O God of hope and anticipation, we give you thanks for these four weeks of Advent to help us prepare for the greatest gift that we can ever receive, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. As we light a new Advent candle each week, we can see more clearly what we truly want in this world, your presence in our lives.
Your presence that offers us joy even when we are going through a time of darkness in our lives, when we are facing the agonizing pain of a broken relationship, when we are stricken with health problems, when we are feeling empty and discouraged.
And this is what we want for those who are on our hearts and minds this day including those on our church’s prayer list, that they would know of your comforting, healing, and guiding presence.
Whenever we grow weary in our faith and wonder if you even hear our prayers, remind us to look back to this Sunday and the brightly lit pink candle that invites us to sing aloud and rejoice because you are with us in this season of waiting. You are with us in our time of exile where we long to be at home with you. You are with us in that prison cell where we feel isolated and alone. You are with us in the midst of any challenges we may be facing.
In these next few moments, we pause to silently reflect on today’s Advent question, “What do I truly want in life?” [PAUSE]
O God, take all of our wants that we have just now offered to you, and may we join them with the writer of our prayer hymn who offers what he really wants in this Season of Advent which is, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” This is what we truly want as well even as we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us to say…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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