Daily readings and prayers for the nine days before Christmas. Visit all the stations in the Garden, or check back here for a virtual prayer time. The full list of daily links can be found here.
Today's prayers
O Adonai (O My Lord)
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. (cf Exodus 3.2; 24.12)
Psalm 106. 1-13, 43-48
Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord who is good,
whose mercy endures for ever.
Who can declare your mighty acts, O Lord,
or show forth all your praise?
Happy are those who act with justice
and always do what is right!
Remember me, O Lord, with the favour you have for your people,
and visit me with your saving help;
that I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
We have sinned as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
In Egypt they did not consider your marvellous works,
nor remember the abundance of your love;
they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
But you saved them for your name’s sake,
to make your power known.
You rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up,
and you led them through the deep as through a desert.
You saved them from the hand of those who hated them
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
The waters covered their oppressors;
not one of them was left.
Then they believed your words
and sang you songs of praise.
But they soon forgot your deeds
and did not wait for your counsel.
…
Many a time did you deliver them,
but they rebelled through their own devices,
and were brought down in their iniquity.
Nevertheless, you saw their distress,
when you heard their lamentation.
You remembered your covenant with them
and relented in accordance with your great mercy.
You caused them to be pitied
by those who held them captive.
Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting;
and let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!
Prayer
O Lord, Word of God, You, whose glory is complete, came to us in perfect humility as a child in the womb. Your love for us and Your humility is unsurpassed and brings us to our knees in prayer and worship. Your incarnation forever changed the world.
O Lord, infant Jesus, give us the gift of Faith! You, Lord, deserve our complete faith. We pray for deeper and more perfect faith in you this Christmas. We also pray for these intentions… (State your intentions here)
May Your Holy Will be done in my life and with these intentions.
We pray that the work of salvation that Your first coming began
will reach fulfillment in each of us.
All Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now and forever shall be, world without end. Amen.
[artwork by linda witte henke]