A Prayer to Seek God’s Purpose in the Year Ahead - Your Daily Prayer - December 29

A Prayer to Seek God’s Purpose in the Year Ahead
By Heidi Vegh

Bible Reading:
“In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” - Proverbs 16:9

Listen or Read Below:

A new year. A clean slate. I love the optimism of a new, fresh year just waiting to be lived. We often have so many plans for a new year, resolutions or commitments for change, but ultimately, God has a plan. He knows what lies ahead, good and bad, and He knows how He will help us navigate it all. Seeking God in the year is a brilliant place to start with our new plans. He does not want you to make new resolutions or commitments that do not include Him and may set you up for failure.

Seeking the Lord for your new commitments is a wise choice. He may want you to give up things instead of adding new things that may overwhelm you. He may want you to simply trust Him more or spend more time with Him. Before overcommitting yourself, seek God. Seek His plan and purpose for your new year. He knows where you will go, who you will meet, and what you will do. When we strive to make our plans, we often fall short without the guidance of the Lord. It is good to make plans and be prepared, but we need to hold those plans lightly.

Read James 4:13-15 with me: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

We never know what tomorrow holds. We don’t know how long we have on this earth, so James is telling us not to brag about what we will do or where we will go because there is simply no guarantee. It is better to say, ‘If it is God’s will, I will…’ This is an act of trust as we surrender our plans to the Lord for the new year.

Let’s Pray:

Lord, thank you for this new year. Thank you for your fresh beginnings and a clean slate. Thank you for the breath in my lungs and sunshine in the sky. I commit this year to you Lord. I pray that you protect my life and the life of my family. I pray that we can be a light for you in this dark world. Lord, I have so many ideas and plans for this new year, places I want to go, and things I want to do. However, Lord, if they are not ordained by you, I don’t want them. I want to follow you with every step. I commit to following your ways, even if it is not where I want to go or I don’t understand. I know that you created me with purpose. Bring people into my life to speak truth and direction over me.

Speak to me through your Word daily as I spend time with you. Show me things and reveal things to me; speak to my heart. Bring out the passions that you have planted in me and give me creative ways to use them. Help me to flush out anything in my life that is not glorifying you and help me to give up activities and practices that don’t align with who you are. Give me strong convictions for what I watch and who I spend time with. Please show me what is in my life that could hinder your purpose for me. Thank you, Lord, for your truth, your sacrifice, and the forgiveness and grace that I can walk in every day. Please, Lord, lead me to your purpose for my life this new year.
In your precious name, Jesus, I pray, amen.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Cn0ra

Heidi Vegh is a writer, speaker, and ministry leader living in Western Washington. She is a remarried mother of four, navigating the blended family life after the loss of her first husband to cancer in 2013. She longs to use her writing as a way to encourage others who have experienced loss and guide them on the road to healing. She contributes to her blog found at www.mrsheidivegh.com , sharing stories and devotionals of faith stemming from her loss and healing, mothering, and her blended and complex family. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in Creative Writing and English and is working on her first book. Heidi is the Women’s Ministry Director at her local church and has a deep heart for sharing Jesus with women and encouraging them in their faith walk. When she is not writing, she loves to travel, read, craft, and experiment in the kitchen. Visit her Facebook and Instagram (@mrsheidivegh) to learn more.

Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.

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