An Advent, Hanukkah Prayer…

God Weaving the Threads of Our Lives into the Tapestry of His Purpose

Created with Sketch.

An Advent, Hanukkah Prayer…

o-HANUKKAH-MENORAHS-facebookLast night, December 16th was the first night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights and across the globe, prayers of thanksgiving rose up to heaven. Until Christmas Eve, these beautiful prayers will rise up to heaven.

I too, have a prayer, despite the lack of those posted during Advent. It is a prayer for the fulfillment of promise. It is not just a prayer for those who light candles thanking God for oil, but a prayer for the nations.

Please God, our Father of Lights and our Lord Christ, the Menorah to the nations, send oil, much oil; the oil of your Holy Spirit to the Holy City and City of Promise.  Please fulfill Your promise.  We pray also for those who hate Jerusalem, and would annihilate her, given an opportunity.  They need You.  They need reassurance of hope.  They need Your grace, unmerited favor given in payment of debt.   And we pray for those indifferent to You, without need of You and Your light.  Please merciful God, reveal our need of You.

“Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth. The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—a splendid crown in the hand of God.
Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and Advent Candle Wreath 5“The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride. Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength:
    “I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain    and new wine. You raised the grain, and you will eat it, praising the Lord. Within the courtyards of the Temple,  you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.”

Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders;
 raise a flag for all the nations to see. The Lord has sent this message to every land:
    “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”
They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.” And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place” and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”  Isaiah 62.

Advent-candles-with-quote