A Prayer about How to Wait for Redemption

by | Dec 28, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about How to Wait for Redemption

How do we wait well for redemption?

She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. Luke 2:37

Author God,

How we thank you for the many characters 

you’ve written into your redemption story 

who show us how to live the stories you’re writing in us.

The aged Anna, who was either 84 or 104, 

who knew many years of suffering as a poor widow, 

shows us how to wait well in unfinished stories. 

Although Anna had not yet met her Redeemer, 

she waited with hope. 

Unlike us, she found your presence only in the temple; 

we know your presence in the Holy Spirit 

who dwells in us. 

Anna’s worship was not confined to Sunday mornings.

We too can worship you every hour of every day 

as we surrender our agendas to you. 

Anna practiced fasting, sharpening her senses 

to recognize redemption when it came. 

We too can fast,

whether from food or screens, 

or by taking up sacrificial practices 

like serving others 

so that we will see your return more clearly. 

Anna prayed and offered thanksgiving, 

hourly, daily, constantly. 

We too want to “pray without ceasing,” 

and “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17),

for the gifts of redemption we already enjoy. 

Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, 

sought your face, 

and she recognized you when she saw you!

Seeing her Savior, she could not keep silent 

but spoke of you to all who were waiting for redemption. 

We too have seen your face, 

and we must share the good news of the gospel, 

the true meaning of Christmas, wherever we go!

In the name of our Redeemer, Jesus. Amen.

Read Luke 2:36-38.

A Prayer about Jesus’ Tears

by | Dec 27, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Jesus’ Tears

Do you know the Christmas carol that doesn’t get it quite right?

Jesus wept. John 11:35

Compassionate Lord,

Even though the day most people exchange gifts 

has come and gone,

or maybe especially because that day 

has come and gone, it’s a good time 

to contemplate this baby in the manger. 

Many of us love the Christmas lullaby 

“Away in a Manger,” 

but the authors may have gotten one thing wrong: 

“The little Lord Jesus, 

no crying he makes ….” 

That can’t be right.

Babies cry. 

They express their need 

for food, 

clean diapers, 

and sleep 

by crying. 

Though Jesus was fully God, 

he was also fully human, 

and he likely cried when he was a baby, 

(especially if cows were mooing in his ear.) 

Heavenly Father, may we never forget Jesus’ true humanity, 

but may we also believe in his deep sympathy, 

his passion for and with us. 

Not only did he cry as a baby, 

he wept as a man 

over his friend Lazarus’ death. 

Not only did he cry as a baby, 

he sweated blood  

as he agonized in the garden 

over his own impending death (Luke 22:39-46). 

Yes, Lord, Jesus wept. 

May we affirm the cries of the baby Jesus 

and may we trace the tears of our Savior, 

who was well acquainted with grief. 

Amen. 

Read John 11:28-44; Luke 22:39-46.

A Prayer about Drawing Near to the Throne of Grace

by | Dec 26, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Drawing Near to the Throne of Grace

Do you want to draw near?

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Gracious Father,

In these days between Christmas and New Year’s, 

some of us find ourselves in seasons of doubt. 

Some feel regret over Christmas conflicts, 

others feel remorse over sins habitually committed.

Wherever we find ourselves,

may we hear you calling us 

to confidence:

“Draw near to the throne of grace!

There you will find your sympathetic priest, 

‘who was tempted in every way and yet without sin’ (Hebrews 4:15).”

May we hear you say,

“Draw near to the throne of grace!

Your Savior became the perfect sacrifice 

and presented this sacrifice to me.

United with him, 

you are cleansed from your sins.”

May we hear you say, 

“Come to me with confidence.

You will find mercy and grace 

to help you in your time of need.”

Forgiving Father, of all the invitations 

we may receive this holiday season, 

none is so generous and comforting as this one. 

Thank you! 

May we receive and believe it.

In the name of our sympathetic priest, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Read Hebrews 4:14-16.

A Prayer about Christ’s Humanity and Ours

by | Dec 25, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Christ’s Humanity and Ours

Have you ever thought about what it means that Christ became a human? 

[Christ Jesus]…made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:7

Holy God,

I love how creeds and confessions

help us see new things about our faith. 

The Belgic Confession, 

in confessing the truth of the incarnation,

reminds us that both the body and the soul 

are essential to our humanity:
“And he not only assumed human nature 

  as far as the body is concerned 

  but also a real human soul, 

  in order that he might be a real human being. 

For since the soul had been lost as well as the body, 

  he had to assume them both to save them both together.”*

Thank you, Lord, 

for sending Christ in the flesh, 

to remind us that our bodies 

belong to you and are beloved by you.

Thank you, Lord, for making Christ 

a real human being, 

and yet without sin.

who, though without sin, 

can fully sympathize with our weaknesses, 

in heart, soul, mind, and body.

Being sinless, he was the perfect sacrifice

for our sins, 

and died

that we might live eternally 

with and for you.

In gratitude for the greatest gift of Christmas, 

may we glorify you with all of our being.

In Christ’s fully human, fully divine name. Amen.

Read Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 22:37.

*See Belgic Confession, Article 18.

A Prayer about a God Who Lives with Us

by | Dec 24, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about a God Who Lives with Us

Do you need a God who lives with you?

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3

Faith-full God, Hope-filling God, Fully-loving God,

We celebrate your glory

as the shepherds celebrated before the manger 

and the wise men celebrated before the little one.

You have richly blessed us with

your arrival on earth, in earthy reality, 

coming to a stable,

sleeping with the sheep,

disrupting our expectations

 about the way things should be, 

showing us that your glory is clothed in your humility.

Thank you. May we never forget.

May we never romanticize 

the Christ out of Christmas.

Thank you, God, 

that you are coming again once-and-for-all, 

to end our

hearts’ waywardness.

Thank you that one day 

we will rest utterly in your Presence, 

never wandering off

down our own little kingdom paths. 

We look forward to the day 

when we will worship and delight in you

as we were created to do.

This Christmas day and for the rest of the season, 

may we wait well,

with an eye toward the future, 

the hope of the one day when all 

will finally and forever be well.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen!

Read Revelation 21:1-5. 

A Prayer about Hope, Joy, and Peace at Christmas

by | Dec 23, 2025 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Hope, Joy, and Peace at Christmas

Has he filled your heart with hope?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

Lord of Hope,

You know one of our children’s favorite seasonal movies 

is The Polar Express,

though they’re long past 

imagining that the North Pole 

is where the main action of Christmas takes place. 

The movie, based on the wonderful book by Chris Van Allsburg, 

is about belief, 

but the belief is in a myth. 

Unlike  “Hero Boy,” 

we need a different kind of believing—

we need to believe that you, 

the true hero of our truest story, 

were born as a baby, 

grew as a child, 

taught in the temple, 

turned water into wine, 

raised people from the dead, 

died on a cross, 

and rose from the dead. 

It is in this belief 

that we find our deepest hope, 

our longed-for joy, 

and our perfect peace. 

By your Holy Spirit, 

grant us this belief 

today and every day.

In Jesus’ trustworthy name. Amen.

Read Romans 15:1-13.

Get Elizabeth’s Advent devotional for free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/34no8c805q.