4 Prayers for Joy and Peace This Christmas and Beyond
A white veil rises and falls outside the window like a clean linen bedsheet flogging in the wind. I watch the scene as our children haul their Christmas presents to their bedrooms. My husband sits at the dining room table assembling the little one’s train set. God has answered my prayers for joy and peace this Christmas, and I am grateful.
Your Christmas might be full of noise and excitement, or this might be a difficult day for you.
It might be a quiet day 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.
4 Prayers for Joy and Peace This Christmas and Beyond
1. Pray that God’s love will be your ultimate source of joy and peace.
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 joy and peace.
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 joy won’t be dependent upon circumstances alone.
Circumstantial joy is fleeting. When life is going well, most of us feel joyful; however, when circumstances are difficult, our joy 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 joy and 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 joy, joy that isn’t contingent upon my circumstances. Please help me exude your joy so that others will be drawn to you through me.”
Prayers for Joy and Peace Amid Chaos
3. Pray that Jesus will be your source of peace amid trouble and chaos.
Last year, my word for the year was peace. I claimed this word at the beginning of the year and thought, I sure hope this doesn’t mean it’s going to be an especially challenging year.
Not surprisingly, my sense of peace was tested many times throughout the year. When chaos unfurled around me, I asked Jesus to reveal himself as my source of peace. When I felt overwhelmed, disappointed, and uncertain, I claimed the promise of Jesus’ peace.
Here is a prayer for Jesus’ peace to reign in our lives today and in the days to come:
“Dear Lord, thank you for being our source of peace. Please help us turn to you when our peace is shaken. Fill our hearts and minds with the peace that passes understanding as we cast our cares on you. Help us shift from negative emotions to your peace today and in the days to come.”
Dear Lord, thank you for being our source of peace. 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.
Lastly, on this Christmas day, we celebrate the incarnation, the day when God became human and came to live among us. 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.”
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As we celebrate the birth of Christ and prepare for a new year, why not establish a routine of meeting with God each morning in search of joy and peace? I have a free online devotional to help you get started.
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Calling All Moms and Daughters!
Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. 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 after each devotion.
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