An Advent Prayer
The Dawn From On High
An Advent Prayer
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (From Isaiah 9 NIV)
Father, we thank and praise You for being the LORD God Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, the One who was and is and is to come. What You promise, You always deliver, so we can trust in You and not doubt…but we do so often doubt, even when surrounded by Your goodness. Forgive us and help our unbelief, Lord God! We are grateful that You are mindful of us, You know that we are but dust, and You are so very patient with us. In fact, Your steadfast love never ceases. You never shake your head at us, utterly frustrated by our sheep-like behavior. Instead, as our Good Shepherd, Jesus, You know all of our names and personalities, and You know what each of us is facing today. You are not reluctant to love us, quite the opposite - You demonstrated Your great love for us in this - while we were still sinners, You died for us. This is all Your doing, Lord God Almighty; and it is marvelous in our eyes!
Today, Father, we acknowledge our disappointment and grief that seats at our Thanksgiving and Christmas table are empty. We long to be reunited with those who have left us, through betrayal, distance or even death. We are weary of waiting - for that wandering child to come back home, for the chemo and radiation to kill the cancer in our body, for reconciliation of that important, yet broken relationship. We are so weary of waiting for it all. But that weariness in waiting is not a new thing, is it, Lord? The promises that
You made Adam and Eve in the garden of a Messiah who would crush the head of the lying serpent and defeat sin and death initiated a millennia of waiting.
And so Jesus’ birth caught most of Your beloved people by surprise, even though they had the Scriptures of prophecy, and promise. Why were they caught off guard? They, like us, were weary of waiting, and let the monotonous story of promise go in one ear and out the other.
Oh Father, empower us to wait well on Your promises, each fulfilled in Christ, to wait well as You continue to work all things for our good and Your glory - even broken relationships, political and racial unrest, and separation from family. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear what Your Spirit is doing, so that we won’t miss a single good thing You have for us, recognizing that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, in whom there is no shifting shadow.
We gratefully open our hands and hearts to receive fresh today Your good gifts - of new and eternal life, of Your very Spirit, who indwells us, fundamentally changing who we are, enabling us to live and breathe and even wait, in a very new and different way. Help us to wait on You in all of our circumstances, not caught off guard, but ready to receive and extend Your good gifts of hope, peace, joy and love.
In Jesus name, Amen.