Awaken us to Your Presence

Have been using David Adam's wonderful wee book "The Rhythm of Life" recently as an aid to my daily devotions, and came to the end of it last Friday. The last set of prayers and readings in it are a short set of devotions for a Saturday night, under the title of "Advent: the Coming One." Obviously that had special resonance for me at this time of year, and it spurred me on to write this short responsive prayer largely based on the material there, focussing again on the watchfulness that advent should engender... I hope you find this helpful as you head into another week in the run up to Christmas:

Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Dispel the darkness of night.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Clear the deafness from our ears.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Remove the blindness from our eyes.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Soften the hardness in our hearts.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Eradicate the slowness in our brains.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Stimulate our senses and make us more aware of you.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.

Into a world of gathering gloom
Into a society riven by strife
Into our sense of impotence
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into our joys and celebrations
Into our homes and families
Into our work and rest
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into the hearts of those in desperation
Into the bodies of those who are ill
Into the void left by those who are absent
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Come, Lord, awaken us with your presence
Maranatha
Come, Lord Jesus.

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