Here’s
a pastoral prayer for the third Sunday of Advent, Year A. It comes from the Lutheran Forum website.
Prayer for Advent 3A
(inspired by Isaiah
35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10)
Lord
Jesus Christ,
like
John the Baptist we want to know if you are the Messiah.
You
tell us to listen and to take notice of you in this world,
and
then, from experience, you talk about the kingdom of heaven.
Open
our eyes to see the lame walking, cures occurring,
and
hope rising in the kingdom that shall come,
all
as evidence of your presence among us.
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
Dearest
Father, your glory is made manifest
by
the strength you give us as your believing people.
Fear
dissipates when you are near.
Weak
knees no longer tremble.
We
want to sing, and joy replaces doubt.
We
reach for you with our feeble hands,
but
it's your hand that holds us fast.
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
Holy
Spirit, we need your counsel.
We
do not wait well.
Like
farmers waiting for crops to ripen, we need to remember
that
your time and presence saturates all of our days,
especially
those in which nothing much seems to be happening.
And
then you make us bloom in due season
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
We
remember, Lord, that you set the prisoners free,
and
gave justice to the wronged.
Now
you care for parent-less children and surviving spouses through us,
your
hands and heart and voice in a world
that
does not see loneliness as suffering.
Be
present through us as we attend to all in need.
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
As
we name those whom we know have special needs for healing,
remind
us of our own need to be prayed for by the faithful.
Hear
us as we speak aloud, or in our hearts, the names of those who need you,
even
as we whisper our very own names ____.
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
Soon,
Jesus, comes the Day of Christmas, your incarnation.
Help
us, like children, to feel the excitement,
for
we are all children of the Heavenly Father.
Stir up your power
and come: Be born anew in us.
All
the earth, seas, and heavens are yours,
and
we pray these prayers
because
you have promised to listen to us. Amen.
~
from the Lutheran Forum website. http://www.lutheranforum.org/extras/Advent_3.pdf
