A Prayer for God to Be with Us
By Tiffany Thibault
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23 NKJV
I love to read the scriptures and hear them read by others aloud. The precious words bring peace to my heart and encourage my faith with its truth. In the midst of all the sights and sounds of this Christmas season and the extra busyness that this time of year brings into our already full lives, it is so easy to gloss over the powerful words found in this Bible verse. There are two significant things that we see in this verse.
First, we see a miracle. “A virgin will bear a child.” This incredible sentence shows just how much God truly loves us. He could have easily sent Jesus into this world as a warrior fighting for injustice, or as a powerful leader who would change the world with His government. Instead, He sent a precious little child to an unwed young mother, into a poor community that was oppressed by the Roman government. None of this is at all how you and I may have planned for the Savior of the world to make His grand entrance. Yet God, in all His power, chose to send a little baby, why? Because His plans are always better than ours.
The second incredible thing that we see in this verse is these words: “they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.”
His very name, Immanuel, has a promise for us. The meaning of His name is powerful in just those three words: “God with us.” Those words should bring comfort to us through their incredible clarity. God is with us. God is with you. God is with you at all times, in all circumstances, in all your high and low moments. God is with you in all your tears and in all your joys.
Jesus, the Savior of the world, came as an infant, grew to be a man, died on the cross for our sins, conquered death through His resurrection, and will one day return. So, this promise God is with you covers every detail and every little nuance of your life. You can go into this Christmas season comforted with these words. You can begin a fresh new year clinging to this promise. God is with you through your todays, and He will be with you as you go into all of your tomorrows. God is with us. This is the reason we can joyfully celebrate that baby born so long ago who came to change the world in His perfect way.
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for being with me in every moment of my life. Thank you that I never have to be alone because You, God love me so much that you are here with me always. May each moment of my day be filled with that life-strengthening truth. I love you, Lord.
In your name, I pray, Amen
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Nastco
Tiffany Thibault is a Jesus-loving desert girl. She loves to spend time with her college-aged daughters, coffee with friends and taking long walks. She teaches 4th grade and loves to write in her spare time. She is the author of a Bible study and a devotional book. You can connect with her on Instagram.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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