Christmas Card Prayer Challenge

Christmas Card Prayer Challenge:

Each year we receive Christmas cards from friends and family.  And one of my favorite things about Christmas is to read the letters and see the pictures of how children have grown or the additions to families by children or spouses.  What happens over a year and how successes, sadness, joys, celebrations, accomplishments, moves, job changes, etc affected the family, keep me connected to those whom I don’t get to see on a regular basis.  While I don’t know every detail from the 1 or 2 page letters, it is a window into the lives of those I love.  Then Christmas is over and the tree comes down and the decorations put away. Then there are all those cards and letters that give insight into the lives of individuals and families.  What do I do with those?  Throw them away?  Put them in a box? Store them like my Christmas decorations?  Several years ago, I decided to take each card, whether it was a picture, letter or store bought card and pray through them for the year.  I want to share with you how I do it, so maybe next year (or this year if you haven’t discarded your Christmas cards/letters) you can use them to pray for the specific person or family.
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I keep all the cards in a drawer (some years I have used a special box) and I pull out 1 card each week to pray for. {If I have more than 50 cards, I pray through 2 each week.} I start the week after New Year’s Day.  Usually the week of New Year’s is busy getting back into routine, taking down all the Christmas decorations, preparing for kids back to school, so for me it made sense to wait until the first full week of January.  I put the card on the fridge or coffee table so every day I see it.  This is one of the reasons I love picture cards!  I get to see the person or family who I am praying for.   I have 5 prayer points, so I give myself a cushion to miss praying for them 2 days/week. 

Here are the things I pray if you want to adopt this “Christmas card prayer challenge”:
Day 1:  To know God ~ a revelation of God as Father; to hunger and thirst after righteousness; salvation!
Ephesians 1:17-18, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance...”
Ephesians 3:17-18, “I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 3:5, “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love...”
Day 2:  Marriages (or if it is a single person, I pray for their relationships with family/friends) ~ Friendship, intimacy, vulnerability, strength, oneness, grow together, no separation, etc.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Day 3: Family interactions (with children, parents, relatives) ~ healthy relationships that encourage and strengthen one another
Psalm 128:3-4, “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.  Yes, this is the blessing for the man who fears the Lord.” 
Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
I Thessalonians 3:12, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else...”
I Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
Day 4: Priestly blessing ~ Asking the Father to watch over them; asking the Father’s ear to be open to their prayers; asking the Father’s voice to speak into their every situation. 
Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you (in every way both physical and spiritual)and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you (his kindness, light, glory, presence) and be gracious to you (full of compassion); the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (shalom).” 
Day 5:  This year to be filled with joy and peace and hope in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 
Psalms 71:14, “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
 
If you take up this challenge, let me know! 

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