A Holy Pause Before the Christmas Crazy

WELCOME to my annual Christmas prayer journey! Designed to help you focus on what really matters during the holidays, this once a week devotional and prayer time will help you still your heart, give you peace, and focus on Jesus. So breathe. Pray. And allow your heart to rest. 

What if, at the very brink of the Christmas crazy, before we even think about setting the Thanksgiving table, and before we drag out boxes of tangled lights, sift through glittery decor, and tenderly unpack nativity sets, we allow ourselves the luxury of a holy pause? What if instead of allowing the briskness of the season to scoot us forward on its endless current, we stopped and bowed our hearts before the One who stepped out of heaven, in awe and wonder of all He has done?  

What if we allowed our hearts to marvel at His unfathomable journey from eternity into an unassuming, most unroyal manger? What if we pondered the miracle of His birth and the reason behind it? What if we asked Him to fill our hearts to overflowing with the reality of the priceless gift of His presence?

And what if that made all the difference? What if making time to be with the One Christmas is all about changed the very atmosphere of our hearts? 

Here’s the challenge: let’s make the decision to engage in a holy pause each day this holiday season. A simple pause. An exquisite shift of perspective. An abiding heart transformation. 

{Let’s Pray}

Lord,

You are awesome and mighty. Right now I stop and bow my heart before You. Lord, I always long to connect with You in a meaningful way, but I especially long to experience meaningful moments with You now, before the holidays sweep in. 

Please help me to make time for a daily holy pause all throughout the holidays, so that my heart can relax and focus on You…so that I am not overwhelmed, stressed, scowling, or cranky. Lord, shift my perspective. Change the atmosphere of my heart and fill me with Your peace and joy.

Help me to ponder Your willingness to step out of heaven to walk on earth, recognizing that You don’t always do things the way we might expect, as Your humble birth proves. Thank you for filling my heart with Your abundant, overflowing love, Your grace, and Your peace. Help me to turn my heart toward You daily. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.