A Holiday Prayer for the Church

Dear God and father,

You know that this is the season where we in the body of Christ are debating on how to celebrate this time of this year, on what to call this time of the year, and even whether we will celebrate it or not;

This time of the year shows hoe we, Your sons and daughters in the West, have let the culture turn us upside down instead of transcending our culture;

Forgive us;

You see how so many of Your sons and daughters in the West, while we talk about "keeping Christ in Christmas," are joining non-Christians in stringing up lights, putting up Christmas trees, buying presents and running up credit card debt, preparing rich foods, going to parties, and getting all stressed out;

You want so much more for us and for us to remember and share Your Gift that lasts all year and forever;

At this time of the year we talk about "wish lists" but You have a "wish list" for us to grant;

You want us to know Your Son. Let us give You the gift of growing in knowing You and making You known;

You want us to love You and tell us that love is translated "obedience'; let us grow in love for You and in obedience to You;

You want us to love those Whom You love so let us love people for You;

You want peace in this world through people meeting the Prince of Peace so send us to people who need to make peace with You;

You want us to be united as the Church in all essentials of the Gospel while being diverse in non-essentials so let is be united in essentials and diverse in non-essentials;

You want Your worldwide Church, those of us in the West and those in impoverished, restricted and hostile areas of the world, to stand together and recognize that we are all one body of Christ;

You want to heal, comfort, love, strengthen, and give hope to all those who are having a tough time during this time of the year so let us reach out to others in need;

You want to encourage and cheer on all the faithful who are following Jesus and taking You seriously, so let us make sure we are among them and look to Jesus Who is our Source;

Thank You for Your Gift, the reason so many people celebrate this time of the year;

Brothers and sisters in Christ, consider being an answer to this prayer. Will you give a child a gift that will last all year, and sponsor that child? Visit here. Thank you!

Always,

Lisa DeSherlia

The photo at the top of this post is provided courtesy of Compassion International.