The Advent season is a time of preparation. In the frenzy of our focus on earthly preliminaries—shopping and baking, wrapping and decorating, organizing pageants and making travel plans—we potentially lose sight of the most important spadework at hand: the need to prepare ourselves spiritually, through daily prayer, for the coming of the Christ child. America is pleased offer daily Advent reflections from Elizabeth Kirkland Cahill. This year, her reflections will explore the theme of prayer through a brief meditation on each day's Scripture readings. We hope that the fruits of these reflections will enhance your own preparation throughout the days of Advent. To sign up to receive these reflections as part of our daily digital highlights, sign up here and check "Digital Content Updates."