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The Christmas message was first given to the unseen — shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, surrounded by the darkness of night. It was they who first ran to see Jesus, worshiping the King of kings in a lowly manger.
Throughout his time on Earth, Jesus saw the unseen. People who had fallen through the cracks of society called out to him and he responded. People like blind Bartimaeus and the woman at the well.
This Advent season, we invite you to join World Relief staff in four Advent devotionals and prayers that will draw you closer to the “God who sees.” Each week we’ve included a written and audio version of the Scripture readings, reflections and prayers so you can join us through whichever format fits best in your busy holiday schedule.
We hope you’ll pause, reflect and pray with us this Advent season.
Don’t forget to bookmark these Advent prayers so you can easily find them throughout the holidays!
WEEK ONE: The God Who Sees
Scripture Reading: Genesis 16: 7-15
The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Reflection:
In the story of Hagar, we meet a woman who has endured a lifetime of abuse as an Egyptian slave. Systemic power keeps Hagar in unending oppression while Abraham and Sarah’s cruel impatience cause her even more harm. In Genesis 16, Hagar’s suffering ultimately extends to having to carry her master’s child. If this sounds horrible, it is.
I know, this probably isn’t the joyful message you were looking for to start your Advent season, but in order to truly cherish the sacred nature of God’s attention, we need to remember what it feels like to not have it. For Hagar, everything and everyone around her reinforced that she was unworthy — invisible. It’s not a stretch to think that Hagar felt completely forgotten, even by her own Creator.
But God sees…and fulfills.
God heard Hagar’s cries and saw her in her darkest moments. The angel of the Lord declared God’s promises for Hagar, a vision of her life that would extend to generations and alter the course of history. God didn’t just see Hagar in her suffering, he saw her in her flourishing — a vision that would even outlive her. At once, while feeling the gaze of her Maker, Hagar names God, El Roi, “the God who sees me”.
This Advent, we celebrate that same divine vision through the arrival of Jesus. He didn’t come for the powerful or the privileged; he came for the marginalized and overlooked. His birth is a testament to God’s unwavering love and commitment to those forgotten. In the same way God saw Hagar, Jesus sees us. As we journey through this season, may we rest in the hope, love and redemption of Immanuel — God with us.
Prayer for the First Week of Advent
Creator, maker and seer of all, you know us in the depths of our despair and in the springs of our joy. How holy it is to be so fully known.
As you did for Hagar, remind us of your true nature and the way you have consistently been working from the beginning.
The flesh wants us to forget who you are, how you view us and what you have promised the world.
Forgive us for our doubt, for our unbelief.
Open our hearts to see you as you truly are so that we might see each other clearly as well.
Give us a vision greater than ourselves in order to courageously step into the lives you declare for each one of us. Amen.
Jessica Galván is a Content Writer at World Relief. She is passionate about storytelling and amplifying diverse voices to reveal the beauty of God’s creation. She is also the Editorial Director for Chasing Justice and prior to World Relief, she was a freelance writer and editor for a variety of clients in publishing, most recently Penguin Random House. When she isn’t wordsmithing for the pursuit of faith and justice, she is spending time with her husband and their 3 children in the Houston, TX area.
WEEK TWO: The First to See
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Reflection:
I still remember with fondness the felt boards my Sunday School teachers would break out each Christmas to retell the nativity story. As a kid, it never seemed strange that there was such an odd guest list invited to see baby Jesus. Who would you invite to join you in one of your most intimate and special moments as a family, even welcoming God in the flesh? My guess is, it wouldn’t be strangers who smelled bad.
Yet it was shepherds, essential to the economy but overlooked at the bottom of society, whom God saw and called to come see the Savior that holy night. As dramatic as this scene was, the heavens opening up God’s glory to mere shepherds, it wasn’t new. Our God always sees those who are lowly and distanced, marginalized and removed. From Adam and Eve in the garden after the Fall, to the Israelites in Egyptian captivity, to the very tears in our own eyes that will one day be wiped away in his presence — God stunningly sees and relentlessly redeems.
Maybe today your sight feels overwhelmed through the relentless flood of technology and social media. Or maybe you feel paralyzed as you see suffering and brokenness that seem too big to enter into or even look at. It’s precisely here that we can rest in the truth that our calling to see comes as those who have first been seen, and stunningly so, by our God. It is from this new identity that we are invited with the shepherds to see not only our Savior, but also those at the furthest margins, following as he relentlessly redeems.
Prayer for the Second Week of Advent
Lord Jesus, we marvel with the shepherds as those who were once far off, but who have now been brought near.
Your gaze could overlook, but instead it knows intimately.
Your gaze could intimidate, but instead it invites in.
Your gaze is full of grace, bringing the divine to those who were distant, love to those who were lowly and invitation to those who were invisible.
Lord Jesus, we marvel with the shepherds as those who are not only seen but also who get to see you. May our gaze, as it fixes on you, be strengthened and sustained towards those at the margins whom you love, see and are redeeming. Amen.
Andrew Secrist is a Director of Strategic Partnerships at World Relief. He also serves as a non-staff pastor at his local church in Baltimore. With a seminary degree and business background, he is passionate about discipling and mobilizing the local church to live out its Christ-given calling.
WEEK THREE: Fully Seen
Scripture Reading: John 4:7-26
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
…The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
…Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir, the woman replied, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you — I am he.”
Reflection:
I have always loved this story about the Samaritan woman. Perhaps because I see a little bit of myself in her ambivalent skepticism each time she addresses Jesus with “Sir…sir…sir…”
I almost hear a hint of sarcasm in her voice, keeping Jesus at arm’s length. No need to let this Jewish man get too high up on his horse! After all, this Samaritan woman had good reason to be suspicious of someone like Jesus. First, because she was a woman, rendered less than by her culture. Second, she was used to being shunned by others. Women typically drew water together in groups — it was a social occasion — but this woman was drawing water alone. And third, because she was a Samaritan.
Jews and Samaritans had been at odds for centuries, dating back to Old Testament days when the Kingdom of Israel split into two. Although they worshiped the same God and shared ancestral roots, the Jews refused the Samaritans’ help when rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem because they viewed the Samaritans as less than. Over time, animosity between the two grew so much that Jews even avoided traveling through Samaria, opting to cross the Jordan River instead.
Until…Jesus.
Jesus put aside the cultural stigma he had inherited as a Jewish man and saw this woman deeply for all of who she was — a woman, a Samaritan, someone making questionable choices and someone fully loved by God.
Take time this week to sit with this story and ask yourself, who do you identify with more — Jesus or the Samaritan woman? Or maybe the disciples? Has culture or religion made you feel like you had to hide parts of yourself? Or perhaps you’ve sent others into hiding. Whatever the case may be, Jesus invites it all into his living waters. There’s no need to hide. We can let his love cover us.
Prayer for the Third Week of Advent
God, thank you for being the God who sees us fully. You see our gifts, and you see our shortcomings, and you invite us to bring them all into the loving presence of your redemptive waters.
We confess the ways we’ve let our hearts harden toward others — even when that hardness might be warranted. I pray you’ll forgive us for the pain we cause when we let fear, anger and division keep us from seeing people fully for who they are.
And I ask you to heal our wounds — heal my wounds — when I am the one who has been trampled on.
Thank you for being a God who mends, who knits us back together when culture or politics or even religion tears us apart. May we learn to see ourselves and all people as Jesus sees — fully loved, made in the image of God. Amen.
Rachel Clair served as a Content Writer at World Relief from 2019-2024. With more than 10 years of experience creating content and leading creative teams for churches and non-profits, she is passionate about connecting people to their creative gifts and developing content that helps people see the world in new ways.
WEEK FOUR: Help Me See
Scripture Reading: Mark 10:46-52
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Reflection:
“Rabbi, I want to see.” What a simple and profound prayer! Throughout Advent, we’ve meditated on how God, made incarnate in Jesus, sees the unseen. From Haggar to the shepherds to the woman at the well, God continually sees, seeks out and welcomes those on the margins into his kingdom of light.
We see his character at work again in the testimony of Bartimaeus who cried out to Jesus to restore his sight. Despite the crowd’s attempts to silence Bartimaeus, Jesus heard his cry and miraculously healed him. Hallelujah!
Have you ever felt like you were crying out in the dark? Maybe you’ve agonized over a life-changing decision or looked for answers you desperately needed. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone! At some point, life leaves all of us searching for direction-giving light in the midst of darkness.
That’s why I love the celebration of Advent. Growing up, my family always had an Advent wreath in our home. Each week, we would light a new candle — a warm, flickering flame in the midst of long and dark winter nights. A symbol of the transforming light Jesus brings into each of our lives.
This week, I encourage you to meditate not only on how God saw the unseen, but how he might be inviting you to share his vision for those who are suffering or on the margins today. That we, like Bartimaeus, would ask Jesus to open our eyes.
Prayer for the Fourth Week of Advent
Jesus, I want to see.
Like a candle in the dark, would you shine your light in my life and help me see the path you have prepared for me?
Help me to see others as you see them. Help me to see those who are often overlooked or forgotten. Open my ears and eyes to my neighbors near and far, and give me wisdom to know how to respond.
Thank you, Lord, for being the God who sees. Thank you for seeing me and for inviting me to carry your light into the lives of others. Amen.
Kelly Hill is the Senior Content Writer at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.
See the Unseen This Christmas
Thank you for joining us in prayer and reflection this Advent. At Christmas, we remember that El Roi, the God Who Sees, not only saw us, but stooped down to live, walk and heal among us. He carried with him a message that God sees and cares for all people, no matter their situation or standing in life.
Today, Jesus invites his church — people like you — to be his hands and feet, carrying that same message of hope to those in need around the world. As many of us gather with loved ones this season, we remember the 120 million who have been forced to flee their homes by war and persecution.
Will you see the 1 in 120 million, just as God has seen you among the many?