A Prayer for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

And for Each Day of the Year[1]

 

“Oh, divine Creator, you who exist beyond our physical universe and within it and even within my heart; Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within us. You created the heavens and stars and the infinite complexity of our material world; you are the source and foundation of all things. We are given courage to turn to you not because of our virtue, but because you came to us many years ago in a stable on a bright chilly night.

 

Were it not for Your coming to us with such humility and grace, I doubt if I would be able to turn to you now. For some reason beyond my understanding, you cherish us human beings and you sent your Son, your creative being, to Mary and to Joseph and to the world. As I turn to you, Abba, I humbly ask one thing only: that you send the infant Christ to be born in my heart. Let him grow there to bring peace, joy, strength, and courage, understanding and patience, love and gratitude. Once I experience these gifts, I can share them with all those around me.

 

Abba, I have tried to bring my confused life into order, and I find I cannot do it without your help. My life is torn and divided like the world into which the Christ child came. There are parts of me like Herod who would destroy this divine child. There are parts of me like the Romans who would rule my life for their advantage. There are parts of me that are broken and sick, in bondage and prison, just as there were in the world in which Jesus came. I have tried again and again to bring harmony, peace, and love into my soul, but where joy might abide, there is often sorrow; where I should find peace, I see conflict; where I would like to find strength and courage, I discover cowardice and weakness; where I would like to see love and gratitude, there is anger and selfishness; where I look for humility and simplicity, I see pride.

 

I do not like what I find within me as it mirrors the world around me. Try as hard as I can, I cannot change myself without your help. Abba, send the Christ child into my heart and let his spirit grow in me. His spirit can knit the tattered, raveled edges of my soul. Only the indwelling Christ can reconcile the conflicting, antagonistic forces that war in our world and within us. Only he can make the lion lie down with the lamb.

 

Abba, send your Son into my heart, that he may not only be born there but also grow and mature and take over the direction of my life. May your love make of me something of value and worth, someone in whom you can rejoice. May the stable of my soul be transformed and become a temple filled with your Spirit. May my soul be transformed and become a beacon, shedding light in the midst of a dark and troubled world. Oh, risen Jesus, I pray this in your name, you who humbled yourself to be born of a virgin in a stable in an occupied country in order to show me the infinite mercy and love of the divine Creator.”


[1] Morton Kelsey, The Drama of Christmas: Letting Christ into Our Lives (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), 107-108.

The Rev. Sharron L. Cox
Associate for Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Ministries
If you would like to reply to this devotional, please email
the Rev. Sharron Cox at scox@smec.org.