A Prayer

Father,

We have come to the end of another year. And it has been a full year. There are things that have happened that have brought us much happiness. There are things that have happened that have brought us much sadness. And it is so very helpful for us to remember that all of it, the happy things, the sad things, and all the things in between – it all has come from You. And since You are our Father, we know that all of it was intended to bring about good. Your plan is still on track. To be sure, some of that will result in good at the cost of our sadness. But nonetheless, we can rejoice that good will result.

We thank You, Father, for teaching us this truth, that You are the God who orders every aspect of our existence and who does that for good. It is such a help as we deal with life. It reminds us to give thanks to You for all the happy things that You send our way. And it reminds us to give thanks to You for all the sad things that You send our way. In all things, we give You thanks.

Father, as we look to this next year, we know that it will be more of the same. There will be times that we will so thoroughly enjoy. And there will be times that we will struggle through. But this is life in a sinful world as You work out Your good purpose.

As we anticipate this next year, we have a request. We ask that You would bless us with a greater sense of You. We were made to know and enjoy and serve You. The sin that afflicts us, from within and without, interferes with that. We so often respond to that so poorly. We place our hopes in earthbound things that promise to help us deal with life. But what are these but counterfeits of You. How foolish.

So, we ask that this coming year You would bless us with more progress in knowing You that we might look to You, the real God, to help us do a good job making our way through this life. And we desire this because it will help us to see reality more clearly, to see that You are the true and living God for whom we have been created and to whom we owe our worship. So, bless us in this way, Father, for the sake of Your own glory. Through Christ our Lord Amen.