From my book Prayers for All Seasons (Book 2), a reminder that Advent expectation is not about speculating concerning end times but about living more fully, more faithfully, the time we’re given now.
Lord of all,
you tell us to wait and pray for that time
when Christ shall come again to establish his kingdom;
that time when your purpose shall be fulfilled
and your name made known and worshipped on all the earth!
You challenge us to live in the light of that promise –
help us to respond.
Teach us, we pray, never to lose sight of your purpose,
never to stop believing that you are at work,
never to lose confidence in your kingdom.
Teach us that, as Christ came, so he shall come again.
You challenge us to live in the light of that promise –
help us to respond.
But teach us also not to waste the present moment,
not to place all our hope in the future,
or to imagine that you are unconcerned
for us and your world now!
Teach us to recognise that Christ is with us always,
by our side to the end of time.
You challenge us to live in the light of that promise –
help us to respond.
Help us to live and work for you always,
rightly and responsibly enjoying your many gifts,
and seeking to do your will and follow your ways.
Help us to live each day
as though Christ were coming back at that moment,
until that day when he returns in glory
and you are all in all.
You challenge us to live in the light of that promise –
help us to respond.
For his name’s sake.
Amen.