December 14, 2025
Welcome to Praying the News!
Curbing illegal immigration has been a longtime priority of the White House. Recently, President Trump turned his attention to legal immigration, pausing all asylum decisions and green card applications for immigrants from 19 countries.
Happy Sunday,
As immigration upheaval collides with the Christmas season, Emmanuel's own migration story is coming into focus for me.
The Messiah of Israel was born during His people’s exile, then fled to Egypt for His life under threat of a violent government. When His family was able to return and resettle, the refugees landed in a no-good, nowhere town. Jesus continued His streak as an outsider into adulthood, a traveling teacher with “no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).
But His furthest migration was not from Bethlehem to Egypt or Galilee to Jerusalem. The Son of God crossed the border from heaven to earth and took on flesh to make His home among us. He didn’t come looking for a better life—He came to lay His down. He didn’t leave a place of poverty and persecution in search of prosperity—He was rich, and for our sake, He became poor.
His migration turns strangers and sojourners into family members and citizens of heaven.1
Pray with me that Emmanuel would put outsiders at rest:
God of all nations,
the world’s every inhabitant belongs to You.
You have created a cosmos bursting with life and beauty and distinction,
a symphony of cultures resounding with
the glory of its three-person God.
Thank you for the gifts of legal immigration—
the new ideas, skills, innovations;
the vibrant traditions, foods, languages, perspectives—
a mosaic of rich colors and textures pieced together carefully
to make something new, something beautiful.
But we acknowledge all the hard things that broke each tile;
we mourn the struggles and abuses that send migrants searching for safety.
God our Refuge,2
protect and shelter those torn from their homes
under threat of violence and persecution.
By your Spirit, heal the wounds of the battered.
Mobilizing your people, give refugees a safe place
when trouble pushes them into a corner.
As they search for refuge across the borders of foreign lands,
may they encounter You and find shelter under the shadow of Your wings.
Bring them into broad places of freedom and rest.3
Rescue and renew them.
And to those who oversee immigration policy and enforcement,
give discernment and compassion.
May there be safety and orderliness, efficiency and dignity.
And may your church—
living as exiles who long for the appearing of our home country—
be quick to extend hospitality and friendship to the least of these.4
May we model the humility of Jesus,
who knows what it is to be mistreated, abused, on the run, and homeless.
In Him we are no longer strangers.
Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Steph Juliot
Recommended Reading
1. Philippians 3:20-21; Ephesians 2:14-22
2. Psalm 91
3. Psalm 18:1-19
4. Matthew 25:31-40
Recommended Resource
Finding a Christmas gift that my little kids will love—that doesn’t have 1,645,374 pieces designed to destroy my sanity—has always been a challenge. This year, I’m beating the clutter and teaching them to love God’s story with Yoto cards from Kaleidoscope. Listen to a sample and get your own here!*
*from TPO’s partners
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