Christmas Prayer

Dear Lord,

At this Christmas time we thank you for sending your son into this world for us. You could have sent Jesus in a blaze of publicity into a rich and powerful family to be a mighty king, but instead he was born into an ordinary family and into the most humble of circumstances. We thank you for Mary and Joseph and their willingness to be part of your plan for your son. Help us to remember that you are interested in the ordinary people, that we all have a part to play in your kingdom and that we can all be used to bring glory to your name, no matter who we are or what we have.

Mary and Joseph found themselves in difficult circumstances, having to make the long journey to Bethlehem and then finding nowhere to stay. We bring before you now the difficulties and trials in our lives and we pray for your strength. Help us to remember that in all things you work for the good of those who love you and that you will bring us through our problems. We thank you for your faithfulness to us.

As they looked at their newborn baby it must have been hard for Mary and Joseph to grasp the impact their son was going to have on the world and people’s lives. We think of their joy and happiness and their simple faith in you. We thank you now for all the good things in our lives, our families and friends, we thank you for the time we can spend with them at this time of year and for the joy they bring us. We don’t know what the future holds but we pray that we will trust in you and your unfailing love for us. Even when we can’t see how things will turn out we can know that you have a plan and purpose for our lives.

Help us not to forget that the little baby in the manger grew up to die upon the cross, to be our saviour and Messiah, a light to the world, so that we would no longer walk in darkness and sin but would have the light of God’s love in our lives, the hope of eternity spent with you and the joy of knowing our sins are forgiven. We thank you and worship you for your wonderful love to us all.

Amen