Advent Prayers 2023

Advent Prayers – 23 December

Praying Together this Season

This year Advent is the shortest possible. It can feel like Christmas comes too quickly, without enough time. But God’s love has its own timing. One thing is clear in the Bible: God’s love is steadfast. On this we rely.

Light one candle for those unsure of love. Light one candle giving thanks for those who have loved you. Light one candle for our church, that it might be a beacon of love, an embrace of love, the body of love.

We pray:
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
Shine in us your light,
that foolish and wise might ask its source
and seek with us all the courses that lead to life,
so heaven and nature sing the wonders of your love,
able to repeat, over and over again, the sounding joy.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – full series 2023

Praying Together this Season

A special thanks to Terry MacArthur
for writing these daily prayers over the past weeks!

Advent Prayers – 21 December

Praying Together this Season

Human rights cannot be divorced from the plight of the earth. One has no freedom if one’s home is submerged by the sea. The right to work means little if drought has destroyed all the food. Light one candle for the seas and forests and all that live in them. Light one candle giving thanks for everyone who chooses to do something to reduce the amount of carbon put into the atmosphere. Light one candle for the scientists who keep working on equitable and practical solutions.

We pray:
Let heaven and nature sing, gracious God.
Let the trees clap their hands, and the bees dance the path to pollen.
Let the angels rejoice for all the people of goodwill.
Let the clouds and sun have time to rebalance what has gone out of line.
Turn us from waste and want,
from what is foolishly cheap and wantonly useless,
from what continues to destroy the earth,
toward all that rejoices in life,
so fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, angels, trees and bees,
can join the chorus in which all of heaven and nature sing the gift of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 22 December

Praying Together this Season

For some, the holidays can be lonely and depressing. We remember those for whom these days are difficult. Christmas joy gets boxed in with our individual trees if it can’t make space for those who have no one or no energy with which to celebrate. Light one candle for those who face the first Christmas without someone they love. Light one candle for someone you know who is struggling this Christmas. Light one candle for those lost in themselves, unable to find their way to others.

We pray:
No more let sorrow grow, God of life.
No more let unhealed wounds be the excuse to wound others.
No more let unattended grief remain a curse, its power increased with loneliness.
No more let festering disappointments crowd out all the blessings
that might otherwise flow from your love.
Even if many cannot fathom a radiant chorus with wings and light,
send them some angels who might whisper in their ears, “You are not alone.”
May the time become right to prepare room for Christ in their lives,
so his grace and truth heal, attend, bless.
Even if we don’t hear the angels sing,
send a reassuring sound, “You are not alone,”
so we prepare room for Christ in our lives,
so his grace and truth heal, attend, bless.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 19 December

Praying Together this Season

For too many, the horrors of war drown out the songs of Christmas. Light one candle for those who long for the release of captives. Light one candle for the families whose food is rubble and whose drink is tears. Light one candle for Bethlehem, whose Christmas will be marked by grief and uncertainty.

We pray:
Make the nations prove, Prince of Peace, the glories of your righteousness.
Bring to bear all the pressures possible so that violence might end.
Let the fields and floods once again repeat the sounding joy,
rather than the thunders of death and despair.
Set the rocks, hills and plains free,
so all their songs might employ healing, hope, and goodwill,
revealing the wonders of your love.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 20 December

Praying Together this Season

“Joy to the World” has become a classic Christmas carol. It can feel long on hope and short on results; still, the angels invite us to keep the story of the coming of Christ alive and vital. Light one candle for those who devote their lives to following Christ that they may be renewed. Light one candle for those who have forgotten the promise of Christmas and need new reminders of your love. Light one candle for yourself, that you might prepare room for the coming Christ.

We pray:
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
The earth is not very good at receiving you,
and oftentimes, neither are we.
Change our hearts, so we prepare you room,
not just an unused closet or a leftover bed,
but a room for your living in the heart of our living,
so love shines brighter than any star on a tree
and we become part of your story,
which sets others free to sing loudly,
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 16 December

Praying Together this Season

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights finds a biblical foundation in the incarnation. God dared becoming human. But God did not became human in a manner expected. Because God came as ordinary, no person is too ordinary to be ignored.

Light one candle giving thanks for Jesus Christ, God’s dwelling with us. Light the other candle for those who need the sustaining hope that Jesus can bring.

We pray:
Come now, O Prince of Peace.
Because no one is so poor you were not born for them, 
come to us in the poor. 
Because no one is so lost that you did not search for them, 
come to us in the lost. 
Because no one is so ill that your wounds might not make them whole, 
come to us in the sick. 
Because no one dies without your promise of resurrection, 
come to us in the dying. 
Make us one body,
praising your name, Jesus Christ, now and ever.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 18 December

Praying Together this Season

A week ago, Andy preached in the Madeleine about the importance of the word all in Psalm 145. God’s mercy is for all people, not just for some. The coming of Christ amplifies this. Christ comes for everyone, a gift unrestricted by language or culture or status. In some ways the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a secular, legal expansion of this important part of the gospel.

Today we light three candles. Light one candle giving thanks for the gift of Christ coming for everyone. Light one candle for Christians who don’t yet understand, or who don’t want to understand, that Christ also comes for those people they, or we, don’t like. Pray that the Spirit move in us all to rediscover the Gospel in more of its fullness. Like one candle that this season might draw the world to the love of Jesus, who comes to save everyone, no exceptions allowed.

We pray
Rule the world with truth and grace, Savior of all.
Come and make your blessings flow, 
overcoming sorrow and sin
so that no one, in no place, under no circumstances, feels cursed or bound. 
Root from us the thorns of prejudice, hurt and greed, 
so they no longer infest the ground, 
which then might flourish and flower with abounding love, 
now and always. 
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 14 December

Praying Together this Season

Light one candle praying for the work of the many international organizations with offices in Geneva. Name someone you know working for one of these institutions. Light a second candle praying for those dependent on the help these organizations provide.

We pray:
Come now, O God of love, make us one body. 
Protect those who put themselves in danger to serve others. 
Give courage to those whose compassion compels them to confront power. 
Sustain those who faithfully execute routine tasks
so others have sufficient support to do what they are called to do. 
Reconcile your people 
so we become your family, 
sisters and brothers of Christ Jesus. 
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 15 December

Praying Together this Season

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights finds a biblical root in the creation story of
Genesis. Every person, without exception, is created in the image of God. Even if we do not face overt oppression, we can forget that we carry God’s image. We are often drawn away from this basic affirmation as we face other expectations, other standards, other judgments.

Light one candle giving thanks that you are a child of God. You might say your name followed by the phrase, “Jesus loves me.” Light the second candle and pray for someone you know struggling to affirm God’s spirit within them. You might say their name followed by the phrase, “Jesus loves you.”

We pray:
Come now, O God of hope. 
With each breath, whisper to us your ongoing, never-ending love, 
so we become one body, 
overflowing with enough gratitude that we remind others that they, too, are loved by you.
Reconcile beyond our imagining what has been torn asunder.
Heal us all into your family,
through the cross of Christ Jesus, 
whose giving is ever born anew.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 12 December

Praying Together this Season

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

You are invited to light one candle for those in many parts of the world who lack most of the necessary social services, who have little access to food, clothing, housing. Name peoples or countries to remember them before God. Light another candle for those in Geneva, or other large cities, who sleep rough on streets, in doorways, under bridges. Even in Geneva where churches and government agencies are set up to help, homelessness persists.  
 
We pray. 
Come now, O Prince of Peace, make us one people, 
all sheltered within your arms, 
all safely gathered within communities of your care: 
reconcile us to one another, 
so that our welcoming hearts become stronger protection
than the sophisticated locks on our doors,
and compassionate spirits keep overcoming fears, 
as we follow you, Jesus Christ, 
who arrived in our midst without a reservation, 
yet dwelt with us in love.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 13 December

Praying Together this Season

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes the right to a work that provides human dignity. It even calls for equal pay for equal work. In our time, many young people do not have access to any jobs at all, much less meaningful work.

Light one candle for those who are desperate for a good job, whose lack of employment becomes a lack of dignity, whose inability to sustain one’s family becomes an inability to make choices both free and good. Light the second candle while you say the name of a jobless person you know.

We pray:

Come now, God of love, make us one people.
Remove from us the judgment that condemns the poor for their poverty,
that deplores those for whom we find no use as useless,
that drains dignity from those born in your image.
Come now, O God of love, make us one body,
bound together not by degrees of success,
but by the new life offered to all in Jesus Christ,
whose work was to give himself away,
whose glory was the cross.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 8 December

Praying Together this Season

Light a candle for Alexey Navalny, and all the Russians who are in prison because of their opposition to the war or to the Putin regime. They often do not see themselves as courageous. But they have risked their lives and the well-being of their families to protest against a dictatorship.

We pray:
O come, O come Emmanuel, the captives from their prison free.
Sustain those who face deprivation,
long days of silence,
endless sentences without reprieve.
Keep them sane, safe, and sure of your presence.
Let your face shine, God of freedom,
so they might find release and an end to tyranny,
through Jesus Christ. Amen

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Advent Prayers – 11 December

Praying Together this Season

This week in the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle we pray for the countries and people of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. All three suffered in the last century because of brutal wars and devastating dictatorships. In the service yesterday, we remembered article three of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.” In these countries, the ‘security of person’ is still threatened by unexploded land mines. Life and liberty are haunted by the memories of lost limbs and loved ones.

For the second week of Advent, you are invited to light two candles today. As you light the first, pray for healing from the brutality and violence in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. As you light the second, pray for those who mistakenly continue to promote violence and domination, that they might turn from wrong.   
 
We pray: 
Come now, O Prince of peace, make us one people, 
not by force of arms 
but by the healing of your cross.
Come now, so we breathe anew the depth of your love,
the cost of it,
the gift of it,
the joy it brings,
as we become one,
sisters and brothers in your family,
praying together,
Come now, O Prince of Peace, reconcile your people,
honoring your name, Jesus Christ.   
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 6 December

Praying Together this Season

Today is St. Nicholas Day. In one of the stories about him, he saved three girls from prostitution by dropping gold coins through the window of their house for three nights, so their father could pay the dowry. Unfortunately, many young girls (and sometimes boys) are still sold into prostitution. Their rights are taken away as quickly as their passports. Today light a candle for those who are trapped in a modern form of slavery.

We pray:
O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive girls and boys.
Let your face shine on them, so they might be saved.
Give them some means of escape, some hope of being loved rather than used,
some healing that rises above all the trauma of abandonment and fear.
Appear to those who mourn in lonely exile, God of freedom, God of justice,
and release them from their captivity.
O come, O come Emmanuel, and bring new life to those who have little cheer.
Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 7 December

Praying Together this Season

Light a candle for the people of Darfur in Sudan, especially those belonging to the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa communities, those “darker-skinned” tribes targeted by the Rapid Support Forces. With the world’s attention focused elsewhere, these peoples, threatened by ethnic cleansing, if not genocide, have little international protection while Sudan continues its civil war.

We pray:
O come, O come Emmanuel, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Drones and armed pick-up trucks spew destruction.
Danger swirls like dust in the wind.
Let your face shine, God of Life,
so that none are hunted because of the color of their skin.
Protect your children, all born in your image.
Bring peace to the Sudan so that your people might be saved,
through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 4 December

Praying Together this Season

Today, you might light a candle to pray for the Roman Catholic community of Marawi, Philippines, where a mass in a gymnasium at Mindinao State University was interrupted by a bomb that killed four people.

Let us pray:
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and put an end to religious hatred and violence. Let your face shine upon us, so that we learn peace. Heal the people of Mindinao, who have long suffered from intolerance, so that they might dwell in safety. Comfort those who mourn and support those taking care of the wounded. Send your chorus of angels to sing away their fear, announcing even in difficult times your good news in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Advent Prayers – 5 December

Praying Together this Season

Many of us know people facing illnesses of one kind or another. We often pray for those with acute disease. Less often do we remember those who face chronic difficulties, the slow slide downward, the lingering challenges. Today light a candle for those who are ill, especially those facing on-going conditions. Maybe take a moment to say their names aloud.

We pray:
O come, O come Emmanuel, disperse the gloomy clouds of night.
Bring healing, where healing is not foreseen,
mending spirits along with bodies so life might be full.
Even when uncertainty and pain seem to have the upper hand,
let your face shine on those for whom we pray,
that they might be saved
and find themselves in the strong embrace of your Beloved, Jesus Christ,
through whom we pray.
Amen.

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