Thanksgiving and intercession prayer 1 December 2024

Hope giving God

blessings and praise be yours and yours forever and ever

for in you we find our hope

in you promises are kept

promises you gave to your people, though the prophets and through the ages

again and again

it is wondrous we can you your hope

hope fulfilled and revealed in the Light of the world, shining in the darkness

that we know through Christ Jesus

your Son, our Lord and King

Christ Jesus

enrich our confidence in you, and the hope you give us

this advent season

help us to wait expectantly for you

look to Christmas

and look to your promised return

where all suffering and pain will be removed

and the world will be restored to where it should be

as we look, in hope, trust and expectation, for that day

we acknowledge the world is far from how it should be

many in our communities go without the basics of life to sustain them

parents worry about how to feed their children, let alone give them a present for Christmas

war and conflict seem to be raging in more and more places

it almost feels that hope is being lost in so many ways, by so many people

including the people, places and situations which are in our hearts and on our minds today, which we pause in the quiet of this place to recall

[pause]

we know we cannot change the world

that is your task to do

but we also know, as we wait hopefully for Christ to return

our task is to hold onto that hope

pray for hope to come to your world

we pray, too, that you might use us

to bring hope

into the people, places and situations in our lives we touch and inhabit

through the power of the spirit working through us

Amen