A Prayer as we begin the New Year.
“…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” Ephesians 6:18
Our Father, In the name of Jesus we come to You in prayer today by faith to thank You for bringing us safely through another year. The challenges and struggles of many this year have been hard and sadly there have been loved ones and friends who have lost their lives and many their livelihoods as a result of many things. The pandemic has ravaged homes and cities, towns and neighborhoods around the world. We have witnessed corruption and evil in many places in measures we have never known before.
On the face of things it would seem that we, Your people, are indistinguishable from the rest of world and yet we know that we are not alone. Your Holy Spirit is with us walking every step of the way, leading and guiding us through this time and preserving us whole that we might do the work of ministry so desperately needed now.
We look back over the year and we mark how time and time again You protected us from the forecasts of the fear-mongering prognosticators and reminded us that You and You alone are God and in You we have perfect peace. We recall how You healed us when sickness attached our bodies, how You provided for us when we needed food, clothes and shelter, how You kept our homes warm in winter and cool in the summer, how You ministered to our needs so that we could reach out to help others in need. We remember and thank You that even in the midst of the threat of disease many chose to openly and boldly worship You and seek Your face, declaring Your Word and crying out to You for deliverance and salvation for relief and restoration, and You heard our prayers and You brought us through.
Lord, we thank You for Your faithfulness and unfailing love for us. We thank You for Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who comforts us, who leads us and guides us, who teaches us the ways of righteousness and shows us the way we should walk and live holy in this world as we look for the return of Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, Lord we approach this New Year with a fresh hope, a fresh expectation of the good things You have prepared for us. We declare that all our hope is In You alone, not in governments, not in men, not in chariots and horses. No! Our hope and our trust are in You.
In this New Year we enter into Your gates with Thanksgiving and into Your courts with praise. We say to one another. “Our God reigns!” You are Good and Your mercy endures forever. No weapon fashioned against us will prosper. It is our heritage to condemn every tongue that arises against us in judgment, because we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We don’t know what this Year holds, but we are confident in the One who holds us.
Nothing will be able to snatch us out of Your hand, Father, and nothing will separate us from Your love.
So, we pray for our bodies and minds to be healed and purged of all the troubles of this past year and we look ahead, unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. We pray that joy would be restored to our hearts, that our zeal and passion for You and Your Word would increase and be multiplied in and through us. We pray for the gospel to be preached and proclaimed and souls to be saved everywhere we go. We pray that the sweet aroma of Your presence would so permeate us that we would leave a deposit of Your goodness, blessings and power with everyone we encounter daily in this coming year.
Bless us Father and equip us to be a blessing to many. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Forgive us where we’ve missed the mark in our words and actions, in what we did that we should not have done and in what we failed to do that we should have done. We yield ourselves to Your work in us now and we say Thank You, Father, Thank You Jesus, Thank You, Holy Spirit. Amen and Amen.
Listen and be blessed.
When I Think About The Lord