15 Christmas Prayers to Focus Your Heart on Jesus

1. Help me to know you are the greatest gift.

As Christmas quickly approaches, it is easy to get wrapped up in buying the latest toy or following the latest craze. But Jesus’ birth is the reason for the season. Jesus’s sacrifice by coming to earth as a child is the greatest gift anyone could receive. Gifts like this are not found underneath the Christmas tree wrapped in pretty paper, but rather live in our hearts each and every day.

Lord, help me to know that you are the greatest gift I could ever receive. Help me to teach my children this gift. Tell me not to get wrapped up in consumerism, but rather focus on spreading goodwill and cheer to all. Amen.

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2. Help me avoid the January blues.

Each year when we begin to take the Christmas tree down, I feel a void in my heart and a deep sadness that the season of Christmas is over. Perhaps it’s because all the family around, or maybe it’s the magic of the season, but I feel a sense of loss when the holidays have passed. The credit card bills start rolling in, the heavy snow begins to fall, and I lose the real message of the season. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Although January is my least favorite month, I can shift my perspective towards a new beginning. With the dawn of a new year, I can see it as an opportunity to set goals and vision for my life. I can plan earlier and not have credit card debt, or better yet, simplify my gift giving list. Then it would give me a chance to preserve the magic of the season all year long.

Lord, help me to see January as a new beginning. Help me not to focus and the dreariness that comes with winter, but to see it as an opportunity for fresh start. Allow me to set achievable goals and be diligent enough to accomplish them. Amen.

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3. Help me to approach Christmas like a child.

One of my favorite memories of my kids when they were younger was them bursting into our room early in the morning in screaming “Santa came! Santa came!” I watch as they opened their gifts in wide-eyed wonder with anticipation happiness. Now my kids are older, and I don’t have the privilege of that anymore. But I can choose to preserve that Christmas wonder my kids had when they were younger.

I can give more than I receive, I can choose contentment over comparison, and I can be grateful for all the gifts God has given me throughout the year. Christmas is only one day a year. But joy and contentment are gifts I can give myself the other 364 days.

Lord, help me to preserve the magic and wonder of the holiday I recognize the many gifts you have given me throughout the year. I can bring honor to this holiday by giving gifts that don’t come in boxes or bags but transform the spirit. Place people in my path that need these gifts and give me boldness to share the gift of the gospel message with them. Amen. 

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4. Help me give the gift of love.

Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger, the lowliest place a king could be born. Although he should have been born in an inn with many amenities, she gave Jesus the greatest gift which is love. Jesus then spread the Father’s great love through his death on the cross. I can choose to grumble and complain when I’m stuck in traffic, in a long line at the store, or filling out the 500th Christmas card. Or I can choose to do all the things love. If I do the latter, I will have chosen to give myself and others the gift Christ gave to me. 

Lord, help me to do all things in love. When Satan tricks me into exchanging love for hate, allow your Spirit to convict my heart and change my ways. When I do all things in love, I’m just demonstrating the great Commandment. Amen. 

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5. Allow me to use my money on things that last.

As pastor’s kids, my children often make sacrifices for the good of the church body. They cannot participate in activities if they’re held on Sundays, and they cannot always afford the latest trend in clothing or hottest phone. Christmas is one day year where I try to give them what they want. But like every other kid, when the novelty wears off, that must-have gift ends up in the closet or the garbage can.

I can use Christmas as an opportunity to teach my children about giving of themselves and meeting the needs of those around them. For example, they can give the gift of life-giving water to one of the children we sponsor overseas. They can also meet basic needs of the kids sitting next to them at the lunch table. While there is nothing wrong with receiving the gift that they want for Christmas, teaching in a lesson about the gift true generosity is money well spent.

Lord, help me to see the needs around me. If there are children in need at their school or in my neighborhood, make me aware of these needs so I can meet them the best way I can. Amen. 

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6. Help me to give the gift of my presence this year.

As a writer, I do my best to keep normal office hours and look for opportunities to use my gifts for God’s kingdom. Like everyone else, I can become consumed with work and not focus on the loved ones that are around me. I can use the Christmas season as an opportunity to disconnect from social media, and limit the use of my phone so I can be fully present in the moments that matter. Because these memories are the ones that live in my heart forever.

Lord, allow me to use the Christmas season as the way to disconnect from the distractions of the world and help me to focus and my family. Help me to not waste the moments to watch my children grow up, to speak life into my family members, or spend time communing with God. When I breathe my last breath, I went those that are around me to know how much they were loved. Amen.

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7. Allow me to help those in need.

Are there people in my church that could use a warm meal or gifts for their kids? Simply because I sit next to someone every Sunday does not mean I know them or their needs. Christmas is a time of giving and I want to give as much of my time and resources as I can.

Father, help me to know the needs around me. Help me to meet them like the early Church in Acts did, selling possessions and giving it all so that those in the church had their needs met. Let me do for others what I want done for me. Amen. 

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8. Allow me to use my gift of hospitality.

I enjoy having friends family over for the holidays, and I use my home as a place to welcome church members or even strangers to a hot meal and an invitation to fellowship. But let’s face it: cleaning my house and preparing food can become a chore rather than a gift. This season let me focus less on how spotless my floors are and more on a dining room table full of people.

Lord, hospitality is a gift. Let me use it to the best of my ability at Christmas time and every other time of the year. Let me be known as someone who is generous with the gifts God has given me, and allow me to open my home regularly so I can give the gift to fellowship to others. Amen.

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9. Allow my decorations of light display the light of the world.

I love to decorate my home outside with lots of twinkling lights. We also place candles in each window as a symbol that our home is one that welcomes both strangers and friends. When I flip the switch reflecting the glow of those light strands, it makes it a place of welcome for all who enter. Jesus calls me to be the light of the world. Let me not to just displayed outside my home, but also in my heart.

Lord, let the light from my home be a reflection of the light that lives in my heart. Let those who enter it know without a shadow of a doubt that you inhabit as well as my family. May they be inspired to know you better as a result of the lights I display in my home. Amen

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10. Help me to embrace the beauty of simplicity.

The purity of freshly fallen snow and the beauty of perfectly wrapped gifts were just two of my favorite childhood memories. This reflected my simple childhood of waiting with expectation as to what I might find under the tree. When I got older, I yielded my life to Jesus. But the simplicity of the holiday faded under the weight of the responsibilities of spending money, sending Christmas cards, and attending parties. I can reclaim the magic of the season by not focusing on the outward symbols denoting the observance of a holiday, but the inward transformation given to me through Christ birth.

Lord, help me to embrace simplicity this year. Give me boldness to say no to the things that replace simplicity with burden.  Allow me to see Christmas as I did as a child: with expectancy and anticipation. Amen.

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11. Help me to see my Christmas duties as privileges, not chores.

It is easy to get bogged down in the hustle and bustle of the season. For some, Christmas is not a day of celebration, but a day of survival. I don’t have to participate in all the Christmas festivities, I get to participate. When I focus my eyes on this instead of all the hubbub, I can live in the reality that Christmas in itself is a gift, one to be enjoyed in freedom.

Lord, help me to see Christmas as a day of celebration. Help me to make better planning choices, both financially and with my time so I don’t get bogged down in tasks I should have done sooner. Help to enjoy the season, knowing many don’t get the same privilege. Amen.

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12. Help me to embrace a life of humility.

Jesus’ choice to enter the world completely emptied of his power is itself a great sacrifice. It took great humility to give His life in this way. When I live my life in a similar vein of humility, I can choose to live like Jesus, spreading His message more widely.

Lord, help me to live a life in humility, giving up my rights so that others can exercise theirs. Help others see the light of Jesus in me though this humility. Allow me to empty myself of pride and rebellion so that the gospel message can spread as widely as possible.

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13. Help me to fill the Christmas void with you.

No matter how many Christmas gifts I buy, I still feel like my life is somehow incomplete. Opening a gift for a moment is nice, but soon after, it leaves me feeling empty. I am grateful I know a personal God that fills the void in my heart every day. I have hope that although gifts are temporary, the joy of Christ is available to me all the time.

Lord, thank you that I have access to the joy you gave when you were born. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross so I don’t have to rely on temporal possessions to fill my heart, but the gift of your spiritual dwelling within me. Help me to access that joy even in the difficult parts of the season. Allow me to not focus on the gifts I didn’t receive, but on the gift of you that I receive every day.

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14. Help me not to miss the joy of the season.

James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” In this verse, he was speaking about joy in the midst of trials, and most of the time Christmas is not a trial. However, it can be a difficult time for those who have lost loved ones or have loved ones sick or in prison. When times get tough, I can choose to become bitter and resentful, or I can choose joy. Allow me to consider everything joy.

Lord, help me to consider all things joy, even the most difficult of circumstances. Let me be a help to those whose Christmas will be a trial. Let me give freely and visit those who are ill in an attempt to spread joy and goodwill.  In this way, let me help others to consider all things, even Christmas, joyful, too. Amen.

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15. Help me spread a message of hope.

Perhaps the greatest message of hope is found in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) which Jesus tells his disciples before he leaves earth: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is great hope for all of those who don’t know him!

Lord, remind me to live each day as going to the world making disciples of all nations. Let me make the greatest gift - that of making disciples. Let me find people who are wanting discipleship in the lives. Help me to make as many disciples wherever I go so that the world can receive Jesus. Amen. 

Prayer is just as important during Christmas as any time because we need to lean on God to demonstrate He is the real reason for the season. Let’s not let outward distractions consume our focus, but rather the gift of the Savior.
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