Lord God,

We are busy preparing cards and gifts and food.

Keep us grounded in what really matters.

We pray that You help us prepare our hearts.

Cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Remove any darkness from our minds.

We bring You our sin, and You exchange it

for the gift of Your tender mercy.

We praise You and honor You and thank You

for redeeming us through Your Son,

our savior, Jesus.

Amen

Psalm 91, starting at verse 14 says:

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD,

“I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

Lord God in heaven –

Give us the faith – the confidence – to know

You are there, You are great, and You will deliver us.

The Yuletide season can bring on emotional ups and downs.

But there is One who will never let us down –

our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ

in whose name we pray. 

Amen.

Holy Father,

Isaiah wrote, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”

May we see that light –

recognizing the gift of salvation through Jesus.

May we be full of that light; inviting the Holy Spirit into our hearts 

and emitting the light for the whole world to see.

May Your light, indwelling within us,

change us and fill us with hope and faithfulness.

In Jesus’ holy name. 

Amen.

Holy Father,

You are the one and only all-knowing, all-seeing,

all-powerful and ever-present God.

You knew us before we were born

and have adopted us into Your family

through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

You delight in us when we follow Your ways.

Let us never doubt that You hear our prayers.

Our ways are not Your ways,

but Your will is for our good.

We give to You our pain, our burdens, and our insecurities,

for You are in control and we trust You.

We praise You in Jesus’ holy name.

Amen.

Psalm 24, verse 1 says,

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”

Lord God,

Our bodies, our minds, are Yours.

Let us use them to honor and glorify You.

May our words be Your words,

and our actions evidence of Your desires.

May we give of ourselves in thankfulness for all You’ve done.

You give us life, breath, and sustenance.

You provided us a way back to You through Your Son, Jesus.

We thank You and praise You in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Lord God,

You say, “Ask and it will be given to you.”

We become impatient when it doesn’t happen immediately.

You say, “Seek and you will find.”

We become frustrated by the obstacles in our path.

You say, “Knock and the door will be opened to you.”

We try to ‘go it on our own’, and fumble with a ring full of keys.

Lord, help us to live by faith,

knowing that all things are accomplished on Your timetable.

May Your indwelling Spirit calm us

so that we may persevere through our hardships.

We live and move and breathe – not by our own power –

but by Your will alone, and You hold the key to life everlasting.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

Lord God,

You picked us up out of our sinfulness.

You rescued us and washed us clean.

You are with us every day,

urging us to be examples of Christ-likeness.

All this, not because of anything we’ve done or will do,

but because of Your love and mercy.

May we, as a community of believers,

show love and mercy to one another.

May we pick up those who have fallen

and help them back to the path that leads to You.

May we show the world the great hope that we have

in the name above all names – our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Holy Father,

We are by nature sinful;

influenced by the world, the devil and the flesh.

Yet You love us! You want what’s best for us.

You provided a means to our salvation through Your Son, Jesus.

All this not because of anything we’ve done,

but as a free gift out of Your great love and kindness.

We are eternally grateful and we live out our thankfulness

in a life of service to You.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Father God,

We are Your servants.

We are fully devoted to You and pray that

our behavior would reflect that devotion.

You desire that we show You love

by caring for our fellow man.

Help us to stop judging ourselves and others.

Rid us of envy and selfishness.

Fill us with compassion and humility.

We praise You in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Holy Father,

As You are in Jesus, may Jesus be in us.

Abide with us in our thoughts to always consider Your ways.

Be with us in our conversations, that we may speak Your truth.

Guide our steps that we may serve You in unity of spirit.

To God be the glory forever, through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Holy Father, we look forward to Jesus' second coming.
On our own, we are not deserving of salvation.
But we are assured of this gift through Jesus'
suffering, death and resurrection. Grant us wisdom
and discernment to prepare ourselves for that day.
Set our hearts and minds to accomplishing the
work You would have us do. To Him who sits on
the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor
and glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

Lord God, You alone are good.

Only You are worthy of our praise, honor, and worship.

It’s our duty – and our privilege – to serve You.

By our faith in Jesus, we’re not just changed –

we’re made NEW, having God in us.

May each of us be an example of what’s good in this world

- forgiving one another and living a life of faith.

In the name of our risen king, Jesus. Amen.

Lord God,

We thank You for Your Son Jesus

who taught us to live a life of servitude;

who modeled perfect adherence to Your will;

who demonstrated sacrificial love.

May Your Spirit strengthen and teach us

so that we may be like-minded with Christ

and follow His example.

For only by following Him

may we enter Your eternal dwelling.

He knows the way!

We pray that we never lose sight of Jesus

but follow Him closely, paying attention

to the direction He would have us go

and listening for His voice.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Holy Father,
When we are weak, You give us strength.
When we are afraid, You comfort us and give us assurance.
When we feel inadequate, Your Holy Spirit fills us and makes us whole.
We praise You and thank You for loving us, guiding us,
bearing the burden of our sin, and sustaining us.
May our hearts be focused on only You,
now - in the midst of prayer -
and later - when our weakness and fear try to consume us.
May we, instead, be consumed by Your Holy Spirit
and certain of Your faithfulness.
In Jesus' holy name. Amen.

Holy Father,

You sent Your Son into the world

not as a ruler, a king, or even a wealthy businessman.

Jesus came as a humble carpenter’s son

who was fully committed to the will of the Father.

Whatever our lot in life,

through fervent commitment to You, we can achieve great things.

Not by our own power, but by Your power at work in us.

Not because we are great, but because You are.

We pray for the wisdom to know You better

and the clarity to see the opportunities to serve You.

May our commitment be more like that of

our Savior, Jesus, in whose name we pray.

Amen. 

Holy Father,

We thank You for Your goodness and mercy.

You provide for us even when we forget to give thanks.

You remain beside us when our undesirable behavior has others fleeing.

You forgive us while we are still sinners.

We bring our indiscretions and shame to the cross 

- to Christ whose blood has redeemed us -

and by Your grace and mercy we are healed.

We thank You in the name of Your holy Son, Jesus.

Amen.