New Year’s Prayer

First Church Friends:

Martin Luther offered this New Year’s prayer:

“Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in the faith; strengthen me. I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust You altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in You. In You I have sealed the treasure of all I have. I am poor; You are rich and came to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; You are upright. With me, there is an abundance of sin; in You is the fullness of righteousness. Therefore, I will remain with You, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen.” — Martin Luther

With those powerful ideas present, let us make this our New Year’s prayer:

Loving Father, what a wonderful thing it is for us to remember that You can make all things new. We need to be made new during this moment. Though things are difficult for us to process at times, we pray that You use all things that You’ve allowed into our lives this past year, the good along with the bad, to be used for good. May the bad things remind us how much we need You, and rely on Your presence every single day; and the good prompt us to know that You desire good things for us.

We pray for Your Spirit to lead us each step of the way during this New Year. Guide our decisions and turn our hearts to deeply desire You more than anything else.

Open appropriate doors in our lives and close the ones that need to be left unopened. Help us release our desire for the things to which You’ve said: ‘no,’ ‘not yet,’ or ‘not now.’ We ask for focus, strength, and help to pursue You first, above every dream and desire You’ve put within our hearts.

May these things remain on our hearts and in our minds all through this coming year. For it is in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen.

I look forward to what God has in store for us together this year.

Pastor Dave