Prayer from Luke 1:68-79

 Heavenly Father,

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

71 salvation from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors

    and to remember his holy covenant,

73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear

    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; 

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation 

    through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace."