So Christmas is over for this year. You have probably already made mental notes about what you will or will not do next year. And perhaps everything that has to be wrapped, boxed, and stored begins to overwhelm like an sudden downpour. Christmas with all its lights and merry-mess has had its day. You begin to think about getting back to the normal routine and maybe dreading it just a bit.
But wait. Why do we make Christmas a season or a day? Isn’t Christmas much more than that? God planned Christmas to take us to eternity. What took centuries to bring about can’t be stored in boxes to be brought out for a brief look each December.
That’s why I shared the December prayers of Zechariah, Mary, Simeon, and John. We need their prayers to help us celebrate Christmas every day. We need Zechariah’s silence to help us hear God whisper His instructions for our New Year. Without quietly presenting ourselves to God for the New Year, we tend to goal-set on our own and present our plans for God to bless. We need Zechariah’s go-before prayer so that before we take a step into our New Year, we have the confidence we are on a prepared path, one that God inspected and approved. We need to remember God’s mindful mercy that filled Mary’s heart with thanksgiving. We need her child-like faith that whatever God does for us and with us comes from His mercy and favor. And oh how we need to pray hungry for everything God wants to give us. We need Simeon’s God-given sight to see what God has promised for us. We need our ordinary days defined by God’s extraordinary presence and provision. These December prayers help us echo John’s prayer with new fervor, Come, Lord Jesus! Come today, anyway you want!
What December prayer will take you into what the New Year will share? Have you had time to think about it? Find a quiet corner before you get back to the way it was before Christmas. Review these December prayers and either adopt one for the year to come or write your own.
Christ did not come for Christmas trees and candlelight. He came for you. He would capture you with His unfailing love as your Emanuel. He would be your vision and your heart. He would be your hope and your help. He would be so completely your everything that nothing or no one can make of your life less than what He wants. He would make it Christmas every day and help you find your new prayers that He already has the answers for.
Will you join me in making it Christmas every day? Perhaps you should leave a few of the symbols around that tell the story. Let them remind you to pray the December prayers that will bring everything God planned for you to have through Jesus. Christmas isn’t over. It’s only just begun.
