Daily Reading for December 3

O great Chief,
light a candle in my heart,
that I may see what is in it,
and sweep the rubbish from your dwelling place.

An African schoolgirl’s prayer, quoted in 2000 Years of Prayer, compiled by Michael Counsell. Copyright © 1999. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com

God of the watching ones,
the waiting ones,
the slow and suffering ones,
and of the angels in heaven,
and of the child in the womb,
give us Your benediction,
Your good word for our souls,
that we might rest and rise
in the kindness of Your company.

Prayer at the lighting of the Advent candles, from Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community (New York: HarperOne, 2002).