12 Days of Christmas Family DevotionalSample

READ TOGETHER

Do you remember how the people of Israel begged God for a king? And he gave them what they wanted, even though he knew it wouldn’t work out like they thought? Well, of course, God was right. There were some good kings, like King David. There were also some very, very bad kings. But it didn’t really matter if the king was good or bad, the people of Israel kept doing what they wanted to do instead of following God. 

God wanted to speak to the people about this very big problem. He wanted to tell them what they were doing wrong, and how to make it better. So he sent special messengers called prophets. The job of these prophets was to hear a message from God, and to share it with the king and with the people. People did not always like the prophets because they felt like they were always getting in trouble! You probably don’t like someone always telling you what you’re doing wrong either!

But prophets also brought good news of things that God would do in the future. One of these prophets was named Isaiah. His name meant, “God to the rescue!” God told Isaiah about his rescue plan—the one he had been planning since the beginning! Throughout Isaiah’s messages, God started to tell his people about his one and only Son, the one he would send to save the world.

Through Isaiah, God told the people that a baby would be born who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He also said that he would reign on David’s throne over the kingdom! God was remembering his promise to David because God always keeps his promises. God even told about where Jesus would do his ministry, how he would be born on the earth, and the kind of death that he would die. Through Isaiah’s words, God told the people that he would send his Son, and he would be called “Immanuel” which means God with us.

Isaiah and other prophets shared God’s messages. But then, one day, all was quiet. For 400 years, there were no prophets—no messages from God—nothing. The people didn’t know what was going on. Sometimes it can feel like that in our lives—like God is nowhere to be found! But even in that quiet, sad time, God was working. Because at the end of that 400 years, God would reveal his most wonderful plan to save the entire world.

TALK TOGETHER

1. How does God speak to us today? What can we do to listen to him?

2. When in your life has it felt like God is not there? What can we do when we feel like that?

PRAY TOGETHER 

Father God, you are all powerful, and you are always present. Thank you for always working, even when we don’t know what you are up to. Help us to trust you in the times when it feels like we don’t know where you are. We believe you are for us. We love you! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.