The most basic prayer for Advent is Maranatha, which means “Our Lord come!” It’s the prayer that Paul prayed at the end of his letter to the Corinthians and inspired this prayer which we used for Advent Sunday.
The word maranatha is Aramaic (the language Jesus and his first disciples would have spoken), which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 16:22. That he doesn’t translate it into Greek shows that the Greek-speaking Corinthians were already using it as part of their worship. It very probably means ‘Our Lord, come!’ (It might mean ‘Our Lord has come’, but this is now thought more unlikely – see the linked Wikipedia article).
We used this prayer at the beginning of our service on Advent Sunday.
I said most of the prayer and everyone responded with ‘Maranatha’.
Prayer for Advent
Maranatha – Our Lord come!
To take away the things that weigh us down
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To take away our regrets
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To take away our sins
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To bring new hope
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To bring peace and justice
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To bring new life
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To bring healing
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
To bring your kingdom
Come Lord Jesus
Maranatha
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