Collect for the fourth Sunday in Advent (BCP):
O Lord,
raise up thy power, and come among us,
and with great might succour us;
that whereas, through our sins and wickedness,
we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us,
thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us;
through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord,
to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be honour and glory,
world without end.
Amen.
The race is hard. It’s mostly hard, Cranmer points out, because of our sins and wickedness. If only we could stop sinning and being so wicked, life would be much easier. But since we can’t, let’s pray for God’s power to come among us and look after us, and care for us. Let’s pray for God’s bountiful grace and mercy to speedily help us. Don’t wait around God, come soon. Come quickly. We need you now.
There isn’t much of a week of Advent this week. Just today. But try to find a minute or two today to ask God to come and look after you, to overflow with grace to you, to help you run the race all the way to the very end.