Cindy Powell

I wrote this years ago and also posted it last year on my blog. Seems like a good time to post it again. May you have a blessed and wonder-filled Christmas!

Dear Father, 

Thank You for the priceless gift of Your Son. This Christmas I pray that the miracle of the Incarnation—that God became flesh and dwelt among us—will be birthed anew in my heart. Open my eyes to see with fresh insight. Let me come to You with the faith and trust of a child. Help me to stand in amazement at the wonder of it all … God in a manger … the King of Glory in swaddling clothes … the Lord of all creation, a helpless infant. 

I don’t get it, Lord. I wouldn’t have planned it that way.  You came in a way that was so humble; so unpretentious. You made it seem almost—well—normal.  Help me to learn from that. This Christmas, help me not to miss the supernatural by looking for the spectacular.  Help me not to miss the holy among the ordinary moments of life. Because that’s how You came. You were born into an ordinary family. You walked among ordinary men and women.  Men and women just like me.  The extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary. 

Lord, there is so much pressure at Christmas time; so many expectations. And often, so many disappointments. It’s easy to forget what’s important. Remind me Lord—in the busyness, in the commercialization, and even in loneliness and disappointment—help me to remember what’s important.  And what’s most important is You.  

Lord, I pray for “holy moments.” Moments when I get it.  Moments when the eternal transcends the temporal.  Moments that cause me to pause and reflect on the miracle of who You are and what You’ve done for me.  Moments when I understand how extraordinarily valuable this ordinary life is to You.  Moments of realization that even the most humble and ordinary life can be transformed by Your simplest touch; by Your gentlest whisper.  They may be just moments, but hidden in my heart they’ll live forever.   They’ll change me forever. 

Jesus, You are the reason for the season, but I know You’re also so much more. I want You to be the reason for each and every moment of my life. Be the reason for every breath; every heartbeat. Help me to live a life that celebrates Your birth—Your life—each and every day of mine.   Most of all Lord, I pray that maybe, just maybe, You will use this very ordinary life as a vessel of Your incredibly extraordinary love.