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PRAYER GUIDE
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38
As Advent prepares to give way to Christmas, it is appropriate to think about making room for Jesus. All the prophets and saints in the Old Testament were waiting for the Messiah to come, but Mary was the one who welcomed the Messiah into the world. On the one hand, Mary is unique among all humans. Only one person has partnered with God to bring Jesus into the world literally. Only Mary was the biological mother of the Messiah…or as the Orthodox call her “theotokos,” the God-bearer.
On the other hand, Mary is the prototype for all humans. The purpose of human life is to image God and for Christ to be formed in us. For his Kingdom to be brought into the world through us. Just as Mary was pregnant with divine purpose, every human being is created and intended to extend the love and presence and Kingdom of God into the world through their own life.
Friend, as you read this, whether you know it or not, your life is pregnant with purpose. In the very same way God wanted to bring his Kingdom into the world through Mary, He wants to do this through you. In the same way God wanted to form Jesus in Mary, he wants to form Jesus in you through the presence and power of the Spirit.
But if God is to get his wish, we have to say yes. Mary did have a choice. The Angel spoke in the future tense. “The Holy Spirit will come on you. The power of the Most High will overshadow you.” But it would not happen until Mary said yes. Gabriel did not leave Mary until she had uttered what are perhaps the most momentous words in all of human history. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Will you give God permission this Christmas to show up in and through your life. Will you allow him to bring to fruition the purpose he has for your life? Will you say yes? Will we, his people, say yes to Him.
Mary didn’t just say yes, she made room for Jesus. Bearing the Messiah, especially as an unwed teenage mother in a patriarchal religious society would expose her to shame, to danger. It would risk the loss of her marriage to Joseph. But Mary was willing to be inconvenienced, even endangered, in order to make room for God in her life.
Friends, it’s time for us to make room for Jesus. For too long now, God’s church has been in a long slow decay and decline. It has been shrinking. It has lost its power, its vitality, its moral authority. What we need is for God to show up in the church. But when he does, it will certainly make us uncomfortable. We will not be in control. We will be inconvenienced. Revival is overwhelming and it is disruptive. Any time God shows up, he cleans house. He changes things. Are we willing to make room for him like Mary did, to bring renewal and revival in our lives, homes, churches, and cities?
For Reflection/Prayer
- Where do you need to say yes to Jesus in your life? Where do you need to make room for Him in your life? Where are the places you’ve been keeping him out?
- Where does your family need to say yes to Jesus? To make room for Jesus? Pray for this. Invite Jesus in.
- Where does your church need to say yes to Jesus? To make room for Jesus in this season? This coming year? What are the things Jesus has been saying or asking? Say yes. Say yes for yourself and as an act of intercession for those who are not able to say yes yet.
- Where does our city and region need to say yes to Jesus and make room for Jesus? Stand in the gap. Confess, repent, and invite Jesus to be Lord in our city and region.
In Our Time 