us, For so long you have promised forgiveness, peace, salvation.
Now in my heart, I am filled with joy because of your coming.
Thank you for your promises and for the way I can trust in you.
I feel a new freedom in my life and a courage I have not known before.
I know you came to save me and bring new life and I am so grateful to you.
Let me show my thankfulness with my life.
You have brought me through the darkness and into the light of your saving grace.
Guide my feet on the way of peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay; give new courage to your people who trust in your love.
By your coming, raise us to the joy of your kingdom, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Oh, Emmanuel,"God-with-Us," You have touched me; you are God-with-Me.
Thank you for these weeks of prayer.
In the spirit of the season my waiting, my patience, feels sacred.
Refine and purify my heart with the hottest flame of your love.
Give me the courage of your prophets and let me do what is right even when others don't understand.
Bless my heart with generosity and make me ready to receive you.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Amen.
Opening Prayer:
Father, we contemplate the birth of your Son.
He was born of the Virgin Mary and came to live among us.
May we receive forgiveness and mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father,
The whole meaning of Christmas can be explained in one little four letter wordLOVE. You sent your gift of pure love to us that first Christmas. Love descended from heaven to be born of a virgin. Love lay in the scratchy hay of a manger in a meager barn in Bethlehem. All of your love, God, was robed in the delicate skin of a baby and wrapped in swaddling clothes. This final week of Advent, help us to reflect on the magnitude of love that was made manifest in Jesus.
Your word became flesh and you made your dwelling among us when Jesus was born. You set aside all of the glory and splendor of heaven and chose the most humble way to enter into your kingdom. Beneath the stars, surrounded by all of the hosts of heaven, Love came. Welcomed by an earthly mother and father, shepherds and wise men, Love came.
You are King and King and Lord of Lords, Messiah and Ruler of All, yet you came not as a lion but as a lamb. You came as an innocent baby whose purpose was walk this earth in complete love, and then to sacrificially give his life as an atonement for the sins of His children. Emmanuel. God with us. Love in the form of a man.
That was your plan. From beginning to end, you knew every minute of Jesus life. You knew that the cross of Calvary was waiting for Jesus, yet you still sent your only Son so that our sin debt could be paid and we could walk blameless because of the shed blood of Jesus.
There is no greater gift then this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. You willing gave the gift of your life because of your love. Your righteous blood covered our sin. You redeem and restore us when we confess you as Lord and Savior of our life. In that moment you give us the gift of your love for all eternity. We receive grace upon grace and mercy upon mercy in that moment.
The greatest gift of all came that first Christmas. It wasn't wrapped in a beautiful package and set under a decorated tree. The greatest gift came wrapped in the flesh of baby Jesus and laid in the rough wood of a manger. Our perfect gift would later be rewrapped in the scars of our sin and nailed to the rugged wood of a cross on Calvary, all because of love.
Father, this final week of Advent, fill our hearts and minds with the significance of that truth. Thank you, Lord, for loving us enough to send Jesus.
In Jesus' precious name we pray.
Amen
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we beseech Thee, and come; and with great power come to our aid, that, by the help of Thy grace, that which is hindered by our sins may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Oh, king of us all.
I find myself standing before
your strength and splendor
watching, waiting
and filled with total joy.
You have lifted my mind in hope.
Now help me to open my life
the the coming of the Spirit.
I want to be like Mary, your mother.
Her wonderful courage and strength
inspire me to do the same.
She simply said Yes
and the impossible was done.
Thank you for this Advent journey.
The anticipation has filled my life
and made me long for
a closer relationship with you.
My life gets so busy that I forget to focus.
Thank you for guidance.
Thank you for the quiet moments
when I have felt your love.
Nothing will be impossible with God.
Guide my feet on the way of peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.