Advent Practices – Week 2 – Day 5
THEME: COMFORT ISN’T COMFORTABLE
BREATH PRAYER: LORD, HELP ME CARRY YOUR COMFORT TO THOSE IN NEED.
CENTERING:
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of His servant David,
just as He promised
through the holy prophets long ago.
Luke 1:68-70
SETTLING IN:
- In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
- Open with a few moments of silence. Rest, and breathe deeply.
- Complete the following sentence in your journal: Today, I feel ________________.
- Read the centering verse above slowly (aloud or silently).
Pause for a few moments of silence, then pray this week’s breath prayer.
PRACTICE:
REFLECTION
Find a quiet place to stop and prayerfully reflect over your previous week.
- Open your journal and look back over what you have written for the past four days. If you haven’t written in a journal, scroll back through the past four days of practices and quickly remember what you experienced each day.
- In today’s journal entry, write a brief summary of what you have experienced this week in your spiritual practices. Take note of what surprised you, what you learned, or where you experienced resistance or frustration.
- This week, our prayer was that God would help us carry His comfort to those in need. As you reflect over the past five days, do you see any instances of Him doing this? How do you sense Him leading you toward a way to bring strength to others? Did He direct you toward a situation or person you might have otherwise missed? No matter how small or insignificant they might seem, these moments are answers to your prayer. Write them down, and thank God for giving You this grace.
- Take a moment to look at your calendar the upcoming week. As you do so, notice what you are excited about in the coming week, as well as anything that makes you anxious.
- Offer your upcoming week to God, inviting Him to be with you in each event. Give Him thanks for the times you look forward to, and ask Him to provide you peace in the fearful events.
- As you close in prayer, thank God for walking with you this week, for helping you carry His comfort to those in need.
