Prayers for the First Week of Advent

God of hope,

when Christ your Son appears

may he not find us asleep or idle,

but active in his service and ready.

Come, O come Emmanuel,

you are the way, the truth and the life;

you are the true vine and the bread of life.

Come, living Savior,

come to your world which waits for you.

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast off the works of darkness

and put on the armor of light,

now and in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

so that when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who lives and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit,

one God now and forever.

from A New Zealand Prayer Book