Prayers of a Preacher

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Eternal God, our Father, we bow before Thee and the ineffable mystery of this Christmas story. There are no words we can find to express the longings of our hearts and no way we can find to explain how Thou hast become man to meet our deepest need.

We only know that He who came has poured a stream of redeeming love into our own polluted hearts and into the dark waters of history--and that it is possible in Him to be pure again. We only know that He has brought new life to the world. We only know that to those who have received Him, He has given the power to become the sons of God.

O Lord, we speak so glibly of a generation gap between the young and old, but fail to see the great chasm which divides our world and our own lives from Thee. We want to love and to be loved, but we continue to hate and to do those things which breed hatred. We long for peace, but we make war. We cry for freedom and even demand it, but we do things and form habits which bring only bondage. We know Thou hast set eternity in our hearts, but we live for the things which are seen, temporal, and which last only for a moment. May we come to know once more this holy Christmastide that Jesus Christ was born for this--to bridge this chasm and to bring us once more to Thee for whom we were made.

As we pray in thanksgiving for those we love who are with us this Christmas, we would pray even more in intercession for those we love who are away from us. We pray especially for those separated by wars. Forgive us for a world that has not yet accepted Him who came to bring peace on earth. Show us, Father, and show the representatives of the nations the path of reconciliation and peace by way of the Cross and help us to walk in it. As we enjoy our own health, teach us to pray for the sick. And as we mingle in love with our families, help us to pray for those who must this Christmas look at a vacant chair.

Even so, O Lord, whatever our circumstances--in joy or sorrow, in plenty or in want, we would join with each other in coming once more with all the faithful to adore Him who is born the King of angels--Christ the Lord! It is in His name that we pray. Amen