Transcription

[Elijah]

Welcome to Bridgeway Christian Church's Daily Advent Prayer. My name is Elijah, and I've been part of the Bridgeway community for a little over a year. Today is Saturday, December 13th, and on Saturdays during Advent, we will reflect on Scripture passages about Jesus' second coming.

Today, we will meditate on Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 15, where he describes what will take place when Jesus returns. Let's listen to 1 Corinthians 15, 50-58. Then it will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you for the incredible promises contained in this passage from your word, and we look forward to the day when we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

We thank you that when you return, we will be changed forever. We will be free from the suffering of this world and able to enjoy you forever. We thank you for the promise of eternal life, when our faith will be made sight and we will see you face to face.

We thank you that you love us so much that you have gone to prepare a place for us, and that you will return to be with us forever. We thank you that we can live today, knowing that a day will come when death has been swallowed up in victory. In this life, we see the sting of death all around us.

But we thank you, Jesus, that since you have defeated death, death forever stands defeated. Even as we feel its sting now, we await the day when we will say, O death, where is your sting? We pause now for you to pray for family members, friends, and loved ones who are mourning loss in this season.

We also invite you to consider your own mourning as you reflect on losses you've experienced this year. We pray that the hope of heaven would comfort all of us, even as we grieve. We thank you, Jesus, that you are the one who gives us victory over anything the world throws at us.

In this second week of Advent, where the theme is peace, we remember the amazing truth that the real peace is possible because of your victory over sin and death. We pray that you would help us to feel your peace in a tangible and powerful way this week, and that you would allow us to demonstrate your peace to others. In light of your promise of peace and your promise of eternal life, today we commit ourselves afresh to live out the words of 1 Corinthians 15 58.

We commit to be steadfast and fully committed to you. We remember that you are the only one who can save us, and you are the only one worthy of our worship. We commit that we will be immovable.

We will not allow the winds of culture or the anxiety and anger we see around us to direct our lives, but rather we will anchor ourselves in your truth and allow your voice to be our biggest influence. We commit to abounding in the work of the Lord and joyfully serving you today, wherever you would take us. Give us supernatural vision to see the opportunities you will place before us today to show your love and your grace to those around us.

We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.