Are you the one? A prayer for Advent 3

Lord we do feel as if life has been held hostage.
Around every corner, there seems to be another obstacle —
Barriers that stand in our way, trip us up and challenge our faith.

Lord we confess that our hope is not fully in you,
Our faith is not in your loving power at work in the world.

We so often put our faith elsewhere.
We put our hope in a new president,
In the activities of politicians,
In the work of scientists overcoming Covid-19,
In the improvement of the economy and our finances.

But while we pray for all these things,
Only you can save us, give us hope and bring us safely through.
Remind us, Lord, that your gift and our goal
is not health and happiness in this world,
It is not wealth and peace and security.

Your gift is eternal life, a place in the family of God;
You give us the gift of love and caring relationships,
The gift of discovering Christ at work in the world,
Finding the presence of God in the lives of people around us,
And bringing hope to desert places.

Though battered and bruised by the challenges we face,
Though afraid of what the next day might bring,
Though weary and desperate for rest,
Give us eyes to see you, a heart to receive you and courage to share our joy.

Help us to challenge our own and our neighbour’s fears
With the sure and certain hope that God is at work,
That those who hold life hostage are being defeated,
And that flowers are blooming even in our wilderness.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

A prayer for Sunday 13 December 2020
To listen to the sermon and the prayer, click here