Everyday Prayers for ChristmasSample

Let There Be Light

It seems to be hardwired into our DNA that light is good, and darkness is not. We don’t have to be taught to be afraid of the dark. Even as babies, all of my girls needed night-lights at bedtime. During the Christmas season, we substituted those singular white lights for tiny Christmas trees. And to be honest, we were sad to take them down in January.

Light has a way of calming our anxious hearts no matter how old we are. When my husband traveled for work years ago and was out of town, it was common for me to promise my girls that they were perfectly safe at night … and then go to bed with my bathroom light on. The light streaming out under the closed bathroom door gave me a sense of security.

The darkness holds obscurity and omens.

But light brings comfort and courage.

And so, from a young age, we push back the darkness with whatever light we can find, we call it good, and we rest in it.

Something to Think About

In Genesis, the book of beginnings, we learn that God formed the universe and everything in it, bringing order, form, and function to the chaos and confusion of the cosmos. He filled the world with His goodness.

The first good thing that God created was light and immediately this good thing was separated from the darkness. It was a distinctive boundary line drawn physically between:

• Light and darkness
• Clarity and chaos
• Filled and empty

God spoke light into the inky blackness first so that we would never doubt that where He dwelled, there was light. And the light was good.

Prayer

Father, thank You that You brought order to the void from the very beginning of the universe. You began with light to remind us that You are always with us. This Christmas, we don’t have to be afraid of the darkness because the light of Your presence pierces it completely. May we rest in Your goodness today. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Questions for Deeper Reflection

Have you ever lost power for more than a few hours and had to depend on other forms of light such as candles or flashlights? What did you notice?

How did God create light on day one? Why do you think this is significant?