Our Father and our God, as we stand at the
beginning of this new year we confess our need of
Your presence and Your guidance as we face the
future.
We each have our hopes and expectations for the
year that is ahead of us—but You alone know
what it holds for us, and only You can give us the
strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its
challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands
into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your
will for our lives during this coming year.
In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days
ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your
unchanging love.
In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments
and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the
stability and comfort we will need.
In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of
our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our
way but to have the courage to do what is right
in Your sight, regardless of the cost.
And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and
pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and
injustices of our hurting world, and help us to
respond with compassion and sacrifice to those
who are friendless and in need. May our constant
prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach
me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will
keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).
We pray for our nation and its leaders during
these difficult times, and for all those who are
seeking to bring peace and justice to our
dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially
for Your protection on all those who serve in our
armed forces, and we thank You for their
commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the
cost of their own lives. Be with their families also,
and assure them of Your love and concern for
them.
Bring our divided nation together , and give us a
greater vision of what You would have us to be.
Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).
As we look back over this past year we thank You
for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we
have deserved. May we never presume on Your
past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us,
but may they instead lead us to repentance, and
to a new commitment to make You the
foundation and center of our lives this year.
And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise
and hope of this new year, and we look forward
to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the
name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death
and resurrection has given us hope both for this
world and the world to come.
Amen
