A Sunday Morning Prayer of Advent Love

Father, this is what love looks like:
You did not stay far away.
You sent Your Son into the world,
small enough to hold,
close enough to touch.

On this Sunday morning, let me take that in.
You love me, Lord —
not the polished version I try to show,
but the real one, tired and unfinished.

Then send me out to love the way You do,
coming close instead of keeping my distance.
Send me to the neighbor who is hard to like,
to the relative I dread seeing at Christmas,
to the stranger who needs a hand,
and to the one at home I take for granted.

Let love be the gift I give most freely,
the one that costs me something,
and the one that points people back to You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this on a Sunday morning in Advent, especially the fourth Sunday, when many churches light the candle of love. It can be prayed before a family gathering, when you are thinking of the relatives who are hardest to be with.

A Verse to Hold On To

"This is how God's love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him." — 1 John 4:9 (BSB)