8 Prayers for Advent and Christmas: Hope, Peace, Joy & Love
Advent is a season of preparation. On the Christian calendar, it is a season for preparing to celebrate the incarnation, the arrival of God on earth in the form of a Man. Today, we’ll explore 8 prayers for Advent and Christmas as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Share these prayers with family and friends or use them in your own quiet moments of reflection.
May these prayers help you fix your eyes on the reason for Christmas.
Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free Advent devotional and a link to a library of free devotional books and eBooks!
8 Prayers for Advent and Christmas
Your Christmas season might be full of noise and excitement, or this might be a difficult time for you.
It might be a quiet season filled with memories or regrets.
Wherever you find yourself on this day, I invite you to join me as we ask God to fill our lives with joy and peace today and beyond.
You might read these prayers and pray them in the quiet of your bedroom. Or you might share them as you gather with loved ones over dinner or gifts. Whatever the case, I pray they lead you closer to the Father’s heart of love today.
Prayers for Advent and Christmas
1. Pray that God’s love will be your ultimate source of hope.
Many months ago, in the middle of a stressful and difficult day, a friend looked at me across a crowded space and smiled at me in a way that changed my heart.
Immediately, something in me shifted. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I was failing, I felt affirmed, loved, and accepted.
Several weeks later, I was experiencing similar feelings of frustration, stress, and failure in a different situation. Suddenly, an image came to mind. I saw Jesus’ face smiling at me in the same way my friend had smiled weeks earlier. The moment affirmed Jesus’ love and approval, even when I felt insecure and doubtful.
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Jesus’ heart overflows with love for you. He wants this love to be the source of your hope.
Here is a prayer to pray:
“Jesus, thank you for your unfailing love for me. Thank you that even when I feel alone, forsaken, stressed, or discouraged, you look at me with abounding love flowing from your heart. Please help me experience this love in deeper ways today and beyond. I press into you to receive all of your love.”
2. Pray that your peace won’t be dependent upon circumstances alone.
Circumstantial peace is fleeting. When life is going well, most of us feel peaceful; however, when circumstances are difficult, our peace often falters.
It’s natural to face this ebb and flow. Nevertheless, Jesus wants to be our unchanging source of joy and peace even when life isn’t going well. Here is a prayer for peace amid challenging circumstances this Christmas and beyond:
“Lord, I find comfort in knowing that when you walked on the earth, you faced every trouble and temptation known to mankind. For this reason, you understand every emotion I feel. Thank you for your compassion for me. I pray you will fill me with supernatural peace, peace that isn’t contingent upon my circumstances. Please help me exude your peace so that others will be drawn to you through me.”
3. Pray that Jesus will be your source of joy, even amid trouble and chaos.
Jesus wants to fill you with his joy.
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Here is a prayer for Jesus’ joy to reign in our lives today and in the days to come:
“Dear Lord, thank you for being our source of true joy. Please help us turn to you when our peace is shaken. Fill our hearts and minds with your joy as we cast our cares on you. Help us shift from negative emotions to your joy today and in the days to come.”
Dear Lord, thank you for being our source of joy. Please help us turn to you when our peace is shaken. #peace #prayer #joy Share on X4. Thank God for coming to dwell among us as our source of all joy and peace.
Here is a prayer of gratitude to add to these prayers for joy and peace.
“Dear God, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to live among us. Thank you, Jesus, for leaving your heavenly throne to walk with us, care for us, and show us how to live. We pray that we will honor you by walking in the joy and peace that can be found in you and you alone. Fill us to overflowing as we carry your love into the world around us.”
More Prayers for Advent and Christmas
5. Pray for the love of Christ to transform hearts this Christmas.
One encounter with God’s love can forever change a life.
Here is a pray of gratitude for God’s love.
“Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for us. Thank you for demonstrating your love for us by sending Jesus to take the punishment we deserve on the cross. We pray that your love will flow through us and make an eternal impact in our communities, our nation, and beyond. Thank you that your love is the strongest force in the world.”
6. Ask God to help you keep your eyes fixed on him this Christmas season.
It’s easy to lose sight of the reason why we celebrate.
Here is a prayer for our hearts and minds to stay centered on Jesus.
“Lord, thank you for understanding us better than we understand ourselves. You know how easy it is for us to be swept into the busyness of this season. Please help us keep our eyes on you as we remember why we are celebrating.”
7. Ask God to align your heart with his heart.
Praying for alignment with God is one of the most powerful ways of praying.
When our hearts are aligned with God’s heart, we will see answers to our prayers because these prayers align with God’s desires.
Here is a prayer.
“Father, please align my heart with your heart this Christmas. Give me your eyes to see those who are hurting and your love for them. Guide me as I join you in the work you are doing in the world around me. I pray that you will bring every realm of my life into alignment with your will for me.”
8. Pray for family unity this Christmas.
For many, Christmas includes celebrating with family.
Pray for God to heal relationships and unify your family this Christmas.
Here is a prayer.
“Lord, thank you for my family. These relationships aren’t perfect, but we want to honor you in them. Please unify our hearts this Christmas. Bind us together in love as we focus on you. Fill us with your joy and peace as we celebrate you.”
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If these prayers for Advent and Christmas blessed you, we invite you to explore our family devotionals and library of free devotionals below.
Read here for 8 prayers for Advent and Christmas. #Christmas #Advent #prayer Share on XMeaningful Christmas Gifts for Parents and Children
Before I share the link to this free Advent devotional, I invite you to consider gifting one of our children’s devotional books to a family you care about this year. As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Your Free Advent Devotional Right Here:
Still My Soul will help you create space to connect with God in meaningful ways as you prepare your heart to celebrate the birth of Christ this month. Every day of Advent, you will be gently invited to slow down and cultivate gratitude instead of stress. Get your eBook for free right here with promo code STILL. Be blessed as you seek the King and celebrate his birth! I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
