Christmas Card Prayers

Stop! Don’t throw out your Christmas cards when you pack up your decorations!

A few years back we heard of a family who put their Christmas cards near the dining room table. At every dinner they prayed for a family who had sent them a card.  Since then, we have adopted this tradition and we end up praying for the family all week, sometimes at breakfast, sometimes at dinner, sometimes both.

I never could throw out cute Christmas cards (especially the ones with pictures on them). I know of people who keep them on their refrigerator all year, and we’ve done that too. Some people scrapbook them.  And I had just thrown them in a box.

Then this little tradition came along, and it has stuck with us. We enjoyed it so much that we cycled through the cards again after we got to the end. It’s a great reminder to pray for others, and it takes the focus off of yourself and puts the focus on others.

Generally, you receive cards from friends or relatives. These are people who care enough about you to go through the trouble of taking pictures (which can be a chore in and of itself), choosing, paying for, addressing and sending these cards. They certainly could use some prayer throughout the year. What a lovely way to honor them and be in obedience to God. This tradition just clicks with me.