One of the first things you can do in an effort to enhance your relationship with Christ at Christmas is pray. 1 Chronicles 16:11 tells us to seek the Lord and his strength and to seek His face continually. Being in active communication with God will help strengthen your relationship with Him. God not only listens to our prayers. He actively answers them. It’s important that you speak from your heart and you’re open to listening to what He has to say. At Christmas, pray that God fills your heart with His love and that you may also show His perfect will for your family and friends during this season. You can begin with this wonderful prayer:
Heavenly Father, I think about my family, my relatives, the neighbors, people with whom we will spend this Holiday Season. As I look at their faces and remember their stories, there are feelings of gratitude and some fear and anxiety. Thank you for these loved ones and please forgive me for the ways I have been less than accepting and loving. Please heal the wounds, division and conflicts that stand between us and help me to remember how dearly you love them. I only want to remember that you have come to save us all. Amen. (onlineministries.creighten.edu)
Another great prayer to lift up on Christmas day when opening gifts is this: Let me just for a moment, Lord, hold this time in my heart. It is about mysteries and gratitude, unknowing and wrong sizes, snippets of ribbon and screams of delight. Help me to remember the immense love you have for each of us in this room. With each gift that is opened, no matter how perfect or not, let me feel again the many ways you gift us each day, especially with your presence in our hearts and the presence of each other in our lives. (onlineministries.creighten.edu) This prayer reminds us to not get lost in worldly things at Christmas time, but to remember who the Season is really about: Jesus.
If you’re ready to come alive with Christ at Christmas, ask God how He wants you to celebrate the life of His son. Let Him lead you, be still and listen. The celebration of our newborn King can unfold in many ways. Some families with gather together and reenact the Nativity on Christmas Eve to remind themselves of the true meaning of the Season. Others will bake cakes and invite family, friends and others in the neighborhood over to have a birthday party for Jesus, then tell the Christmas story. You can even help children make baked goods for people in need, who may not experience the same joy we do at Christmastime. These can be delivered to the homeless, nursing homes, or even those you know with little faith. These acts allow God’s Word to come alive at a time when the story of Jesus is so important. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do as long as you’re celebrating Christ in a way that will have a lasting impact of others.
Another great way to come alive with Christ at Christmas is to begin a Christ-centered tradition, and make it a point to keep those traditions alive each year. This can be anything from committing to serving the homeless as a family during the Holiday Season, to helping a less fortunate family in the community with food or with a monetary gift. Some families will see Christmas programs, live Nativity scenes and local light events to see the miracle of Jesus unfold in a magical form. You can also make it a point to read more about the life of Jesus, particularly Scriptures about His birth, alone or as a family, to be reminded of the powerful journey that took place before and after our Lord and Savior was born.
This period is also a great time for introspection. John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We are immediately reminded of God’s Grace through the birth of Christ, an amazing example of God’s immense love for us.” The true joy of Christmas doesn’t come when we rush to get more done, or in the purchase of gifts. It comes when we truly make Christ the focus of our celebration. We should make sure that He is in our thoughts and in our lives, particularly through Advent as we anticipate Christ’s coming, when we’re fulfilling our duties at work and at home, and when we unwrap our presents under the tree on Christmas day. Jesus is alive and active and it’s important that we celebrate Him not only on Christmas day, but every day.
