Advent Prayer Challenge Day 28 - December 24
What Matters
Read Luke 1:67-79
Light four candles and say together
Shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. Guide our feet into the path of peace.
(From Luke 1:79)
Reflection
Christmas is about a baby.
All of my children were born in the first four months of the year, so I was always pregnant the Christmas before they were born. Those Advents were incredibly personal to me because my pregnancy gave me a physical connection to the Christmas story.
Similarly, Zechariah had his own baby immediately before the first Christmas. This was a baby that he had waited a lifetime for. Waiting for the advent of this baby had been silent and limiting as his voice had been taken from him. But when his baby, John, was born and his voice was restored, Zechariah used his renewed voice to praise God.
In Zechariah’s praise psalm, he mentions his own child, but he is more focused on the Messiah whom God would send. His child, who fulfilled the dreams of Zechariah’s earlier days, was barely a week old, and yet Zechariah was focused on another’s child whose advent was still dawning. His prayer had been answered but he was still waiting in ready anticipation.
As you put the last finishing touches on your Christmas preparations or you already begin to settle into the celebrations of the season, don't let the arrival of this celebration shift your focus from what really matters. Our celebrations can be earnest and full but like John, the baby who was told he would point people towards Jesus, Christmas is meant to keep our hearts and eyes looking forward to the promises God will still fulfill through Jesus.
Reflect and Discuss
- Are you ready for Christmas to be over yet or are you still able to anticipate joyfully?
- What does it mean to you to continue to live in a state of waiting on God, even after Advent is over?
Pray
Lord, let us not be so quick to forget this season and forget this reason the minute the presents are put away. May we be changed by this Advent and Christmas, and may we continue to watch for your hand at work in our lives.
Amen
Advent in Action
Light up Christmas Eve with Christmas lights and candles. Then, spread Christ’s light into the new year.
More information about our Advent Prayer Challenge can be found here.
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