Christmas Dinner Prayers

QUESTION: What things can I include in Christmas dinner prayers?

ANSWER:

I think back on all of my family’s gatherings. . .standing in a circle, holding hands, and sharing Christmas dinner prayers. The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what God did for us by sending Jesus, His Son, as a baby to earth to dwell among men. It’s a time to grasp the value and magnitude of that very event! It’s not just about gift giving and gift getting. It’s about “the reason for the season,” as the popular saying goes. It’s a time to dig a little deeper into evaluating our status with God. What is our relationship with Him? Is our relationship with God growing? Is it stagnant? Or is it simply non-existent?

Christmas dinner prayers are the perfect opportunity to stop and acknowledge what we value most:

• Include praise for who Jesus is. We can do nothing without Him!
• Praise Him for your family.
• Praise Him for seeing your family through the difficulties of the past year.
• Praise Him for the coming year.

Christmas dinner prayers can include not only praise, but requests for guidance:

• Ask for God’s guidance for the coming year.
• Ask God to show you how to draw nearer to Him, how to grow in your walk with Him, and how to serve Him.
• Ask Him to work in your family’s life and draw you closer together.

Jesus was born to die. Not only to die, but also to rise again! Christmas is just the beginning of the story. . .a miraculous beginning!

The best gift of all is salvation. It’s the reason Jesus came on that starlit night in Bethlehem. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, your Christmas prayer could be the most memorable of all -- accept Him and His gift of salvation!

Dare to make a difference this year. When you gather around that table decorated with pretty plates and Christmas napkins, remember and reflect. Acknowledge the gift. Praise Him.