A Valley-Walker’s Prayer for a New Year
Dear God, as we step into a brand new year, we lift up this honest and heartfelt prayer.
Our hearts are full of gratitude for the tenderness with which You have carried us this year. We couldn’t have made it without Your sustaining grace.
We thank You for teaching us so much about Yourself this year. We thought we knew You, but oh, how much more we’ve learned of You!
We praise You for 365 new mercies. We so desperately needed them! How great is Your compassion. How great is Your faithfulness!
We bless your name, for You alone are worthy.
Lord, Your Word tells us to cast our cares on You, so we confess that we are struggling with this one. What once was a happy holiday for us is, now, something altogether different. What once represented exciting new beginnings, now looms on the horizon like an ominous storm cloud. What used to feel like walking through a door, now feels like falling from a cliff.
Some of us anxiously await the page turn at the end of a long, difficult chapter, hoping…praying for better days ahead.
Some desperately wish to cling to what lies behind, because the thought of leaving it there is just too much to bear.
Some of us feel fear and dread as we face an unknown future. The tunnel is long, Lord, and the light is hidden from our eyes.
Others just long to be Home at last, with You and with loved ones who’ve gone before. They’re battle-weary, wounded, and aching for the finish line.
All of us need You, Lord. Oh, how we need You!
So, we ask that You would:
🤍 Walk with us into this new year.
🤍 Remind us of Your faithfulness.
🤍 Assure us of Your steadfast love.
🤍 Comfort us with Your presence.
🤍 Forgive us when we doubt.
🤍 Heal us with Your love.
🤍 Instill in us boldness.
🤍 Calm us with peace that passes understanding.
🤍 Open our hands in surrender, our hearts in trust, and our eyes in faith.
🤍 Complete in us the good work You have begun.
🤍 Sanctify us for Your glory and use us to further Your kingdom.
And when we’re too weak to cling to You, Father, please carry us.
All of this, we pray in the precious and holy name of Jesus—our Living Hope—Who is worthy of it all…
Amen
