Dear Heavenly Father, the holiday season can be quite a trial and even a deep sadness to many people, especially those that are alone at this time, perhaps having lost a loved one through death or divorce or for some other reason.
Draw very close we pray, to those that are alone and lonely over this holiday time. May they discover closeness in their relationship with You that perhaps they did not enjoy before.
Thank You, that You are a God Who is able to sympathise with all our weaknesses, disappointments and difficulties, knowing that You have walked this earth before us and have been tested in similar ways, so that You understand what it means to be alone and isolated.
Comfort the lonely, console the grieving, support the weak, give grace to the afflicted, and reassure those who have allowed fear to invade their peace, with the certainty that You are their ever present help in time of trouble. This we ask in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Heavenly Father, Christmas-time is such a blessed season of the year as we remember the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in a stable in Bethlehem, and how we thank You for giving Your only begotten Son to be born into this world, so that by His death and resurrection, He could become our Saviour, and we could become Your children.
Thank You for the wonderful hope that the Christmas message instils into each of our hearts, and the glorious message of the gospel of peace. Peace with God to all Who believe in His name and the peace with God for all who have become Your children.
Help us never to minimise the importance of that time when as our great, eternal Creator God, You broke into human history and became God incarnate, identifying with a race of fallen men, by taking on a body the human flesh, so that You could empathise with out frailty and learn obedience by the things that You suffered.
Lord, I thanks You from the bottom of my heart for all Your goodness and grace to us, and for loving us so much that You chose to be born into our race so that we might be identified with Your righteousness. Praise Your holy name.
Amen.
Praise You Father, for the atoning death and glorious resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We thank You, Father, that Christ was risen from the dead and is seated today at the right hand of the majesty of high, having won the final victory over sin, Satan and death.
Thank You, that Christ has become the first-fruit of a great harvest of souls, who have fallen asleep in Him. Thank You, that all who belong to Christ, have been given the forgiveness of their sins and received newness of life in Him and will one day be raised from the grave, to live for evermore with You in heavenly places.
Thank you, that by the cross and resurrection of Christ every ruler, authority, principality and power have been placed under His supreme authority and rule, and that Christ Himself shall reign until He has humbled all His enemies beneath His feet.
All power and glory, might and majesty, dominion and power be unto Him that sits upon the throne, for ever and ever,
Amen.
Heavenly Father, it seems so silly and wrong to get so depressed about this up-coming holiday, but Lord You know that I find holidays quite difficult to cope with, and I know that I cannot break out of this cycle of holiday depression, without Your help and strength.
Show me what I ought to do in order to prevent this holiday depression descending on me as my vacation draws closer. Teach me what to do when panicky thoughts start to fill up my mind and show me how to prevent those thoughts from taking hold of me, and pushing me back into a state of despair and depression.
Lord, I know that in the Bible it says that we should, ‘take every thought captive’ and I don’t really know how to do this, but I do pray that You would help me to apply this biblical principle in my own life to my holiday depression, so that when I become aware of any feeling of despair or desperation, I will be enabled to hand it over to You, Who has promised to carry all our cares and difficulties.
Lord, may I truly break free of this recurring holiday depression once and for all, and in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, I pray I will not be bothered again by this debilitating holiday depression. This I ask in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Lord, at this festive holiday time, we pray that You would be with us in all that we do and all that we plan. And today, we particularly want to ask You to bless the holiday party that we are organising, and all the guests that we have invited to share in this special time of celebration.
We ask that You would undertake for all the preparations and plans that we are making for the food and entertainment, and we ask that You would be pleased to bless this little gathering of friends and family who will be joining together for this special holiday party.
Give travelling mercies we pray, for those that are coming from a distance, and we ask that You would grant the warmth of Your love to shine in to the hearts and lives of all that attend.
Grace us we pray with You presence at our holiday function, and may the sunshine of Your love shine into the hearts of all who are coming. May this party be a time when we honour Your name in our actions, attitudes and behaviours. Prevent any discord we pray, and may we be united together in love and fellowship to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Loving Lord, thank You so much for holiday times and the wonder and excitement that they engender in all our hearts, and I just want to praise You for all the goodness and grace You generously pour out on us and all people. Especially, I thank You for the many blessings we gain from these important times of holiday fun and family reunion.
I remember the many feast days and times of rejoicing that You planned for Your people Israel and I bless You that we too have holiday days and holiday seasons, when our inner soul can be refreshed and rejuvenated in a relaxed atmosphere, when we are surrounded by precious friends and family members, and which provides us with such special opportunities of close fellowship and communal fun.
At this holiday season I particularly remember those that are alone, or ill, or going through times of stress or difficulty, and pray that You would draw very close to each and every one. Let them know Your special peace in their heart and give to each one Your sufficient grace.
Thank You, that You are a God that answers prayer. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Heavenly Father, there are times when I almost wish that there was no holiday period, because I find that as the holiday approaches, the more I am overtaken by stress and panic. In my heart I prefer to keep things as they are, and yet I know that holidays are an important time of refreshment.
Lord, I believe that You actually designed holidays into man’s schedule, so that they would have times of fun, feasting and family relaxation, and a time of good fellowship, when friends and families get together and enjoy each others company, in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.
Lord, I ask that You would remove far away from me this inherent stress that seems to rear its unfortunate head every time a holiday approaches, and replace it I pray, with a perfect peace of heart within, that only You can give.
I ask Lord, that You would help me to recognise when the feelings of stress and panic start to emerge within, and help me to hand every stressful thought and each pang of panic over to You, and enable me to rest in Your love and to relax in Your grace. This I ask in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Loving Lord, we thank You for times of rest and relaxation and the opportunity to refresh our spiritual and bodily batteries. I remember that in the Bible the time that You took Your disciples apart from their busy ministry activities to “come apart and to rest awhile”, and it is wonderful that You grant us similar opportunities to take time to be reinvigorated and revitalised, both mentally and physically.
During this time away from my work place I ask that You would release any conscious or unconscious stresses or strains that I may have built up over the past months, and help me to switch off my mind from the urgent things that may be mounting up at work, so that I may return reinvigorated and better equipped to face the responsibility on my return.
Thank You for this time away from work, and I pray that this will be a time of great refreshment and renewal and a special time Lord when I draw even closer to You. In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
Loving Father, we thank You for the birth of Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and the perfect Son of Man, Who was born in a stable and lived His whole life in humble obedience to Your will. Thank You, for sending Him to be our Saviour and to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
Lord, at this Christmas time, we pray for all those men and women who do not know You as their Saviour, and pray that in Your mercy and grace You would convict many of their need of a Saviour.
Lord, we know that the world seeks peace and yet there will never be any peace in this world until Christ reigns in power. And there will never be peace within the heart of man until the Lord Jesus takes up residence in a believing heart. Continue to carry out Your convicting work in the hearts of the nations we pray, especially during this Christmas time, and may many come to know You as their Saviour. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Thank You, Lord, for the times of refreshment and opportunities to go away on a holiday, so that we may be renewed in body soul and spirit. And Lord, we particularly thank Your for this lovely summer holiday time, and pray that You would be with us as we spend time away from the hustle and bustle of the work-a-day week and take time to rest awhile.
Lord, it was You Who reminded Your own disciples that they needed to times of refreshment and from the stresses and strains of the day, and we thank You for this opportunity to enjoy different and new experiences. May our time away be one of warmth and love and filled with fun and fellowship. May our hearts overflow with Your joy and peace and may we fill our lungs with laughter.
Watch over our journey as we travel and protect us from all difficulties and dangers. May we rest in You and return refreshed in body soul and spirit to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Dear God, I seem to get what I can only describe as, “holiday blues,” when I know that my holiday is getting closer, and it causes me to become quite stressed, agitated, weary and depressed. Lord, I truly want to overcome this unpleasant feeling effectively and permanently, and pray that in Your grace, You would show me what I need to do to triumph over it it for all time.
Lord, there have been many people who have kindly tried to suggest solutions, but I know in my heart that only You have the right answer for my ‘holiday blues’, and I pray that You would show me what I need to do to be rid of it forever.
Lord, into Your hand I place this problem, which is becoming such a big disadvantage in my life, and ask You to guide me to the right solution. Lord, if there is anything in my life that needs to be addressed before this inner conflict can be resolved, or if there is anything in me that is preventing me from being set free from this debilitating ‘holiday blues,’ I pray that You would graciously work in me, so that I may begin to look forward with excitement to my holiday, instead of dread. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Loving Lord, as the time for our holiday gets closer, I pray that You would be with us, as we make all the necessary plans and preparations for this much needed time of rest and refreshment.
Help us not to miss any important preliminaries in our arrangements as we get ready, and we pray that there will not be any last-minute problems to hinder of prevent our holiday plans.
Thank You for this wonderful opportunity to recharge our mental, spiritual and physical ‘batteries’, so that we may be able to spend time away from the hustle and bustle of the every-day life and return rejuvenated and ready to continue our daily tasks, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Father, I thank You for the opportunity to take a holiday and be enabled to have a complete break from the daily rounds and the many responsibilities and routines that govern our lives.
It is such a joy to have this break, and I pray that it will be a time of rest and refreshment where I am enabled to go quietly through the day without having to plan for the many ‘workaday’ things that have become the norm in my busy daily schedule.
I pray that during this holiday, I will enjoy both spiritual and physical renewal, and find rejuvenating rest for my mind and spirit as well as enjoy relaxation and respite for my body as well. Thank You, Father, in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Loving Lord, as we prepare to leave for our journey, we pray for travelling mercies over land and sea, and place ourselves under You protective care. Be with us as we set out for our holiday, and we ask that You would keep us safe every step of the way, as we journey to our destination.
Go ahead of our route we pray, and we ask that You would prevent any unnecessary hindrances or delays on our travel arrangements. Guard us from the evil one we pray, and stand guard over our home while we are away.
Father, into You hands we commend ourselves and place our lives, our journey and our home into Your safe keeping. This we ask in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Heavenly Father, what a joy it is to have a fellowship meal together on this special Thanksgiving holiday and to be able to lift up our united our voices in thanks and praise, for all Your grace and mercy towards us, and for providing for so much more that our basic needs and the simple necessities of life.
How good it is to sing praises and thanks to You on this special Thanksgiving Day, for all You goodness and loving kindness to us, for our family, friends and loved ones, for our homes and health, our schools and our work, for our food and clothing, our gifts and talents, and for our emotions, our free-will and our God-given intellect.
We thank You for the beauty of nature that surrounds us with the loveliness of the ever-changing seasons that refresh and revitalise us. We bless You for the day and the night and for periods of sleep and rest, so that we may be refreshed and enabled to face the responsibilities of our daily round.
But most of all, we bless and thank You for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be our sacrifice for sin. Thank You, that He was born into the human race so that He could die a sacrificial death, on our account. Thank You that He paid the price for our sin with His precious blood, and that He rose again from the dead, to give us His life.
May You be very close to each one of us as we celebrate this special Thanksgiving Day, and may our fellowship one with the other be a sweet perfume to You, as we rejoice together and lift our united voices in praise and thanksgiving, for all that You are and all that You have done for each one of us. This we pray in Jesus' name,
Amen.