Here’s
an Advent prayer of petition from the Sword and Ploughshare website.
Advent
Prayer
O come,
O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear….
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear….
O holy
child of Bethlehem,
descend
to us, we pray.
Cast
out our sin and enter in,
be born
in us today….
Lord Jesus,
for whose coming Zechariah,
Elizabeth,
and all the faithful of Israel
waited with longing two millenia ago,
hear the prayers of your hungry
people today.
We mourn in exile from your
presence,
conscious of the sins that
separate us from you,
conscious of our faithlessness
in the task you have given us
to be the lights of the
world.
Lord, we are a barren people –
our faith is weak, our hearts are
cold, our churches are empty.
Lord Jesus, Hope of Israel,
who once did condescend to be born
of a virgin in a stable,
be born among us again today,
and give us the eyes to see you
in your humility.
Be born among us in the
preaching each Sunday
that we hear and the sacrament
we share.
Be born among us in small
groups where we fellowship
and hear you speaking to us
through one another.
Be born among us in our
ministries to the lost and to the needy,
and in our singing and worship
as we display your beauty.
Renew this church, and all your
churches,
with the power of your
presence,
with the terror and comfort of
your word,
with the courage to follow you
on the path of love
without pretense, love without
measure. Amen.
