A Prayer for the New Year

As I was thinking about the new year, I wondered what I should share with you. Should I write about goals or resolutions? What about the “one word” movement? New Year—New You? I kept brainstorming but was left feeling flat. I started writing and then deleted what I’d written at least five times. Finally I prayed, asking the Lord to give me some idea of what he wanted me to say.

What I heard was unexpected. It wasn’t audible, of course, but I sensed the Lord saying, Just pray for them.

I know this isn’t a traditional post; however, I want to be obedient. So dear reader, if you will, please allow me to pray for you, for us, and for this ministry as we begin this new year.

Dear heavenly Father, we’re so thankful for all the blessings you’ve bestowed upon us. As we start this new year, we want to lay it at your feet. We know we can plan our hearts out, but you are the one who directs our steps. May 2019 be a year full of steps closer to you, Jesus.

I lift the readers of The Glorious Table up to you. I thank you for their support and encouragement and their faithfulness to this ministry. I pray that you will be with them, that you will meet them where they are and fill them with your peace as we start this year.

I pray that those who are dealing with hardships and hurts will feel your loving arms embrace and hold them. I pray that they will sense your presence, that they will know without a shadow of a doubt that no matter where they are, that even there, you are with them.

Lord, for those who are experiencing uncertainty and are unclear about what this coming year will hold, I pray they will be able to breathe deeply and give their fears to you. I pray they will experience the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit and rest in the comfort of knowing you have gone before them and that nothing will happen that your hand has not guided.

For the lost and lonely, I pray that you will bring someone into their lives who can be your hands and feet to them, that they will know that your love for them is immense and that you have never left them.

Lord, for both those who are new in their faith and for those who don’t remember a time when they didn’t love you, fan their flame. Wherever they are in their walk, draw them closer to you so they can shine more brightly.

I also want to lift my fellow writers here at The Glorious Table. I pray that you will be with us and that you will fill us anew with your words. I pray that we will be sensitive to what you want to speak through us and that our words will always point others to you.

I pray for the staff of The Glorious Table, for the daily work that goes unseen and unrecognized. I thank you for their faithful commitment to all the details that keep this ministry alive. I pray that you will bless them and that they will be encouraged in their work.

And as for this table, Lord, I pray for every new chair pulled up to it this coming year. I pray that everyone will feel welcomed and wanted and that they will feel seen and heard. I pray that the community forming will be a haven for those who need it.

Lord, thank you for this ministry, for the staff, for the writers, and for the readers. We are excited to see all that is ahead for us in the coming year.

In Jesus’s name, amen.

Heather Gerwing is a homeschooling mom of four. She is a Jersey girl at heart but now lives in Michigan with her husband Jeff and their kids. Heather enjoys reading, coffee-ing, worshipping and writing. She is passionate about her family and living the full life. You can find her at heathergerwing.com.

Photograph © Ben White, used with permission