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Prayer Tip--There’s Something About Mary

December 8, 2024
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Daily Scripture

Matthew 1:18 (CEB), Luke 1:26b-31, 34-35, 38 (CEB)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus… Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son… Nothing is impossible for God.” Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.”

Daily Reflection & Prayer

What is the very hardest prayer to pray? For me, and I imagine for a lot of us, is the very beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s familiar and we say it often, but saying the words and meaning them are two very different things. The hard words? “… thy will be done.”  Not “here is what I think needs to happen, please make it so,” but “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Today, we read those words, spoken by a young woman who has been told that God’s will is for her life to be completely disrupted in an unbelievable way, and yet she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be done with me just as you said.”
Our lives belong to God, but we seem to live in a constant battle for control, and that battle leaves us spiritually and emotionally, and sometimes mentally and physically, exhausted.
From the moment the angel appeared to her, Mary’s life was forever changed. God knew she would see great things, and terrible things. She would love and care for God’s own son. The entire world would be changed by her willingness to give herself over to God’s will. There was no way for her to know all that was coming, but she trusted God and said, “Thy will be done.”
When we come to God in acceptance of God’s perfect will, we accept the gift of God’s presence in our lives and release the burden of trying to run everything. We also commit to coming to God in prayer and seeking guidance through Scripture, teaching, and the love and support of other believers.
Prayer
Advent is the perfect time to pray with Mary,
“I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be done with me just as you said.”
Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Jennifer Creagar

Jennifer Creagar

This week's Prayer Tip is by Jennifer Creagar  who serves as the Community Assistance Coordination Director in Resurrection's Congregational Care Ministry. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.

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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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