An Advent Prayer Calendar (Copy)

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

James 5:13-20 This passage touches on something that is probably woefully understated--and under-practiced--in many of us today, and that is the practice of prayer. James has much to say on the matter, but let me suggest something very practical, based on his words in today's passage. Let me suggest a particular prayer discipline for the four weeks of Advent (which begins next Sunday): Week One (November 27 - December 3): prayer for ourselves and for help in times of trouble or difficulty (don't we all have them?):

-Monday: health

-Tuesday: work & finances

-Wednesday: family

-Thursday: friends & community

-Friday: spiritual life Week Two (December 4-10): prayer for those around us, for their healing, their forgiveness, and whatever other needs they might have:

-Monday: their health

-Tuesday: their work & finances

-Wednesday: their family

-Thursday: their friends & community

-Friday: their spiritual life Week Three (December 11-17): prayer for the church and for its restoration and renewal. When James speaks of people 'having wandered away from the faith'', he isn't speaking of something sudden or intentional, but a gradual, unconscious drifting away. Isn't that very thing a problem with lots of Christians these days?

-Monday: its leaders & members (especially volunteers)

-Tuesday: its finances

-Wednesday: children & youth/ the elderly

-Thursday: growth, outreach, new members

-Friday: renewal/ spiritual life & growth

-Saturday: its properties

Week Four (December 18-24): prayer for our land and our nation, even as did Elijah for his country and its people:

-Monday: its government

-Tuesday: finances/ the economy

-Wednesday: health care

-Thursday: justice

-Friday: education

-Saturday: the environment

-Sunday: visible minorities (immigrants, First Nations, people of

colour, etc.)

The idea of these biddings is to provide ‘headings’ for our prayers which we can fill in with names and situations as appropriate. Seeing as some weeks don’t have a full complement of biddings (i.e. nothing on Saturdays or Sundays in some cases), those days can be used to fill in with days that were missed (or need repeating).