Invitation and Preparation
O God, make speed to save us
O Lord, make haste to help us
(Silence)
Let us pray:
Blessed are you, sovereign Lord, God of our ancestors: to you be praise and glory for ever. You called the patriarchs to live by the light of faith and to journey in the hope of your promised fulfillment. May we be obedient to your call and be ready and watchful to receive your Christ, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are our light and our salvation. Amen.
Listen and Receive
Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Genesis 17:3-8
May the Word of God rest gently on our hearts, that when our hearts break the Word of God may flow in.
(Silence)
Reflect and Respond
Abram has followed God and found the outward trappings of success in the new land. He has wealth and strength, but his wife Sarai has borne no children. He is ninety-nine years old when once more God appears to him and promises that he will be exceedingly fruitful, the father of kings and nations.
It is often difficult to hold onto the promises of God when it seems that hope is lost, when reason tells us that that it is impossible, and doubt and fear conspire against us telling us to just give up.
I wonder, as you consider whatever may be “missing” in your life, the hope or dream as yet unfulfilled, what promise of God can you cling to? How might you be watchful and waiting to receive God’s improbable or even impossible answer to your prayers?
Blessed and Sent
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
In this season of light, may your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.