A Christmas Eve prayer
This year, Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24. Pray this when the day finally slows down, at church, in the car or on the couch with the tree lights on. If you've kept an Advent wreath, light the Christ candle tonight with our Christ candle prayer.
A prayer for Christmas Eve
Lord Jesus, it's the night before. Centuries of waiting came down to one night in a small town, a young couple with nowhere to stay and a baby's first cry.
Tonight I'm waiting too. For the people I love to arrive safely. For a morning that feels like Christmas. For things in my life that I've been asking You about for a long time. Meet me in the waiting the way You met that tired, hidden town. Let the dark feel a little less dark tonight, because You came into it. Amen.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.
Micah wrote this about seven hundred years before Jesus. Matthew's Gospel quotes it when the wise men ask where the king will be born.
A Christmas Eve morning prayer
For the first coffee of the day, before the lists, the last-minute shopping and the drive to wherever you're going.
Christmas Eve morning
Lord, it's Christmas Eve, and the day is already full: the store, the oven, the wrapping I swore I'd finish last week. Before any of it, I'm starting here with You.
Give me a slower heart than my schedule. Let me be kind at the checkout and patient in the kitchen. And somewhere in all the getting ready, let me remember what we're getting ready for. Amen.
A short Christmas Eve prayer for family
For the end of a busy day, when everyone is finally in one room. Read it once and let someone else say the Amen.
A short Christmas Eve prayer for family
God, we're all here tonight [or most of us are]. Thank You for these people, the noise and the quiet, the old traditions and the new ones. Thank You for sending Jesus into a family as ordinary as ours. Keep us kind to each other through the morning chaos. Amen.
Christmas Eve prayer before dinner
For many families the big meal is on Christmas Eve: tamales, lasagna, seven fishes, soup before church or something on the table between services. For the meal on Christmas Day, see our Christmas dinner prayers.
Christmas Eve prayer before dinner
Father, thank You for this meal on this night. For the recipe someone's grandmother made every Christmas Eve, and for whoever is making it now. For the people around this table and for the one who was born in Bethlehem.
Bless this food. Bless our time together before [church, the kids' bedtime, everyone heading home]. And let tonight feel like the beginning of something holy. Amen.
A Christmas Eve prayer at a candlelight service
At many candlelight services, the room goes dark before the first candle is lit and everyone sings "Silent Night" together. Pray this in the dark moment, or silently while you sing.
For the candlelight service
Jesus, the lights are down and the room is quiet. I can hear the person next to me breathing, the baby two rows back, the old man who sings every word.
Some of us came straight from an argument in the car. Some of us came because our mother asked. Meet us anyway. When the last verse of "Silent Night" ends and the lights come up, let us still see You. Amen.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
A prayer after the Christmas Eve service
For the drive home, the walk to the car or the kitchen at eleven at night when the house is still buzzing.
After the Christmas Eve service
God, we sang the carols and heard the story again. Let us go home changed.
Don't let what I felt in that room fade by the time I'm through the front door. Keep my heart soft tomorrow, when the day gets busy and people get tired. Thank You for my church, for the people who set up chairs and printed bulletins and stayed late to scrape wax off the pews. Bless them tonight. Amen.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
A Christmas Eve prayer with kids
Read Luke 2:1–20 together (a picture-book Bible works too), then pray this one. It's written for a child to say, so let them read it if they can.
After reading the Christmas story
Dear Jesus, tonight is the night You were born. You were a real baby, small enough to hold, and Mary wrapped You up to keep You warm.
I'm glad You came for ordinary people like me. Thank You for the people who tuck me in and the home I get to wake up in. Help me be the first one to say thank you tomorrow. And help me remember it's Your birthday. Amen.
Give the kids a job
Let one child hold the Bible, one turn off the lamps and one hold the flashlight. Kids remember the jobs they had on Christmas Eve for years.
Christmas Eve prayer before bed
Two prayers for the end of the night: one for parents to pray over sleeping children, and one for you.
Over children asleep on Christmas Eve
Father, the last light's off down the hall. Thank You for [Name], who fought sleep for an hour, and for the way their face looked at church tonight.
Whatever is under the tree, let them wake up in a house that's full of love. Keep them safe. Grow them into people who know You. And give me patience for the six o'clock alarm. Amen.
Stand in the doorway once they're finally asleep, or put a hand on their head if it won't wake them.
When you're lying awake on Christmas Eve
Holy Spirit, everyone else is asleep and my mind won't stop. The lists, the people coming tomorrow, the one person I'm worried about, the things I didn't get done.
Maybe Mary lay awake too, that night. I give You the lists and the worries. Whatever isn't done tonight can wait. Let me rest in You. Amen.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
A Christmas Eve prayer for those alone tonight
For some people, Christmas Eve is the quietest night of the year, and not in a good way: the first one after a death or a divorce, the first one in a new city, or a night in a hospital or care home. Pray this for someone you know, or pray it for yourself.
For everyone alone on Christmas Eve
Jesus, You were born in a town too full to notice You. Be close tonight to everyone Christmas seems to have walked past.
The widow eating dinner by herself. The trucker parked at a rest stop two states from home. The man in room 412 whose family is coming tomorrow. [Name], who I can't stop thinking about. Let somebody call them. Let them sleep. Let them know, even a little, that You see them. Amen.
Texts to send someone alone tonight
Thinking of you this Christmas Eve. You're not forgotten. Praying you sleep well tonight.
Merry Christmas Eve, [Name]. I'm up late if you want to call. Even for five minutes.
I know tonight's a hard one. I'll be praying for you at the service. Love you.
We're doing Christmas lunch tomorrow at 1. Come as you are, stay as long as you like.
If tonight feels like more than loneliness
If being alone tonight has you thinking you'd rather not be here at all, please reach out tonight. In the US, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline answers at 988, by call or text, all night on Christmas Eve. Veterans can call 988 and press 1.
A Christmas Eve prayer for those working tonight
Somebody has to keep the 24-hour pharmacy open, plow the interstate and answer 911 on Christmas Eve. Pray for them by name if you know them. Our Christmas prayers include more for people working on Christmas Day.
For those working on Christmas Eve
Lord, bless everyone working tonight while the rest of us are home.
The nurse on a quiet ward and the one in a loud ER. The police officer on patrol. The cashier who rang up the last frantic shopper and still has to close. The pharmacist filling the last prescriptions before the holiday. The plow driver out on the interstate. The dispatcher who answers on the first ring.
Keep them safe. Let the hours pass without an emergency, and get them to their own front door before the kids wake up. Amen.
Texts for someone working tonight
Leftover tamales are in the fridge, labeled. Praying the hours fly by.
Hope your patients [or customers] are kind tonight. Thank you for being there on Christmas Eve.
Thinking of you at work tonight, [Name]. Text me when you're home.
A simple Christmas Eve at home
If you're not going to a service, or you're home afterwards and want something short, this takes about fifteen minutes. It works for a family with small children, two friends, or one person on their own.
- 1
Dim the room
Leave the tree lights on, or light one candle. It changes the feel of the room right away.
- 2
Read Luke 2 by the tree
Use a phone flashlight if the room is dark. Let the kids move the shepherds closer to the manger as you read.
- 3
Sing one carol
"Silent Night" or "O Come, All Ye Faithful." One verse will do. Nobody has to sing well.
- 4
Pray for people by name
Each person names someone who might be alone or working tonight. Pray for them together, or use the prayers above.
- 5
End in quiet
Sit for one minute without talking. Then blow out the candle and say "Merry Christmas."
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah's sign, which Matthew's Gospel reads as fulfilled in Jesus' birth. Immanuel means "God with us." For the weeks before Christmas, see our Advent prayers.
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Keep watch for each other
PrayerBoard is a private circle for your family or closest friends, free in beta on iPhone and Android. Share what's going on and see who's praying, on Christmas Eve and every other night.
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Questions people ask
What is a good Bible verse for Christmas Eve?
Luke 2:15 fits the night itself: "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass." Micah 5:2, the promise about little Bethlehem, and Isaiah 7:14 ("and shall call his name Immanuel") are also often read on Christmas Eve.
What is a short Christmas Eve prayer?
"God, tonight we remember the night Your Son was born. Give our home Your peace until morning. Amen." A short Christmas Eve prayer thanks God for Jesus' birth and asks for His peace.
What do you pray on Christmas Eve night?
Thank God for the day, give Him whatever is still undone and pray for the people you love by name, especially anyone alone or working tonight. Psalm 4:8 ("I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep") makes a good last line before bed.
What do you pray at a Christmas Eve candlelight service?
Most people pray silently while the candles are lit and "Silent Night" is sung. Thank Jesus for coming into the dark, and ask Him to shine on the people in the room who came in carrying something heavy.
When is Christmas Eve in 2026?
Thursday, December 24, 2026. Many churches hold a family candlelight service in the early evening and a later service or Midnight Mass close to midnight.
How do you pray for someone working on Christmas Eve?
Pray for their safety, their patience with the people they serve and their family at home without them. Then send them a short message tonight. People working holidays notice who remembers them.
