I am so grateful for the days when we remember that God is with us, when we realize even for a moment that God is here to stay. I shared this prayer tonight at our Christmas Eve service with the sacred fellowship at Village Baptist Church. Let’s pray together.

God, Who keeps company with us, Who didn’t send a divine representative but put on flesh and left the gated community of heaven to send a message: “I am with you.” “What are human beings that You are mindful of (us), mortals (lit. son of man) that You care for (us)? (Psalm 8.4)” Who are we that You tied Yourself to a woman just to reach out to us, that You moved into her womb just to get next to us, that You settled for a manger so that You could make room for us in heavenly mansions?
We offer our thanks and give You praise because we could not have created a God so merciful. We could not have imagined a God so good. We could not have a hand in the making of a God so powerful. So, we have come to applaud Your works. We have come to join our hands with Yours. We have come to raise our hands and bear witness that You have been with us today and throughout the year. We have come to declare, “God is with me.”

We confess that Your presence is very much needed in our world and outside of our windows. Without Your hands, we would throw ours up in despair. You are our hope for “some take pride in chariots and some in horses but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20.7).  As fears increase, we pray that our faith would increase. As anxiety rises, we pray our awareness of You would become palpable. As terrorist attacks are mounted and panic spreads, we pray that we would be reminded that “Your name is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are safe” (Proverb 18.10).

We confess that the world will not fall apart because it remains in Your hands. We confess that our confidence rests with the God who is so powerful that even as an infant, governments are threatened. As we worship, strengthen our faith in the God who works from the womb and bolster our conviction that You are with us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.