The Seventh Prayer of Christmas

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Dear Jesus,

We adore You. We adore You because of who You are. We also adore You because You have given us great gifts. Lord, You have given us these gifts, not as individuals, to use them for our own sake. Rather, You have given us these gifts to build up one another. You have given us fellow believers to build us up with the gifts that You have graciously granted to us. We adore You, Lord, because everything that comes from You hand is good. You graciously give good gifts.

Lord Jesus, we confess that some have not always used the gifts that You have given them in a way that glorifies You. Lord, we also confess that, more often than should be the case, we have been far too tolerant of those who abuse Your gifts. Lord, both of these problems have caused damage to Your Name and reputation, and for that, we are sorry. Forgive us, we pray, and give us the grace to do the right thing from here on out.

Lord, we thank You for the gifts that You have given for the building up of Your church. We also thank You that You gave us the Church as a family of believers.We thank You for gifting us in such a way that we are able to build one another up. Thank You for gifting some to speak Your message boldly. Thank You for equipping others for the tasks of ministry. Thank You, Lord, for equipping yet others for teaching, leading, and exhortation. Thank You, Jesus, that You have equipped others for giving and for compassionate ministries. We thank You, Jesus, that You have gifted us in this way and built us up into a Body, with You as our Head.

Lord, we pray that You will show us how best to use the gifts that You have given each of us, so that we may serve You in the best way possible. Jesus, grant us wisdom and knowledge in deploying these gifts for Your service. We pray that our use of the gifts that You have given us will build us up, and not tear us down. Most of all, Lord, we pray that through the use of these gifts, we may glorify You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

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