A Prayer

Father,

How good to know that Jesus has come. Anointed by the Spirit, He has come to bring good news to the afflicted. And He has brought gifts with Him. He gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He has brought these gifts to us, people who are afflicted by sin.

Father, this world in which we live is filled with so much evil. Some of that evil destroys what could have been really good relationships. Some of that evil causes bodies to fail, sometimes just a bit and other times completely. Some of that evil is simply the lies that we hear and believe and live.

Father, such things would overwhelm us, except for this. Jesus has come. Anointed by the Spirit, He has come to bring good news to the afflicted. And He has brought gifts with Him.

Father, we need to see the world around us as it actually is. We need to see ourselves as we actually are. We need to see and acknowledge the evil. There are too many who avoid this reality in one way or another. This is not living the truth. Please, Father, don't let us be like them. Help us to look honestly at our world and ourselves.

But help us to do that as Christians - as those for whom Jesus has come and through whom He is slowly but surely changing this world. Father, let us mourn the evil that we see while rejoicing in what our Lord Jesus is doing.

Father, it helps to know that one day, Jesus' efforts at change will arrive at their intended and inevitable goal. Evil will be destroyed, completely destroyed. Our world will be set right. And all your saints will be finally and fully freed from the lies that we live. We thank You, Father, for this hope. It is what keeps us going day by day. The devil will win his battles. But Jesus will win the war. And for that we are so very grateful. Through Christ our Lord Amen.