New Year’s Prayer

Life is filled with ups and downs; we daily encounter the predictable and the completely unexpected; things both joyous and painful that have the potential to temporarily take our breath away. This year, much like all others that have come and gone before, has been a mixed bag of both good things and bad. There have been celebration of births and mourning of deaths as well; there have been weddings and divorces; we’ve endured mass shootings harboring destruction, and experienced massive outpourings of love resulting in communities healing together; we’ve seen the violent force that fire can become as it ravaged everything in its path, but we’re also witnessing the bright and hopeful sprouts of green popping up on all the surrounding hills after just the littlest bit of rain. God is with us through it all, nothing escapes His care. His heart is on this roller coaster ride along with us; He rejoices with us in our times of joy, and He mourns with us in our times of sorrow. And despite the curves that loom ahead of us, He is never taken by surprise. He is our steadfast Rock of Salvation and our firm Foundation of Peace, no matter what we face. He is our hope eternal and in Him our confidence is secure, not because things in our lives are perfect, but because He is perfectly good to us through it all.

God’s love is lavish; His comfort is palpable; His power is endless; His grace is sufficient.  Let’s pray for His blessing and an awareness of His Almighty Presence in our lives for the year we have ahead. Let’s also praise Him and give thanks for every day He gives us.

A Prayer for the New Year:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you." Psalm 67:1-3 NIV

Unabashedly

Psalm 63:4, "I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your Name I will lift up my hands."

No other Name on earth is worthy of our praise. God alone reigns in glory, ruling from His throne. The heavens high above us declare His power and His fame. With our hearts bowed down and arms held high let's unabashedly worship the King.

Breath

                                                                 
Psalm 33:6-9, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

          The breath of God brings life to everything. God spoke and breathed the world into existence. Before creation, air didn’t even exist, only God’s Word and breath filled the otherwise vacant atmosphere. God breathed His very own breath into Adam and gave Him life. God’s Spirit breathes life into the Scriptures making them more than mere words on a page; His Word breathes life into our weary, hurting, searching, lonely, hungry souls. His Word is living and active—encouraging, teaching, equipping, and changing us from the inside out.

Honeycomb

Our words have great power, to bring blessing or harm. Let's use them wisely for the purpose of good, to build up and encourage each other, instead of tearing each other down. Words spoken in love taste sweet on the tongue, whereas words spoken is anger taste bitter in our mouth. Words spoken in kindness bring healing to the heart and revive a hurting soul, whereas words spoken in haste can inflict pain and leave a lasting mark. When we open our mouths let's speak love and share our faith, joy, and hope, which God says are much like tasty honeycomb.

Proverbs 16:24, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

The Invitation

Jesus says, “I have a seat saved especially for you. Just plop yourself down and have a chat with me.”

In the midst of our busyness Jesus sits and He waits. He observes our hectic schedule watching us rush here and there, while we’re gasping for breath. He knows what we need and He offers us rest. If only we’d look up long enough to catch sight of Him, we’d notice Him beckoning us to come and unwind in the chair by His side. The chair Jesus offers is so much more than a place to sit, it’s a place to lay our burdens down and give our spirits a lift. It’s a place of refreshment for our weary bodies and thirsty souls. It’s a place of intimate connection with our Savior. As we go through our busy day, let’s look up now and then so we don’t miss Jesus’ invitation, and miss out on time with our Friend.

Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Stay Close

 (My dog)

I often witness God’s Word and His illustrations come alive in my own life. This morning I opened the back door letting my dog out into the yard for a moment. I had barely turned to grab a cup of coffee from the kitchen, when out of the corner of my eye I saw my small, sweet-natured dog climbing the big hill up toward the wrought iron fence edging our yard. As I focused in more closely, I noticed that my naïve dog was nose-to-nose with a sizable and strong coyote, who was staring him down as if ready to gobble him up. Quick as a flash, as best I could manage, I climbed the hill to rescue my dog. I got about halfway up and called to my dog, commanding him to come back down by my side. After much coercing he finally did, though the coyote continued to linger, hoping to once again catch my dog all alone.  My husband later asked me if I had planned to fight the coyote off, and I told him that if need be, I would have. My dog put himself in jeopardy by wandering from and disobeying his master. Like my dog we behave the same way. We stray from our Master’s side, off into danger, and we too have an enemy roaming and seeking to devour us. The coyote I faced off with this morning didn’t flinch when I approached; I guess I wasn’t threatening enough.  A huge difference between my dog's situation and ours is that when God stands up for us, the devil trembles in terror and very quickly runs away. God is our all-powerful defender; He’s our loving protector and mighty rescuer; He is our blessed Savior. It’s in our best interest to stay close to Him and call on His name.

1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Psalm 91:14, ““Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”

Even Cartwheels

Who says only kids get to have fun? The joy of the Lord makes is absolutely impossible for me to obey a sign such as this. When I’m with the Lord I can barely contain the joy deep inside me; my heart skips a beat and my feet do as well. Despite aches and pains and the threat of new sprains, cartwheels call my name. My joy just abounds; running through green grass and sprinkles of rain sounds enticingly delightful. I sing and I dance with silly abandon. The joy of the Lord takes over and renews my strength, and it keeps me young… at least in my mind. His Spirit revives me and gives me new life. I hope never to outgrow fun or stop playing in the joy of the Lord. His countenance is joy and it's quite contagious.

Psalm 89:14-16, “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance." NKJV

Your Glory

Lord, this is the day that You have made and I want to take notice of Your Presence everywhere. I’m going to be mindful of the fact that wherever I go today, You are already there. Your glory speaks through all of creation. The heavens declare Your handiwork; the oceans roar Your Fame; the mountains proclaim Your grandeur; the winds gently whisper Your Name. Your heart is spoken through Your children, as Your love and mercy are passed on. When I open my eyes and my ears, and simply pay attention, I can’t help but notice that You are all around me. And Lord, I want to take it a step further from being merely be an observer, but also add my voice to the heavenly chorus of praise.

Let all of creation rejoice for the sake of Your glory today and every day…

Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. "NKJV

The Door

Each of us has a door to our hearts. We have a choice as to what and who we let enter in. To often we shut our hearts completely for fear of being hurt. Or we hesitantly keep the door just slightly ajar, cautiously inspecting the one on the other side of the threshold. The prospect of opening the door completely is one that leaves us vulnerable and exposed. Jesus stands outside the door; He is knocking and beckoning us to open our hearts to Him. There is no need for apprehension, no reason to delay; swing the door wide open and invite Him in to stay.

Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and Knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." NIV 

Reassuring Peace

Anxieties and fears cloud our vision of reality and crowd out our blessings from God. They blow circumstances up to seem bigger than they really are, but once we remember that our God is bigger than anything we could possibly face they quickly fade away. God replaces our anxieties and fears with His reassuring peace and grace.

1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." NIV

Just Believe

It is such a huge relief to know that I don’t have to earn my way into Heaven, I don’t have to work for my salvation. I don’t have to be perfect in order for God to want a relationship with me. I simply have to believe in Jesus and receive the free gift of grace. He lifts the burden of inadequacy and insufficiency from my shoulders. He fills in the gaps of my flaws and my failures. The moment I believe, God receives me as I am and makes me His child, and as my Heavenly Father He begins the tender process of helping me more closely resemble Him.

John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—” NIV

Home at Last

Home. What a beautiful word! It represents a place where we belong and matter; a place where we retreat to find safety and security; a place where warmth envelops us and love abounds. Jesus is preparing such a place with us specifically in mind. It will be a home where we finally find perfect peace and rest as we actually dwell with Jesus.

John 14:1-4, ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” NIV

Thankfully Aware

Occasionally other folks come along and snatch our blessings right out from under us. They grab our joy, peace, and hope and carry them far away. More often than not though, we are the real culprit who steals our own blessings. We hinder and deny ourselves much of the goodness that God wants to pour into our lives. We let circumstances dictate our contentment, we let our own bad attitude steal our joy, we let interruptions disrupt our peace, and we let obstacles squash our hope. The key words in all of these statements is, “we let.” You see, we have a choice on whether we remain filled with joy, peace, and hope, or not. It’s our own choice to lose sight of our blessings, or remain thankfully aware. God is continually pouring out blessings, but it’s our choice as to whether we let them be eclipsed by our difficulties, or continue to let His light shine in us. Let’s be alert and on the lookout, ready to thwart the times of doubt, by continually being thankfully aware.

Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,” NIV

The Best Place

God is always on the move. He is at work in every situation, using it all for our ultimate benefit and His magnificent glory. Everything God does and anything He allows into our lives is for the greater purpose of bringing us closer to Him. It’s all used to help us realize that in His Presence is the best place to be.

Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” NIV

Bright Spot

Even among the tangled brambles of life there are bright spots to be found. Though life can be hard and sometimes quite prickly, there are delightful glimpses of beauty blooming all around. If we stop all our striving and wrestling for a moment, and simply come to the Lord, He will gladly reveal those glimpses to us. As I’m writing these words it’s dawning on me, all the beautiful bright spots Jesus points out are actually pointing right back to Him—He, Himself is the true Bright Spot we long and search for in the course of our thorny, knotted-up lives.

Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." NKJV

Worship

Worship isn’t something that just happens within the walls of church. Worship occurs any place and any time we pause to acknowledge and praise the Lord. This can take place in the car, the shower, on our closet floor, on a walk around the neighborhood, or seated at the ocean’s shore. It happens when we lift our eyes above our circumstance and gaze upon His majesty and glory. It happens when our hearts find contentment in His Holy Presence. It happens when we surrender everything over to His loving care. It happens when we raise our hands and sing out loud in adoration, and don’t care who's looking, because our only concern and focus is so completely wrapped up in Him. Whenever and wherever we worship the Lord, the very Spirit of God comes alive in us.

John 4:23-24, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

New Year Prayer

My prayer for this new year is not a one and done; it is a prayer I will continue to pray as I greet each and every brand-new day. I pray that my heart would be set on the same desires as the Lord; that my mind would be filled with the same thoughts and focus of Christ; that my eyes would see others with the same compassion and love as Jesus; that my hands would reach out beyond myself, embracing those who come my way; that my feet would follow the footsteps of Christ and the path He’s laid out specially for me. I will continually pray that the Lord blesses my life, one precious day at a time.

Psalm 96:2, “Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.”