A Christmas Prayer of Hope

When you watch certain fiction movies or shows, mostly fantasy ones, you are familiar with the traditional plot where the world is in danger from a villain or antagonist. Everyone does what they can to deter the antagonist, but everything they do seems pointless. They basically couldn’t do anything about their circumstance and were hopeless. Then along comes a hero who becomes the hope of everyone; they are the only person capable of defeating the villain or antagonist. Sometimes it comes with a story plot where a hero is prophesied to come. Then the people, no matter how many generations have passed, continue waiting for that prophesied hero to rescue them. Sounds familiar, right? Just as the people in those story plots awaited a hero as their new hope, so were the people of Israel while waiting for the Messiah, who is the only hope for the world. Not just that, but this hope was also made available to the Gentiles. That is why, to this day, we can have hope when we believe in Christ, who came to earth more than two thousand years ago. Sadly, others missed out on this hope, like those Pharisees who didn’t believe Christ.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us hope by sending Your Son Jesus. We thank You God because You didn’t have to send Your Son, but You did, all because you are loving, gracious, and merciful. Our sin separated us from You, but You who took the initiative to reconcile with us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Why is Christmas a time of hope?

Christmas is a time where we celebrate the moment when hope came into this world, in the form of Jesus. That is why when the angel appeared to the shepherds, the angel said in Luke 2:10-11:

Luke 2:10-11

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

The birth of Christ is good news that brings us joy, as that means a Savior was born who is our only hope. The prophesied hero who will rescue us. Even John the Baptist, who was in the womb of Elizabeth, leaped in joy when Mary told Elizabeth that she would bear the Messiah. It is written in Luke 1:39-45:

Luke 1:39-45

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

But why do we need hope? The answer to that is “sin”. Sin is the ultimate problem of mankind that lies deep in our hearts. Everything wrong that you can see everywhere, even to this day, is all because of sin. Conflicts are happening because of people’s greed and selfishness. Marriages are broken because of affairs rooted in lust. Certain people are oppressed because of injustice and prejudice, but ultimately, the problem of sin separates us from God and makes us hell-bound.

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Psalm 51:5

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

James 1:15

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

We can do everything we think of to solve every problem in this world, through legislation, programs, charity works, and more. Still, those things cannot deal with the problem of sin, which is the source. Only Christ can. Christ came to bring restoration. He restored our standing before God by imputing His righteousness to those who believe His finished work on the cross. Because of that, God sees the righteousness of Christ in those who are in Christ. Not just that, if we were once enemies of God, in Christ, we become sons/daughters of God for those who believe in Christ and repent. Christ, our Savior, paid the penalty of our sin on the cross, but resurrected after the third day. Because of that, anyone who believes in Christ can have eternal life. Christ rescued us from sin, which only He can do. He freed us from the bondage of sin. Because of that, we can now live a holy and God-fearing life by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, we receive grace upon grace. Because of sin, there was no way to connect with the Father, and no amount of good works would bring us closer to God. But Christ provided the way to the Father, which is Himself. That is why the Gospel is what the world needs. If we want people to stop fighting, and instead choose to love each other, they need to hear the Gospel. Only Christ can bring restoration and permanent solutions to whatever has broken in this world.

John 1:16

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

1 John 4:9-10

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:17-18

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Romans 8:24-25

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Ephesians 1:18

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Christ brings hope to everything, not just for the problem of sin, but also when it comes to our personal lives. Christ is our hope whenever we are going through tough times. We know that through Christ and in Christ, we have this grace from God that enables us to persevere. In Christ, we have a joy that is hinged on Him and not on our circumstances. We can take heart as we face tribulations because Christ has overcome the world. We can face whatever storms rage in life because Christ is our peace. Also, in Christ, we look forward to the greater future, where everything wrong will be made right, where there will be no sickness, hunger, or imperfection. Even death itself will die. That is the hope that we have as Christians as we wait for Christ to come again, where the old earth and heaven shall pass, and the new heaven and earth shall come. 

Revelation 21:1-4

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

That is why Christmas is such a joyous season to celebrate; it celebrates the time where hope has come. Hope is a person. It is Christ. Given the things we have mentioned above about Christ being our hope, you can pray this prayer as you celebrate Christmas:

Heavenly Father, we thank You because You have given us hope in the form of Your Son Jesus. We thank You because You have sent Christ, who is the only one who can save us from sin and reconcile us with You. Only Christ can free me from the bondage of sin and enable me to live a holy and righteous life. Knowing that Christ is the only hope of the world, give me the boldness, Father, to preach Him to the world and to never be ashamed of the Gospel because it is Your power of salvation to anyone who believes. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

What is a good prayer for hope?

Christ, who is our hope, brings hope to many aspects of our life. That is why, during Christmas, it is a great time to remind ourselves that we have hope, in whatever area of life that may be, because Christ was born. For example, one of the prayers that you can pray is that, despite being rejected by people, there is still hope because you are loved and affirmed by God in Christ. Here is how you can turn it into a prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank You because the birth of Christ is good news to me. It means that I can still thrive without relying on the affirmation of others because, in Christ, I am loved and affirmed by You. I thank You, Father, because I will not get this love and affirmation from You if it were not for Christ. Thank You, Father, because life is not about what others think of me, but what You think of me. My purpose in life is not about other people, but about Christ. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Another good prayer of hope is something that deals with sin. Yes, we are new creations, but the Bible clearly states that we are still works in progress and sometimes still sin. However, it is not about perfection, but direction. Our direction in life should be growing in holiness. That is why we are being “sanctified”. Sometimes we feel frustrated in our struggle with sin and grow tired of sin, which is a good thing because, as someone who is born again, we should no longer delight in sin. In Christ, we have a hope that the time will come when we will be 100% like Jesus and sinless. The Bible says in Philippians 1:6:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:6

You can pray this prayer as you hope for the day where God will bring into completion His work in you:

Father in heaven, I thank You because I have the Holy Spirit in Christ who sanctifies me every day and makes me more and more holy and Christlike. I thank You, Father, because You will bring into completion that good work that You began in me and that Your power is working on in me. Because of that, I have the hope that everything in me shall be sinless. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Lastly, a good prayer of hope you can pray is for the world. You can pray this specifically for the citizens of your nation. The world puts its hope in so many things that do not permanently solve problems. A good prayer of hope to pray for is for the world or the people to know the real hope, which is Christ. Here is how you can pray for hope in the world:

Heavenly Father, I pray for the people in my nation to know the real hope that never fails, which is Christ. I pray that You open their eyes so that they may see that Christ is the only solution to every problem they have. I also pray for every believer that they will be bold and aggressive when it comes to preaching Christ to the non-believers knowing that Christ is the hope that this world needs and the only One who can bring restoration and order to everything. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

If Israel, before Jesus came, has been waiting for their hope to come, we are even more blessed because hope has already come. Born of a virgin, laid down in a manger of a stable, who would one day die on the cross to bring restoration between humanity and God. If ancient Israel was looking forward to this hope, we are now looking back, knowing that we have hope in Christ, and hoping that there is a future when Christ comes again.