His law is love and his gospel is peace: an advent prayer of hope and renewal

A few years back, these song lyrics captured my heart. While listening to “O Holy
  Night” the words became experiential for me, they came alive. In this season of
  advent, we are in a period of waiting. Advent is the time where we wait for the
  coming of Jesus. For a few years, I struggled to make sense of my faith journey.
  I walked away confused and wanting answers. What I found from a few years
  dangling, hanging in the dark, is that the faith journey is about connection- to
  God, a loving source of newness and love, wanting the very best for us. When
  we keep the spiritual journey “in our heads” it remains lifeless, not often leading
  to the kind of change in our lives we are capable of. When we open our hearts to
  loving-grace, a God that desires wounds to be healed, we are moved out of the
  habits and self-stories that don’t serve us on a path to renewal.

What I find in this time of year is that rather than experiencing joy- in the faith
  journey, in close relationships- many people are experiencing pain. In my work I
  see people struggling to repair strained relationships, struggling to find their own life path, hoping to heal old wounds that still keep them trapped to this day. So, in light of the song lyrics that birthed newness in my own life, I want to offer a Christmas prayer. Read this prayer slowly and allow the words to sink to the deepest parts of your heart:

Dear ever-loving God,

I pray for newness

I pray for old wounds to be healed

I pray for the courage to be honest

Your law is love and your gospel is peace

Bring more love into our hearts, for those who have wronged us, and for ourselves

Bring more peace into strained relationships

Truly you taught us to love one another

May you provide the insight on what boundaries need to be set

Both to teach ourselves that we matter

And to set the platform for the right kind of relationships in our lives

God, break chains and end oppression

Give hope to the weary

And provide the ability to sing sweet songs of joy

You are a God of hope, joy and love

May we see the manifestation of that in our lives

Amen & Merry Christmas!

Amy