A Christmas Morning Prayer

On Christmas morning, we bow before the cradle.  When we do so, we set our eyes on Jesus.  May we always remember to look to Him for wisdom in all things and to seek Him for guidance in every situation.

Let us also remember the “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us and are now in Heaven.  They are no longer with us, but many have left a legacy of faith and a vision of hope that encourages us until we join them in the presence of Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2  …since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Please take a minute to join us in praying a very special Christmas morning prayer.  These beautiful words were written by a long-departed witness for Christ, acclaimed author Robert Louis Stevenson.  His words live on as a testimony of gratefulness, joy, and hope found in Jesus at Christmas time and all throughout the year.

A Christmas Morning Prayer

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)¹

O God, our loving Father, help us
Rightly to remember the birth of Jesus,
That we may share in the song of the angels,
The gladness of the shepherds,
And the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the
Door of love all over the world.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
That Christ brings, and teach us
To be merry with clear hearts.

May this Christmas morning make us
Happy  to be Thy children, and
May the Christmas Evening bring us to our beds
With grateful thoughts, forgiving, and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.

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¹Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and A Child’s Garden of Verses. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most-translated authors in the world.

About Prayer

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• Do You Say or Pray The Lord’s Prayer? by Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky (1690—1774)
  
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• Hear My Prayer, O Lord – 12 Supplications
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• A Little Girl’s Prayer for Her Daddy
• The LORD Receives My Prayer
• A Heart for God Revealed in St. Patrick’s Prayer (video)
• Prayers from Billy Graham
• Incessant Prayer (Communion with God)
• The Word and Prayer Together
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• And Hezekiah Prayed
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• Praying Like The Master
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• My Prayer? That You Would Know . . . .
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• Why didn’t God answer my prayers and heal my loved one?
• What are the various types of prayer? How should I pray?
• Why does the Catholic church pray to “saints,” if Jesus is the only one who can answer prayers?