This past Sunday marked the beginning of Advent. You may have found that the word “advent” has become quite trendy as more and more “advent” calendars pop up all over the place used to countdown the days til Christmas. It’s derived from the latin word “adventus” which means “coming”–someone wonderful is coming!
Many of us know all too well what it’s like for December to blur by—what it’s like to arrive on the doorstep of Christmas as another exhausted casualty of our consumeristic age.Reacting. Organizing. Shopping. Planning. Wrapping. Budgeting. Stressing. Eating. Stress-eating.So I am writing to those who, like me, need to slow down and embrace the oft-missed words of the famous carol, “Let every heart prepare him room.”
~Adam Ramsey
So what I am proposing is for us to take a minimum of 10 minutes each morning for the next 12 days to rekindle and awaken our love for who Christ is and what He’s done for us.
If you’re like me I’ve grown up in a Christian home and I can tell you the various Bible stories with my eyes closed. Sometimes that familiarity makes us lose the wonder of His wondrous work.
So we will do this by leaning into His word and discovering once again who He is. We will learn more about that particular name or attribute. Then we will spend some time praying it as we write the scripture out in our journal.
Most of us realize we need to slow down and make Christ the focus of this season but knowing where to begin can be difficult so I’ve created this Praying Through the Names of Jesus this Christmas Season challenge.
But lest we think doing our devotional or regularly praying gives us brownie points with God I want to clarify that as a child of God you stand before Him redeemed, justified and righteous. You’re standing has been secured at the Cross, so rest my dear sister in Christ, rest in His finished work on the Cross!
We do this because being in His word and prayer gives us the strength for all that today and tomorrow holds. We worship Him as we dive deeper into His character and gain a greater sense of awe and wonder at who He is.
Praying Through the Names of Jesus
For families, I’ve created an Advent activity that coincides with these 12 Names of Jesus so you can enjoy going through each name as a family together–12 Names of Jesus Advent Ornaments Family Activity.
I know for us Christmas was the perfect time to set apart our holidays for Christ instead of just going with the flow of what everyone else was doing or what was expected of us.
December will be busy. But it doesn’t have to be a blur. Let’s begin preparing room in our hearts this Advent for Immanuel—God with us.” ~A. Ramsey
There are no registrations or sign ups. All you need is a Bible and a journal. Join me every morning for the next 12 days beginning December 3rd at my Facebook Page and we can discuss, learn from each other.
You can download the FREE Names of Jesus Prayer Plan ——-> Praying Through the Name of Jesus Plan (1)
Using the Sticky Prayer format to help you Pray Through the Names of Jesus
A few months ago I shared with you all one of the ways that I have been able to make my prayer time stick. You can read about my prayer notebook HERE.
So today I’m going to show you how to take that same format of P. R. A. Y and apply it to any scripture you’re meditating on and specifically as we pray through the names of Jesus.
- Praise
- Repentance
- Ask
- Yield/Rest
You can use this sheet if it’s helpful but I prefer to write it out in my journal. You can download it here—> Names Of Jesus Prayer Sheet
We’ll go through the first name of Jesus that we will be discussing.
Name of Jesus: Truth
Scripture: John 1:14
Praise: Here in this section you want to praise God for how He reveals the character or attributes of Jesus through this name and/or verse.
Heavenly Father, I marvel at the inexplicable words before me, “Your Word became flesh”. You came near among us as a baby robed in grace and truth. Thank you for being the truth. Your word is truth. In a time when life is filled with so many lies I thank you that I can stand on the solid rock of your truth. Moses gave us the law but you came in Grace and truth!
Repent: In this section you want to spend some time asking God to search your heart in light of this verse. Lord, I acknowledge that I don’t always walk in your Truth. Forgive me for believing the lies of the enemy, of others and of my heart. Teach me to walk in Truth.
Ask: In this section you want to spend some time interceding for others. Asking God for what may be burdening your heart. Heavenly Father, As I think about your truth I humbly come before you and ask that you would help my children walk in your truth. May it be an anchor for their soul firm and secure.
Yield: In this section you want to pause, listen and surrender. Ask God to speak to you what is true from this passage that which He may want to use in your life for today. You sit quietly and listen to Him. If this is hard one thing that you can do is repeat the name of Jesus for that day. Jesus you are truth. Jesus you are truth…
I love this Sticky Prayer Format because it helps guide me when my mind is all over the place.
Enjoy spending time at His feet!
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