New Year's Prayers

Opening Prayer

Creative God, you make all things new in heaven and on earth.
We come to you at the dawn of a new year with new desires and old fears, new decisions and old controversies, new dreams and old weaknesses.

Because you are the God of hope, we know that you create all the possibilities of the future.  Because you are a God of Love, we know that you accept all the mistakes of the past.

Because you are the God of our faith, we enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise, we come into your presence with gladness and a joyful noise, and we serve and bless you.  Amen.

 

 

New Year's Prayer
W.R.Hunt

Dear Lord, in this new year please give us . . .

. . A few friends who understand us and yet remain our friends.
. . A work which has real value, without which the world would feel the poorer.
. . A mind unafraid to travel the journey ahead of us, even though the trail be not blazed. .
. . An understanding heart and a sense of humor.
. . Time for quiet, silent meditations and a sense of your assuring presence.
. . And the patience to wait for the coming of these things, with the wisdom to know them when they come.

 

New Year's Prayer
Barry in OH

O God beyond every calendar, and every season under the Sun, how foolish we can be with our obsessions and fixations on time, its courses, vagaries, and purposes.

Speak to us with power and wisdom from your secret dwelling beyond time, which has a door in every heart, and a window in every soul. Help us see with utter clarity how you are at work in our lives, through our lives, with our lives, giving birth to the fullness of time and the goodness of creation.

Give us strength and courage to follow Christ Jesus, all the time, for the sake of our time, until the end of our time. Amen

 

Excerpt from the Canticle of Light and Darkness:

We look for light but find darkness,
For brightness, but walk in gloom.

We grope like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at noon as in the twilight.

Blessed be your name, O God, for ever.
You reveal deep and mysterious things;
You are light and in you is no darkness.

Our darkness is passing away
and already the true light is shining.

 

Closing Prayer
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Almighty and gracious God, we ask that each one of us may receive new strength and vision this year to serve you better. Let each one of us be drawn closer to you and help us follow in Jesus's footsteps.

Please protect us from discouragement, from deception, from contention, and from weariness. Make us wise in the use of our time, and show us what to say "yes" to and when to say "no". Help us not to become so busy doing the worldly tasks that we forget to seek your presence for ourselves.

We will give You honor, glory, and praise in Christ's holy name in this year and forevermore! Amen.