A Call To Prayer For Advent
November 19, 2018

 An Advent Prayer to Prepare My Heart for Christ's Coming

Father, just as You sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus, help us to clear the path in our hearts and show us the distractions in our lives that block us from all-out worship of You. Give us a heart, Lord, that looks for Your coming on a daily basis. Help us to live our lives where we’re constantly seeking Your presence. Our offering to You tonight is our righteous life for we know we are only clean because of Jesus. Show us how we need to be refined, purified, and forgiven. Give us the strength to ask for forgiveness and to then change our ways. Amen.

 What We Do

In solidarity with one another, all Daughters everywhere make the same promises upon their admission to the Order:

                                      To obey the two Rules of The Order: The Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service.
                                      To offer at all times loyal aid to our clergy and parish to spread Christ’s kingdom.
                                      To wear faithfully the cross of The Order.
                                      To work for the purposes of The Order as God may give us the opportunity.

 

The Prayer of the Order

O Eternal Father, you have sent us your Son to teach us things pertaining to your heavenly Kingdom. Give your blessing to our Order wherever it may be throughout the world. Grant that we, your Daughters, ever may discern your truth and bear the cross through the battles of our earthly life. Give us strength to overcome temptation and the grace to work to spread your Kingdom and to gather your scattered sheep within your fold. Pour out upon us the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit that we may always remember it is your work we are called to do, that all we think, do or say may be pleasing in your sight. We ask it all For His Sake, our King and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.   Amen.

  

Prayers of the People for Advent

Heavenly Father, as once again we prepare for Christmas, help us to find time in our busy lives for quiet and thought and prayer, that we may reflect upon the wonder of your love and allow the story of the Savior’s birth to penetrate our hearts and minds. So may our joy be deeper, our worship more real, and our lives worthier of all that you have done for us through the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord .

We Pray for the Church
  • For the wider Christian family who will be celebrating this festival in so many different ways, and for those who dare not celebrate openly.
  • For Christians in countries where there is persecution .
  • For Christians in our own country, with whom we will share our celebrations.
  • For our Church family .
Grant that all who come into our church this Christmas time may be enabled to renew their relationship with you. Help us all to be glad of your presence, and to rejoice at the coming of Jesus. May your blessing be upon all who worship with us, give us grace to live as faithful members of your family, that we may learn each day afresh to love and serve you.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We Pray for Peace
  • Give peace to the world.
  • Give peace to the victims if war, the refugees, the widows and the ophans.
  • Give peace to family and friends, to those who have quarreled and need to be reconciled.
  • Give peace in our own divided hearts.
We know that without justice there can be no peace. Let peace come when all people are respected, regardless of race and religion. Let peace come when trading weapons of mass destruction is a crime. Let peace come when the earth’s resources are used wisely for the common good. Let peace come when money is used to serve and not enslave the world. Let peace come through the transformation of our lives that we may do justice, love and kindness and walk humbly with our God.

Your Son came as the Prince of Peace and brought a message of Peace for all people. Help us to be peacemakers in our own homes, at our work or wherever we meet people, so that the peace and goodwill of Christmas can find a place in the hearts of all people.

We pray for: 
Homeless people and for refugees who have no country to call their own. Let your blessing be with those who work to help the homeless this Christmas, and give to all of us the determination to help where we can.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
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We pray for:
People who are lonely, those who are lonely because they have lost a partner, those who are lonely because no-one seems to care, those who are lonely because of handicap or illness. Let your presence be with those who are alone at this season of friendship and may we take your friendship to those whom we know will be alone this Christmas.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
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We pray for:
F riends and family who are ill at this time, and remember them in the quietness of our hearts. We bring them to you in the confidence that you love them and know their every need and that your healing power is still the same today. Bless all that is being done for their recovery and answer our prayers as you see best.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 
 
Merciful Father, accept these, our prayers of thanksgiving, our prayers of need for others and for ourselves, our praise for you, all for the sake of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
 Reflection

During the season of Advent, we anticipate peace. Anticipate because we know peace is still just out of reach. That’s the tension of the Christian life. We are in between God’s kingdom and our own. We look around and we don’t see God’s will being done. When we look beyond our status updates, we see starvation and despair, basic needs being overlooked, we see disrespect for one another, name calling, and blatant dislike for other cultures. We see too many reasons to be afraid and too many things to fear. Peace can’t possibly be here on earth.  And yet, even before David can imagine what the Messiah might be, he’s able to utter these words before us today, from Psalm 27:1:

 

     The Lord is my light and my salvation—
     whom shall I fear?
     The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
     of whom shall I be afraid?

 

We don’t know why he’s able to say what he does. We don’t know what sparks his confidence or trust. But we know sometimes we struggle to feel that way too.  Sometimes it is hard to confess “I’m not afraid” or “I have nothing to fear” because sometimes we don’t see the light. Sometimes we can’t taste salvation. Sometimes we feel like we’ve lost sight of the thing that’s supposed to be our stronghold, but when our uncertainty takes hold of our imagination, we need to look to the manger and see He who came to bring about love, peace joy and our salvation.  And as long as we are struggling toward peace, we know we need more of it. Amen.

Intercessions

For Faithfulness in Service:

O Lord, Jesus Christ, head of the mystical body of the church of which we are members, cleanse our eyes to see you, quicken our ears to hear you, open our lips to show forth your praise, give our hands skill to do your bidding, and make our feet swift to go where you guide, that your Kingdom may come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, all for your dear sake. Amen.

 

For a Daughter Who Has Died:

Dear Heavenly Father, we bless You for all those who have departed this life in Your faith and fear.  Through their loving service to others and the Order and their way of prayerful living they endeavored to perfect Your will in their life.  May their deep faith be an inspiration to all and so illumine the hearts of women and girls to find You along their earthly pilgrimage.  Grant that the light of Your presence and Your eternal peace be their great and everlasting reward.  Amen.

 

For Members Who are Ill:

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers, mercifully accept our prayer and grant to all the help of your power, that their sickness may be turned to health and our sorrow to joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Healing:

Our Heavenly Father, by whose loving kindness and mercy our souls and bodies are renewed, look upon your children for whom we pray. Knowing you are interested in personal needs, we bring to your altar those who are perplexed or afraid, as we ask you to take away fear; those who face physical suffering, as we ask you to give them courage to endure; those who seem burdened with indecision, as we ask you to lift the pall of confusion. We also bring those who are lonely, for whom we ask companionship. We ask guidance and comfort for those to whom death has brought sorrow and despair. Amen.

 

  Extemporaneous Prayer

Heavenly Father we ask you to hold those in need in the palm of your hand.

 Prayer for Peace in Troubled Times

Dear Lord,

in these troubled times make your presence known to all the peoples around the world so that they may see peace as the only way to salvation. Replace the anger and violence in our hearts with joy and tranquility and help us to seek the good in everyone. Cause us all to realize that without you we can do nothing that will bring us peace and joy. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers.  Amen.

Prayer for Our Country And It's Leadership

Lord God, we desperately need your wisdom. You have given us a great country, founded on principles and truths from Your Word. We need men and women who will honor You, trust You, and lead us once again back to You. We pray for servant leaders who love the things You love and who care more about others than themselves.

Give us leaders with discerning hearts, bold faith, and wise minds that model Your character. Teach them—and us—not just what is good, but what is best. Guide them in the way our country should go. Give them purity in their intentions, and godliness in their convictions. Energize their spirits and bodies physically and spiritually, and keep them emotionally secure in the knowledge of who You are—and whose they are. Help them to be bighearted and sincere, energetic in goodness, and courteous in their manners.  Raise up leaders with the greatest potential of godly leadership, those who can ease confusion, expose illusion, and heal delusion. You alone hold the power to turn the hearts of leaders, but You listen and use our prayers to move them into right action. Help us to be faithful to care and to pursue Your heart in prayer.   Amen. 

 For our Country

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

 The Holy Cross

Almighty God, whose beloved son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow Him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

                                        The Motto of the Order

                                                   For His Sake...I am but one, but I am one.
                                                   I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
                                                   What I can do, I ought to do.
                                                   What I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.
                                                    Lord, what will you have me do?
 

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May the Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.