A Prayer For Hope

 

 

God of light, giver of life and source of love, we thank You that in this Christmas season we are reminded that we worship a God of hope.  In Your Word we read, “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Hope is as a power that moves and motivates us in every circumstance of life.  Hope is fuel for the journey.  It is Your gift to us as we make our way into the future we do not know.  It is what makes us tenacious, audacious and adventurous.  It never fails us, never disappoints us, never betrays us.

 

It is hope that changes our fears into faith; it is hope that changes our desperation into daring; it is hope that changes our anxiety into acceptance; it is hope that changes our apathy into anticipation; it is hope that changes our caution into confidence and it is hope that changes our grief into gladness.

 

We thank You for the hope of those who wait for bones to heal, for pain to subside and for health to return.  We thank You for the hope of the unemployed, may they find employment soon.  We thank You for the hope of the hungry, may the generosity of others provide for that hunger.  We thank You for the hope of the lonely, may someone fill their lives with love.  We thank You for the hope of any who may spend this season with regrets and remorse, may they find forgiveness and healing.  We thank You for the hope of those who are experiencing marriage problems, may they know that many with similar difficulties have come to know peace and happiness.  May all be given the faith to believe that though from time to time the object of our hope may need to be altered and changed, yet we are never to give up hope.  Our hope may change but let us never become hopeless.

 

Father, all who live in hope, dance as with a fiddle.  Let our hope in Your sovereign grace and Your endless mercy help us to dance in the night and to sing in the morning.

 

This we pray in the name of the Christ, whose birth we celebrate in this holy season.  

 

Amen