Advent Prayers: For Each Week of the Season
Advent is the four-week season of watchful waiting that opens the Christian year, running from the fourth Sunday before Christmas through Christmas Eve — in 2026, that is Sunday, November 29 through Thursday, December 24. The word comes from the Latin adventus, "coming," and the season holds two comings in view at once: the church looks back to Christ’s first coming as a baby in Bethlehem, and forward to His promised return, all while walking through the shorter, more immediate wait for Christmas Day itself.
Most Western traditions mark the four Sundays with the themes hope, peace, joy, and love, often lit on a wreath of four candles (plus one white candle for Christmas), and the season traces its roots to the prophetic longing of Isaiah and the Gospel accounts of the angel’s announcement to Mary. Below you will find original prayers for each week of Advent, a prayer for lighting the wreath, and a short daily prayer to use with an Advent calendar — along with the scripture behind the season and answers to the questions people ask most about it.
A Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent (Hope)
God of hope, You promised a light to a people walking in darkness, and You kept that promise in Your Son. As this season of waiting begins, steady my hope when the days feel ordinary and my heart feels distracted. Teach me to watch for You the way the prophets watched — expectant, patient, certain of Your faithfulness even before I see it fulfilled. Amen.
A Prayer for the Second Sunday of Advent (Peace)
Prince of Peace, the world You entered was not peaceful, and the world I live in often isn’t either. Quiet the noise in my home and in my head this week. Where there is conflict, let me be a source of calm rather than more heat. Prepare in me a straight path for You, the way John the Baptist called Israel to prepare — clearing away what crowds You out. Amen.
A Prayer for the Third Sunday of Advent — Gaudete Sunday (Joy)
Lord, this week the Church says "rejoice" — Gaudete — even in the middle of waiting. Give me real joy, not manufactured cheer: the deep, steady gladness of knowing You are near, "the Lord is near" as Paul wrote to the Philippians. Let me carry that joy to someone who has none of their own this Advent. Amen.
A Prayer for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Love)
Father, Mary said yes to a love that cost her everything the world could throw at her, and she carried it anyway. As Christmas draws close, teach me a love that shows up in action, not only in feeling — patient with my family, generous with my time, humble the way Your Son was humble in a manger. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
A Prayer for Lighting the Advent Wreath
Lord, we light this candle (these candles) as a sign of our waiting for You. Let its small light remind our household that Your light is greater than any darkness we carry into this season — worry, grief, distance from each other, distance from You. Gather us around this flame each week, and gather our hearts toward the manger. Amen.
A Short Daily Advent Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Make my heart ready to receive You today — in the ordinary, the hurried, and the small. Amen.
A Prayer for Waiting Well During Advent
Lord, I am not naturally patient, and this season asks me to wait on purpose. Slow me down inside a culture that has already moved on to Christmas before Advent has even started. Let me sit with the longing instead of rushing past it — the same longing the prophets carried for centuries, the same longing Mary carried for nine months. Whatever I am waiting on You for right now, in my own life, teach me to wait the way this season teaches: with hope that does not give up, and trust that Your timing, though slower than mine, is never late. Amen.
A Christmas Eve Prayer to Close Advent
Tonight the waiting ends, Lord, and the ordinary becomes holy. Thank You for a season that taught me to watch, to hope, and to prepare room in my heart the way there was once no room in the inn. As Christmas morning arrives, let the wonder of it stay with me long after the season ends. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace. Amen.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.— Isaiah 9:6
A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."— Isaiah 40:3
"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.— Luke 1:38
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ...The Lord is near.— Philippians 4:4–5
The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber... The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.— Romans 13:11–12
Frequently asked questions
What is Advent?
Advent is the four-week season of preparation and watchful waiting that opens the Christian liturgical year, leading up to Christmas. The word comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming," and the season looks both back to Christ’s birth and forward to His promised return.
When does Advent start and end in 2026?
Advent 2026 begins on the First Sunday of Advent, November 29, and runs through Christmas Eve, December 24. The four Sundays fall on November 29, December 6, December 13 (Gaudete Sunday), and December 20.
What is the Advent wreath and what do the candles mean?
The Advent wreath is a circle of evergreen holding four candles — traditionally three purple and one pink — lit one at a time on each successive Sunday, plus a white candle sometimes added on Christmas Day. The most common theme sequence is hope, peace, joy (the pink candle, lit on Gaudete Sunday), and love, though some traditions use different names for the same four weeks.
Why is the third candle pink instead of purple?
The pink candle marks Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for "rejoice" — the entrance antiphon for that Sunday’s Mass historically began "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always," Philippians 4:4). The lighter color signals a brief turn toward joy in the middle of Advent’s more penitential purple tone.
Do all Christians celebrate Advent?
Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and many other liturgical churches observe Advent formally with the lectionary readings, colors, and wreath described here. Many non-liturgical Protestant and evangelical churches mark the season more informally, often through an Advent calendar or a Sunday sermon series, without the full set of traditional observances.
What is an Advent calendar, and is it religious?
An Advent calendar counts down the days to Christmas, traditionally from December 1 (or the First Sunday of Advent) through Christmas Eve, often with a small door, treat, or Scripture reading opened each day. The custom began in 19th-century Germany among Lutheran families as a devotional tool and has since spread into many secular, non-religious versions — the format is popular far beyond its original devotional purpose.
How can I celebrate Advent as a family?
Light an Advent wreath together each Sunday with a short prayer, read one Scripture passage from the season each day or week, use a daily Advent calendar with a devotional reading, and consider one act of quiet preparation each week — a charitable gift, a conversation with someone estranged, or simply an unhurried evening together, resisting the rush to skip straight to Christmas Day.