3 Ways to Pray through the Winter Season
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Winter can be a great time of year to reflect, to focus on the Lord, and to reconnect with people. The colder weather brings more opportunities for socialization as well as contemplation. Focusing on specific verses, themes, and prayers can help concentrate our minds and hearts on the Lord, allowing even winter to be a time of growth and positivity.
1. Awe and Wonder at the Christmas Season
“’For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:11-14).
During the winter seasons, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was the Son of God. Christmas really is incredible. It is the fulfillment of a promise from thousands of years before in the Garden of Eden, that someone would come and crush the head of the serpent, redeeming fallen humanity (Genesis 3:15).
It was the completion of a promise to David, that he would always have a member of his family sitting on the royal throne (Jeremiah 33:17). It was miraculous, since the young lady giving birth that night was a virgin, which also prophesied centuries before (Isaiah 7:14). But the most incredible part of this special event? Who this baby was.
Jesus was the Messiah, but He was also the living God taking on human form. The Triune God took a portion of Himself, poured out His divinity, and remained fully God while becoming fully human. Despite having no limitations Himself, He took on the weaknesses and limitations of human form.
This miracle is called kenosis (ἐκένωσεν), which translates to “emptying.” Because of His choice to live in full weakness, another incredible thing happened: Jesus became the high priest for those who put their faith in Him, advocating before the Father just like the High Priest did for the people of Israel. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Christmas is not just a time for celebrating God’s love, but a time to stand in awe of His incredible power paired with true humility.
Holy Father,
Thank you for sending your Son to be born into the world as a human. Through that humility, we have a Savior and a Mediator who understands our weakness. Lord, thank you for always being with us, and for a season where we can celebrate Your birth. I am in awe in the miracle and the mystery of your birth, and that you loved us that much.
During this Christmas season, please help me to be focused on You and on the people around me who need to get to know You. Help me to stay focused on what really matters this season, which is the promise fulfilled the day Jesus Christ was born. The words of the prophet Isaiah came true that night; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). We celebrate that during this season. Lord, help me to be encouraged by that truth.
In Jesus Name I pray, amen.
2. Refreshment at the New Year
“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
God instituted seasons and patterns in the natural world, which define the rhythms by which people have lived for all time. There are times for planting seeds, and times for harvesting. There are times of rest, and times of work. This was His design. “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21).
While industrialization and technology has changed the way we experience these rhythms, they are still there and we have found new ways to experience them. When it is time to celebrate the new year, people take time to reflect, to meditate, and to make resolutions for changes they want to make in their lives.
After the flood, God promised Noah and his descendants, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). That promise is encouraging! No matter what is going on in the world, until it is time for all things to end, there will always be new opportunities, new years, and chances to live out the life God has for you.
Every day and every year is an opportunity to draw closer to the living God, who wants a personal relationship with everyone. It is also a chance to share the Gospel with people who don’t know Him yet, and don’t have guarantees of eternal life and salvation. In the new year, Christians can re-commit themselves to the Great Commission, to their relationship with the Lord, and to growing in the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Holy Father,
Thank you for the opportunity to renew and refresh ourselves physically, spiritually, and culturally with the celebration of the new year. Stagnation can be unhealthy for us as humans, so we thank you for creating rhythms and seasons to keep us grounded.
Lord, please help the new year to be a time where I reconnect with You. Bring to my mind things I need to grow in, and sins or temptations I need to leave. Help me to become more like Jesus this year, and less like the sinful world. Make me a better witness and evangelist for the lost this year. Help me to reach more people who do not know they need a Savior, and give me the courage to share the Gospel. Please bless me this year. Let this be a good year.
In Jesus name I pray, amen.
3. Joy All Season Long
“A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever’” (Isaiah 40:6-8).
It is easy to be joyous during Advent and the Christmas season, since it a time of gift-giving, being focused on God’s incredible goodness, and being together with family. Once the holidays have passed, it can be hard to keep up that momentum. Some people even struggle with seasonal depression due to the lack of sunlight, the cold, and the lack of excitement coming off the holidays.
But God assures us that there are always reasons to rejoice if we know Him! Paul encouraged the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Even in winter, when all the holidays are over, God is always present, giving Christians access to unbelievable joy and comfort.
Jesus came in order to die on the cross, paying the price for people’s sin. He rose from the grave, defeating death; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). That is an incredible reason to be joyful all year long! Even though we deserve to be punished with eternal separation from God because of our sin and wickedness, God has created a way for anyone to have their sins forgiven and receive the gift of everlasting life. Once someone is saved, they can rest assured in the knowledge their sins are forgiven, and their name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Beyond that, we are invited to join God in His great work, which is to share the Gospel with other people and pray for them so they can also be saved. Eternal life in heaven with God is certainly something to rejoice over.
In that relationship, we have other assurances that are reasons to have joy during the winter season. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:13-14).
Looking for more joy this winter? Simply ask for it! God wants us to have joy in this life. While that is not a guarantee that we will get whatever we want, or even that life will be easy, we can still find joy in the Scriptures, in our relationships with other Christians, in sharing the Gospel, and in our walk with the living God.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
Photo credit: Unsplash/Mike Blank
Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.