Praying for Hope in the One Who Really is Christmas

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Christmas is just days away and as I read through and lift up the prayer requests left on the Blessing Counters Prayer Page, I can’t help but notice how families seem to have two areas of pain and concern that rise to the top … especially at this time of the year.

Finances and relationships.

It’s funny how we get it into our heads that this year we need to do everything we can to make our memories perfect. And for many of us, that means all of our loved ones blissfully gathered together around an amply piled Christmas tree.

Now, I’ll be one of the first to admit – that loving relationships are important and part of God’s desire for us. And I’ll also admit that this time of year makes our broken relationships even more painful. And I know that giving gifts at Christmas is one of the ways we express that love.

I’m also aware that many of the problems people are praying about are greater than gifts and gatherings. It’s just that the Christmas season tends to make us even more aware of what’s lacking in those areas of our lives.

And I wonder if we aren’t all tempted to put a bit of our Christmas focus on what’s less important. I wonder if we expect people and things to fill a hole in us that only God Himself is able to satisfy?

What if we’re hoping God will fix our circumstances … forgetting that He has already given us everything we need in and through Jesus to fix everything in our lives forever.

So, I’m pausing from all the planning and preparations and praying for HOPE. I’m praying to let go of the less important to focus on the One who is the hope of Christmas … Jesus!

Praying for Hope in the One Who Really is Christmas

Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone.

Psalm 33:22

Father, my prayer is that You alone might be my source of hope. The hope You give is the confidence that I can trust Your promises. Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise You have ever made. He is the Living realization of Your love and through Your Spirit … Your unfailing love surrounds me.

You show me through Your Word and the details of my life that I am secure when I place my trust in Jesus, the promise and source of my salvation.

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:10–11

Father, I try to imagine what that night must have been like. The night the Word in flesh took His first breath of earthly air. The night Your Garden promise was fulfilled.

As I celebrate Jesus’ birth in a few days, please settle my heart and mind on Your grace, mercy, and love. Help me focus on the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord … the One who gave up everything to give me hope I can count on. Hope that is the assurance of Your grace, mercy, and love.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Oh Father, how I love these words of Jesus. It’s so tempting to worry about our finances and relationships. This world is broken and too often it robs me of my peace and contentment … things You want for me. Things You invite me to bring to You. Things You want me to bring to You. Things You offer to help me carry.

Thank you! I bring You every concern and burden and ask You to replace it with hope … by Your grace and for Your glory.

God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

Hebrews 6:17–18

Father, Your promises are sure and unchanging. I can count on You and trust Your Word. I can rest secure in Jesus … the Way, Truth, and Life. So, I run to the safety of Your embrace confident that I can place my hope in You … not just for today, but for the New Year, and for the rest of forever.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
    His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:21–23

Father, I will hold this promise close to my heart whenever I am tempted by doubt and fear. I will remember with hope…

Your unfailing love is perfect and lasting. Your mercy covers every part and every moment of my life. Your grace makes it possible for me to know with certainty that my problems are temporary … that Your grace is sufficient to give me hope when life overwhelms me.

I will hold on to the hope I have in Jesus, the promised One who is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End … the One who came to earth to live the perfect life I am unable to live and suffered the death I deserve that He might rise again to give me life forever with You.

That is grace and mercy. That is Jesus. That is HOPE in the One who is Christmas! My thanks and worship and praise are Yours forever and always. Amen.

I’m Praying for Hope for You

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed by expectations you are putting on yourself or disappointed by your circumstances or the choices of others, know that this is my prayer for you today…

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

May your celebration be blessed by the One who is Christmas.

You see the meaning of the word Christmas is Christ’s Mass. He is the reason we celebrate. He is the gift that will last forever. He is the source of our hope!

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