Ecclesiastes 3:1 — There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
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Prayers blended from a variety of sources:
Dear Father, I thank You that throughout the season of life, there are endings and new beginnings. Your Word reminds us that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. So, I thank You for the things that have ended in my life and I thank you for new beginnings. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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Eternal God, today I end another year of your greatest gift: the gift of life. In the coming year, help me to use it wisely. May I grow in generosity, kindness, forgiveness, hope, faith and love. Whether I leave behind a year of joy or of trials and difficulties, I pause to give thanks. Thank you for being with me every day of every year. Thank you for making all things new and for giving me the grace of fresh starts and new beginnings. Remind me of your presence in the days to come, even when you seem far away. Help me learn from my mistakes this past year, but not dwell on them. Help me not rest on my accomplishments in this past year, but use them to further your work in and through me. May I not quarrel with those who injured me this past year, but to forgive them as I have been forgiven by you. Lord Jesus, may I follow you closer each day of this coming year. Amen.
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Lord, make my New Year a happy one… Not by shielding me from sorrow and pain, but by strengthening me to bear it if it comes. Not by making my path easy, but by making me sturdy enough to tread any path. Not by taking hardship from me, but by taking all fear from my heart as I meet hardships. Not by granting me unbroken sunshine, but by keeping my face bright and my spirit grateful even in the shadows. Not by making my life always pleasant, but by showing me where I am needed most and by making me willing to be there to help. God, make my year a happy one. Amen.
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A prayer for New Year’s Day by William Barclay (1907-1978):
Eternal God, who is always making all things new, I thank you that today you have allowed me to begin another new year.
Help me never to forget how quickly time passes, and help me make the best use of every day.
Help me to remember that we never know when time will end for us; so help me to at all times, have all things ready to depart and go to you. If this be the year that happens for me, give me the grace that my faith will fail not.
In your presence, I now make my resolutions for the coming year:
I resolve to be faithful and true to those who love me, so that I may never bring worry to their minds or distress to their hearts.
I resolve to live in forgiveness and in kindness, so that like Jesus, I may go about always doing good.
I resolve to live in diligence and in effort, that I may use to the fullest the gifts and the talents which you have given to me.
I resolve to live in goodness and purity, that I may resist temptation and be a strength to others who are tempted.
I resolve to live in sympathy and in gentleness, that I may bring comfort to the sorrowing and understanding to the perplexed.
I resolve to live in serenity and self-control, so that no anger and no passion may disturb our own peace and the peace of others.
I resolve to live in obedience to you, that in doing your will I may find my peace.
O God, give me the faith and the strength to keep these resolutions. Help me to remember that without you I can do nothing, so help me to walk each step of the way with you, that in your protecting presence, I may be kept safe from sin. Amen.
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Psalm 90:10, 12 — The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away… Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Philippians 3:13-14 — Not that I have already arrived at my goal, but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
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