But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32 ESV

Can you remember a single time in the life of Jesus when he said, “I’ll be praying for you!”? He prayed when He was woken from sleep in a storm and He prayed in the desert for forty days. He prayed when people were hungry to multiply bread and He prayed for God to forgive His enemies from the cross. Everywhere and always Jesus prayed because He knew that His Father was listening. We probably already knew about those prayers of Jesus but did you ever stop to think that Christmas is in fact, the ultimate answer to every person’s prayer. God heard and He sent us His Son.

Prayer is also the greatest gift we can give to anyone this Christmas, every needs Jesus and anything is possible when we pray. Those who feel alone can experience His presence; He came as Immanuel – God with us. For friends who have lost their way, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem answers their prayers for forgiveness because He came as God’s sacrifice for sin. For the friends or family who feel life is very dark with this pandemic, He is the light of the world.

For those feel week, He came as to be our strength. For those of us who know we have done things wrong and hurt others, Jesus shows Himself as the friend of sinners. no matter our need, Jesus is the answer to our prayers . What greater gift we could give to someone else is there than to be able to honestly say “but I have prayed for you”