2023 New Year Prayers For My Family
The year 2022 probably did not go as planned if you are like most people. The year 2022 was widely hailed as the year of vision when it began. I’m not sure if people have actually enjoyed what they have seen, but it has been a year of vision. If you’re like most people, you’re probably counting down the days until the end of this year in the hopes that the next one will be better.
A new year brings with it fresh optimism, which is one of its most lovely aspects. It’s frequently referred to as a new beginning or a blank slate.
Isn’t that the main goal of new year’s resolutions? However, nobody (outside of God, of course) knows what it will hold, just like with each new year or day for that matter. Nothing will change in 2022.
The good news is that you know the Lord or, to put it more accurately, that he knows you. I’d want to suggest seven prayers for the new year that you should think about, regardless of how the rest of this year plays out.
1. A New Year’s Prayer for Peace
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
God has offered us his peace. The reality of peace is that it is not the absence of chaos but the presence of calm within the chaos. As you face the new year, remember God has promised you his peace. When you pray as Philippians 4 instructs you to do, then God promises his peace will guard your heart and mind.
Prayer:
Lord, in spite of what I see and everything happening, I pray for your complete peace. In my circumstances don’t let me be anxious or troubled. Help me to pray about everything, leaving it all in your hands. As I do let your peace rest in my heart as I trust in you.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
2. A New Year’s Prayer for Hope
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
To be without hope is a dangerous place to be because at that point life feels like it’s not worth living. You may have felt like this, but you don’t have to remain in that place. You can have hope in the one who saved you and has promised to bless you and keep you.
Prayer:
Lord, in this new year help me to remember your promises and who you are. It is because of you that I can have hope because you are faithful. Let your faithfulness be the thing I remember and rely on. Let that be the source of my hope and joy.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
3. A Prayer for New Beginnings
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
Let’s face it, we all have probably done some things that we wish we could do over. As we face a new year and review, let it be a time of learning. Look at the mistakes. Repent if you must and pray for grace to move forward without repeating the errors of yesterday.
Prayer:
Lord it is so hard to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. Help me to see that your plan is still in effect. Give me faith to know that regardless of what this past year has looked like I can start over. Help me not to run with my head looking backwards. Help me to run forward into the plan and purpose you have set before me.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
4. A Prayer to Focus on Christ in the New Year
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Let’s face it, every day we are faced with a myriad of distractions. All of them are designed to get you to take your eyes off Jesus and what matters most. Let this new year be the year you lock in on what matters to God and his heart. After all that is what matters most.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to fix my eyes on you. There are so many distracting voices that clamor for my attention. Help me to shut those out to focus on your voice. Help me to make room for you and to make time with you a top priority in my life.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
5. A Prayer for Reconciliation
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).
This past year has felt like it has been more divisive than ever. The divisions have spilled over from the world into the church. We need to heal those divides because the message of the Gospel is at stake. If this year was a year of division, we need to make the next a year of reconciliation.
Prayer:
Lord, this has been a year with many questions and very deep emotional feelings coming to the surface. Help me and the body of Christ to push past every divisive thing and move to a place of reconciliation. Let the fruit of the Spirit be evident in my life as I seek to be a healer of broken and angry hearts.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
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