Christmas Prayer
by Peter Marshall
We yearn, our Father,
for the simple beauty of Christmas -- for all the old famliar melodies
and words that remind us of that great miracle when He who had made all
things was one night to come as a babe, to lie in the crook of a woman's
arm.
We bring Thee our gratitude for every token of Thy love, for all the
ways Thou hast heaped blessings upon us during the years that have gone.
And we do pray, Lord Jesus, that as we celebrate Thy birthday, we may do
it in a manner well pleasing to Thee. May all we do and say, every
tribute of our hearts, bring honor to Thy name, that we, Thy people, may
remember Thy birth and feel Thy presence among us even yet.
May the loving kindness of Christmas not only creep into our hearts, but
there abide, so that not even the return to earthly cares and
responsibilities, not all the festivities of our own devising may cause
it to creep away weeping. May the joy and spirit of Christmas stay with
us now and forever.
Before such mystery we kneel, as we follow the shepherds and Wise Men to
bring Thee the gift of our love -- a love we confess has not always
been as warm or sincere or real as it should have been. But now, on this
Christmas Day, that love would find its Beloved, and from Thee receive
the grace to make it pure again, warm and real.
In the name of Jesus, who came to save His people from their sins, even in that lovely name we pray. Amen.
