Thursday 30 November 2017

A Prayer for Advent

God of Advent, in a world of chaos, you can be very hard to find.
The good news of your presence can seem at best a mystery.

So teach us to wait for your unveiling, and give us faith to trust in your revelation.

When our world is in winter, comfort us with faith that the long dark nights, and cold hard days, do not last for eternity.

Help us to learn the lesson of the skeletal tree against the winter sky, and the dormant bulb in the frosted ground. Help us to trust that new life is already nascent within our world of winter, and that days of darkness contain within themselves the assurance of your coming to all who seek you.

So today we bring before you the needs of our winter world,
            and we offer our faith in the in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.

We pray for our planet, and we rejoice that progress has been made on tackling climate change, but we recognise that there is so much still to do; and that countries will need the courage to act against self-interest if genuine change is to be achieved. Give us the courage to speak out, and to call your world to the self-less path which brings life.

We pray for all those who are victims of natural disasters. May we learn to live in ways that are in harmony with the natural world.

In a world of winter, we offer our faith
            in the in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.

In a world of war and terror, we pray for peace on earth. When nations and ideologies take up arms to fight for right, we find wrong on all sides.

War has created the current crisis in Europe faced by those who have nowhere else to live, and refugees now seek new life far from home. But people-movement leads to fear and suspicion, and violence and bullying stalk the streets and whisper in the corridors of power.

Lord, forgive us. Help us to find a new way, where the spirals of violence find their end in you, as you call us to a new way of being human where forgiveness trumps retaliation, and violence stops with us.

In a world of winter, we offer our faith
            in the in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.

We pray for all those who suffer because of their faithful witness to your kingdom of peace, and we think especially of those Christians who face harassment, discrimination, slander, false accusation, detention, and imprisonment, because they will not turn from your path. We pray that they will remain strong in faith and trust, despite physical and psychological abuse, and that they will know your presence with them as they walk the costly path of the cross. We thank you for organisations like Release International, Action by Christians Against Torture, and Amnesty International, as they face the darkness with unflinching gaze.

In a world of winter, we offer our faith
            in the in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.

We pray for those who find this time of year especially difficult. We think of those who find the loss of loved ones hard to bear, when so many are focussing on family. We pray for those for whom the coming Christmas festivities speaks of unfulfilled dreams. And we ask that you will reveal yourself to those who mourn, and to those who are sad. Be their comfort and joy, and may those of us who are happy be attentive to those who are not.

In a world of winter, we offer our
            faith in the in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.

Loving God of Advent, we await your coming, and we anticipate your revelation, and we long for your unveiling.


Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
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