Advent Prayers inspired by Zechariah and Elizabeth

PRAYER 1 - for use at Communion

Advent-urous God, we marvel at the ways in which you come to us,

            through the courage of the prophets,

                        through the faithfulness of the priests,

            through the openness of women and men to new life,

                        through vulnerability and fragility,

            through water, bread, and wine.

And so we pray for a world

            that is ever needful of your coming.

We pray for those who have no voice,

            for those who pass silently through our world,

            ignored and side-lined, marginalised and dispossessed.

We think of those in our society who are homeless,

            of those who live with disability,

            of those who are refugees and cannot speak English;

and we give thanks for those who can speak out,

            for those who advocate,

            and for those who seek to empower others.

  

We pray for those who have no voice.

We pray also for those who struggle with faith,

            for whom doubt is crippling,

            who long to see you, but just can’t find you.

We offer our thanks for the rituals of faith

            that keep the rumour of your coming alive.

May those who seek, find,

            and may those who are lost, be found.

We pray for those who struggle with faith.

We pray also for all new parents,

            as through each fragile new life, made in your image,

            you commit yourself once again to this world.

We thank you for the examples of Zechariah and Elizabeth,

            and Mary and Joseph, and Abraham and Sarah.

Be with those who long for children but cannot conceive,

            and with those whose children are unplanned,

            and with those children who are fighting for life.

In the midst of the complexities of our lives,

            come to us afresh to spark hope, joy, and life.

We pray for all new parents.

We pray for ourselves,

            and we open our own lives to your coming,

                        as you re-shape us, and re-make us,

                        and forgive us, and renew us.

May we know you deeply,

            and have the courage to speak,

            the faith to persevere,

            the vulnerability to risk,

            and the hope to seek after your coming.

All these prayers we offer through our saviour Jesus Christ,

            God made flesh.

Amen.

PRAYER 2

Great God of unexpected endings, there are times when we find ourselves left speechless in wonder at the mystery of your presence. We pray today for and with all who wish to offer prayers of grateful thanksgiving but do not know how or to whom they should pray.

We lift up our hearts with expectant mothers and proud new fathers, and we rejoice with those who see in the miracle of new life the hope of the future of the world.

We proclaim in your name the innate equality of each child born, whatever their gender, nationality, ethnicity, social standing, or sexuality. And we commit ourselves to seeing the image of God reflected in all, as we offer prayers of wonder at the miracle of life.

Great God of unexpected endings, there are times when we find ourselves left speechless in anticipation at the hope of your coming. We pray today for and with all those who are desperately longing for a different future, but who do not know how or to whom they should pray.

We offer our voices in solidarity with the refugees and would-be asylum seekers who are stranded at the border posts of Europe, a new future before them but trapped in the silence of waiting for the new world to come to them and their families. We pray especially for those who are working to alleviate suffering and hasten a humane solution to the crisis.

We proclaim in your name the innate equality of each human being who has been created in your image, and we commit ourselves to the radical gospel vision of peace and reconciliation between peoples.

Great God of unexpected endings, there are times when we find ourselves left speechless in powerlessness at the futility of our lives and actions. We acknowledge before you that even after all our efforts the world is still not as the world should be, and in the quiet darkness of our hearts we confess the fear that all our strivings have simply made things worse.

We are powerless to prevent war, we are powerless to stop our friends and loved ones from becoming ill and dying, we are powerless in the face of systems and institutions of great power that control far more than they have any right to.

And in the midst of the silencing of powerlessness, we still our hearts from panic and we pray to hear the cry of a baby cutting through the babble of the world as Christ comes to us, your words made flesh, salvation spoken in time and space..

Great God of unexpected endings, come once again to this wondering, anticipating, and powerless world. 

Come to us in our silence. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, O come, Immanuel. 

Amen.