A Prayer for the New Year

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January is nearly over but I have had it on my heart the past few weeks to set aside some time and write a prayer for the new year. In this year, I want to focus on the word 'presence', so I am calling to the One who can give me the eyes to see and ears to hear around me, both the presence of Himself in my everyday as well as me being present for those I love.

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Dear Father,
Another year has begun. It is brimming with unchartered adventures as well as unforeseen challenges. The to-do list is already seemingly endless, but I want to pause all of that to be in Your presence as the year starts to unfold. I want to just sit here, linger,  and give you thanks and glory for a year gone by and a new one that has arrived.

A song that I love is Fernando Ortega's version of the old hymn, I Will Sing of My Redeemer. The first verse epitomizes why I want to to be in Your presence: to worship You for all You have done in redeeming and freeing me from the power of sin.

I will sing of my RedeemerAnd His wondrous love to me;On the cruel cross he sufferedFrom the curse to set me free

All I have that is dear to me: my husband, our precious baby, my family, friends, church community, hobbies, house, passions. I want all of it surrendered at Your feet this year. I hold all of it as well as all my plans for this year with open palms,  willing and inviting You to do what You know is best. Move things out of the way that are taking too much of my attention and time, crowding out the things that really matter. Open my heart to truth from Your Word that I have yet to understand. Stir my heart for what stirs yours. Help me be willing to give up my comfort, expectations, and perceived rights in order to serve those around me and those who I have yet to meet. Remind my heart it is more important to abide in You than to spend time on anything else, and help me make time to rest in Your presence. Cultivate in me unshakable trust in You for all that is unknown for 2020. 

You are so good. 
You are so faithful.
You are so generous.
You are so loving.
You are so just.
You are so wise.

Your ways are far above my own. 
Your thoughts are infinitely more wise than my own
Your mercy and grace are limitless, unlike my own.
Your power extends beyond any of my anxieties, fears, and problems. 

How can I not trust you? 
How can I not sing of who You are and what You have done?
How can I not be aware of Your presence and rest in Your nearness to me?
How can I not make time to study Your Word?
How can I not desire to be more like You?

Soften my heart. Transform my thoughts. Shift my priorities. Reveal my sin. Teach me to live how You want me to live. Awaken my soul to desire You more than anything else in this world. 

Thank you for the bottomless ways you have shown me Your grace in my life in 2019. There is so much for me to be thankful for. One of the most obvious and most important is the birth of little Elliot. Thank you for the privilege You've given me to be a mother to him. Thank you for a husband who loves You and who leads, supports, serves, and loves me so intentionally. Thank you for a home that brings so much joy to us, a neighborhood with so many convenient and enjoyable surroundings like a park, jogging trail, and library in walking distance.  Thank you for church community that stepped up and served us so well with their generosity and time, showering us with gifts for Elliot when I was pregnant and preparing meals for us the first few months of his life when we were bleary-eyed and trying to figure out this whole parenthood thing. Thank you for family who have visited us to meet Elliot and those who have loved on him from afar through FaceTime and thoughtful gifts. Thank you for friends who are mothers who texted me during long, sleepless nights of nursing Elliot, responded quickly to random questions I had, and who have cheered me on in this new role as mom. Thank you for our health, Greg's career, (and his twelve weeks of paid paternity leave!!!),  the many opportunities You've set before us, and the simple joys like a delicious cup of tea, a great book, a sunny day, a bouquet of flowers, and a surprise letter in the mail from a faraway friend. 

I am Yours. I give you this year and all that it holds. 



(linking up with Grace & Truth link-up)