by Sara Goodyear.
O Come, O Come, Immanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appears.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
This is an image of Advent — of lament and longing, but also of hope.
In this painting by Michael Cook, a man’s arms encircle a small seedling under radiant stars. A luminous heavenly blue glow infuses the scene. The title of the painting is “Night Prayer,” and implies that the small plant represents a prayer to God. The man’s face is lined and creased with suffering and sorrow, and he is desperate for his prayers to be heard. Through the long night he hopes God hears and answers his tiny, vulnerable, seedling-sized prayer. He has just a small, barely-there amount of faith, but he carefully guards it, and tends it in the dark, believing that his Heavenly Father will answer and bring help.
Perhaps, he too is whispering the prayer millions of people have made through the centuries, “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!”
During Advent at Christmas-time we wait alongside the people of Israel, who for thousands of years longed for the birth of their coming Savior, Christ-Messiah. One of those prophets was Isaiah, who foretold that, “The LORD Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him, ‘Immanuel,’ God-With-Us.” (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:27).
Many years later, at just the right time, God did fulfill this prophecy, by sending His Son Jesus, Immanuel, to be born in a stable to Mary and Joseph.
I wait for the LORD,
My soul waits,
And in His Word I do hope.
My soul waits for the LORD
More than those who watch for the morning–
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
Jesus’ death and ultimate resurrection was all on our behalf — and He wants us to come to Him — and ask Him for whatever we need. His Word is profound: Jesus says to us, “Ask, and it shall be given to you.” (Matt. 7:7).
When we too, cry out with our “night prayers” to Jesus, He hears us, and helps us. Our tiny mustard seed of faith will become a seedling, and finally a mighty tree! We trust in His Word. Therefore, we wait on Him with great hope!
They cried out to the LORD in their trouble
and He delivered them from their distress
Psalm 107:6
+++++++++
What are your night-prayers?
[Image of Night Prayers: permission to post given by artist Michael Cook]
