During Advent, we focus on and celebrate the arrival of God coming to earth as a baby. We take time to prayerfully ponder what His coming means, not only for the world but for us as individuals. Lasting hope, peace, and love can be experienced by all who embrace Jesus, The Greatest Gift. These prayers are designed to help us engage in each of these themes by helping us connect with God personally.
Advent Prayers on Hope
Day 1. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD! - Psalm 31:24 NLT
Lord, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to earth as The Greatest Gift. The people hoped the Messiah would come and deliver them from oppression, but You came to save us all from sin. Thank You for the hope we have because You gave the gift of Yourself. Amen.
Day 2. Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God! - Psalm 42:11 NLT
Father, I need hope right now in the situation I am going through. Help me to hold onto You as You are holding on to me in this season of uncertainty. Help me to remember no matter what happens, my hope is in You because You are with me. Amen.
Day 3. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You. - Psalm 39:7 NLT
Jesus, I’m never hopeless because You have overflowed my heart with Your love. Sometimes I forget not everyone has the hope I have. Help me share the reason for my hope and the real reason for Christmas with the people in my world. Amen.
Day 4. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. - Romans 8:25 NLT
Dear God, You know I’ve been hoping for specific dreams to happen in my life for what feels like forever. As much as I want these things, I know because of Christmas, I have the ultimate hope whether You give me those desires or not. Amen.
Day 5. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13:12 NLT
Lord, I’m sorry for putting my hope into other things when You are the only One who can fulfill my heart. Help me to be like the wise men and shepherds who, when they found You in the manger, they worshiped. Help me to always hope to see You as I seek You with all my heart. Amen.
Day 6. I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13 NLT
Father, may the hope I have in You be something that overflows into the lives of everyone I encounter today. When they ask me why I am so positive may I be ready to give a reason for the hope I have in Jesus. Amen.
Advent Prayers on Peace
Day 7. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. - Romans 14:19 NLT
Father, it is easy for me to focus on my disappointment as Christmas approaches instead of the peace You offer. Help me pursue the things that make for peace and build up one another so that I might live a peaceful life. Amen.
Day 8. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! - Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Lord, I quickly allow my feelings to rob me of peace. Help me to remember that You are the God of peace. If I focus on You, You promise to fill me with all joy and peace in believing that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day 9. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. - Romans 12:17-18 NLT
Father, at this time of year, I confess my desire for wanting the respect I feel I deserve. Keep me from the temptation to be selfish and be at peace with people, no matter how I feel. Amen.
Day 10. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Father, I find it so easy to be anxious about everyone being so happy at this time of year, and I feel stressed. Help me pray about everything and make my requests known to You so that I may experience Your peace that surpasses all understanding. Amen.
Day 11. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. - Romans 5:1-2 NLT
Father, the wrongs I do and lack of a gift-giving spirit wreck peace within me. Thank You for Your amazing grace that is available in Jesus. In Him, I have peace with God and Jesus’ great gift of complete forgiveness of sin. Amen.
Day 12. Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. - Psalm 46:10 NLT
Lord Jesus, I find it so hard to be still as the cares of this world even during Advent overwhelm me. Help me to grasp You by remembering to be still and know that You are God. You have everything in Your control. Amen.
Advent Prayers on Joy
Day 13. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, - Galatians 5:22 NLT
Lord, I know and believe that my life begins with You. Please fill me with Your joy during this season so that it will overflow throughout the rest of the year. Produce Your fruit within me and empower me to love others well with hope and encouragement. Amen.
Day 14. Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. - James 1:2 NLT
Father, the holiday season isn’t always easy, but because of Jesus, I know that You will still bring me into Your joy. The trials of my life aren’t beyond Your strength, Jesus, and the proof of Your love rings true as You renew me, too. Amen.
Day 15. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever. - Psalm 16:11 NLT
Jesus, I celebrate Christmas every year because You came in the flesh. You know my hurts and struggles, my pains and fears. If I walk in Your path through life, I know my joy will be complete because You have already provided for it. Thank You for loving me so well. Amen.
Day 16. This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24 NLT
Holy Spirit, thank You for ushering me through this glorious season! May I rejoice in it and be glad of Your presence! Jesus, thank You for the joy of this Advent season. Amen.
Day 17. I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have ransomed me. - Psalm 71:23 NLT
Jesus, because of You, I have a joy inside of me that keeps me going every day. When I sing Christmas songs about You, I can feel my spirit rise up inside of me. Thank You for bringing true joy to the world! Amen.
Day 18. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! - Isaiah 55:12 NLT
Father, in You I go out in joy during this Advent season and then rejoice in Your peace. Jesus, You alone are my hope. The angels rejoiced at Your birth, all creation worships You, and I resonate with praise for You. Amen!
Advent Prayers on Love
Day 19. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. - Romans 5:5 NLT
Lord, when I don’t have the spirit of giving, I can remember that the love of God is shed abroad in my heart through the Holy Spirit. He is richly given to me, so I can freely give to others.
Day 20. For this is how God loved the world: He gave His One and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 NLT
Father, thank You for sending Your Son at Christmas, bringing Your love to this broken and sinful world. Thank You for calling me to Yourself through Him and bringing me freedom from the penalty of death. Amen.
Day 21. Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. - 2 Timothy 2:8 NLT
Father, I can have the tendency to forget Jesus amidst the flurry of the season. Thank You for the reminder to “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel.”
Day 22. We love each other because He loved us first. - 1 John 4:19 NLT
Jesus, You came, bringing the true heart of God into this world, and I know You loved me first. When I was lost in my sin, Your love shone through my darkness, and like the star led the wise men, You led my heart to You. Thank You and Amen.
Day 23. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. - 1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT
Jesus, You know my intermittent love for You and others. Help me bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things since You are the most incredible model of love, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Day 24. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples. - John 13:34-35 NLT
Jesus, Your love came as a gift to me, and I remember it during the season of Advent. But in that freely given love, You commanded me to love others, which reveals Your heart to the world. As You have provided to me, so I also ought to give to others.
Day 25. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. - Luke 2:11-12 NLT
Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son as one of us to save all of us. I can’t even imagine how humbling it must have been for Him to leave heaven to become human, go through what we go through, suffer, die, and be raised to life. I know I will never be able to get my mind around the vast, never-ending, unstoppable passion You have for me. Please help me to remember that the greatest gift I’ll ever receive isn’t under a tree but was placed in that manager 2,000 years ago. Thank You for the extravagant love You showered on me that night in Bethlehem and each day since then. Fill my cup with Your love today and show me how I can pour into the cups of everyone I encounter.
