Daily Prayers Friday, 2 December 2022

Welcome to our Friday prayer time.

Today, at the end of this first week of Advent, we are going to begin with an Advent hymn – ‘Sing we the king who is coming to reign’, sung by the Wesleyan Symphonic Choir, Ghana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2VboZhk6rE

On Sunday, we lit the first candle on our Advent ring. On the first Sunday of Advent, we traditionally light a candle of hope.  Many people are finding life difficult at present, especially with the soaring cost of living, while some are still finding it difficult to return to what they saw as their ‘normal’ life before Covid.  Let’s reflect on the difference it makes when times are hard if we are sure that things will improve.

Christ gives us hope in our lives, enabling us to face all that life brings in the knowledge that we are not alone.  And so, we can thank God for the gift of Christ and look forward to his coming again at Christmas with confidence and trust.

Loving God, as the nights get darker, we thank you for the light which Christ brings into our lives.  We pray that as we move into Advent, we may keep close to you, continuing to seek your guidance and trusting in your love and mercy.

It’s Advent. Not yet Christmas. The time for us to prepare. To get ready once more for the coming of Christ.

Let us prepare to welcome him.
Let us take time to reflect.
Let us reflect on the path in life we have chosen.
Let us reflect on God’s love for us and all people.
Let us reflect, be awake and be ready.
Let us prepare to receive Christ.
When God reigns there is room for us all.

God, our guide and our redeemer, as we reflect on all that has passed during the last year and look forward to all that you will offer us in the year to come, help us to use this Advent season as an opportunity to prepare ourselves for Christmas – not the commercial Christmas, not even the celebrations we may have with family or friends, but the Christmas which reminds us that Jesus came into the world and remains with us, to guide our thinking and our actions day by day.  Amen.

And finally, an Irish blessing – The Irish Blessing

Rosemary Kearsey