A Prayer for the New Year:

Let us pray.

  Lord, please guide us as we head toward a new year.  We ask for Your love to permeate our lives.  We’re grateful for all we have, and we ask that we can keep our focus on what is right and good.  Please protect us throughout the coming months and prepare our hearts for what’s to come in the days ahead.

— Author Unknown

Prayer of Praise  

(from Psalm 148) 

Praise the Lord from Heaven, you that live in the heights above.

Praise Him, all His angels, all His Heavenly armies.

Praise Him, Sun and Moon: praise Him shining stars.

Praise Him, highest heavens and the waters above the sky.

Let them all praise the name of the Lord!  He commanded, and they were created;

By His command they were fixed in their places for all Time, by a command that lasts forever.

Praise the Lord from the Earth, sea monsters and all ocean depths;

Lightning and hail and snow and clouds and strong winds, which all obey His command.

Praise Him hills and mountains, fruit trees and forests,

All animals, domesticated and wild, all reptiles and birds.

Praise Him Kings and all Peoples, Princes and all other Rulers;

Girls and young men, old people and children too.

Let them all praise the name of the Lord! 

His name is greater than all others; His glory is above Earth and Heaven.

And the Lord has raised up a King, who is the assurance of God’s salvation for His People.

Let us praise the Lord.  Let the People of God, so near and so dear to Him, exalt His majesty and power.  Hallelujah!

Prayer of Confession   

Merciful God, we confess that we have turned the page in our calendar, but still haven’t fully turned our hearts to You.

We confess that there is much about us which brings you sorrow and grief.

For the times when we try to go our own way and end up running from you,

we ask your forgiveness.

For the times we felt took advantage of your grace,

we ask your forgiveness.

For the times we ignored your calling in our lives,

we ask your forgiveness.

For the times we were to proud to see you at work around us,

we ask your forgiveness.

For the times when we shy away from the work that you want to do in our lives,

we ask your forgiveness.

For the times when we seek fulfillment in human potential rather than in your peace,

we ask your forgiveness.

Merciful God, guide us in this new year, help us to see you more clearly than ever before.

Let us be lights that reflect Your love and truth to our friends and neighbours so that they may know that the power of sin has been broken.  Let this be the year we seek Your glory more than our own.  In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen.

  (https://thepastorsworkshop.com/prayers-of-confession-on-the-new-year) 

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Hebrews 2: 11 & 17) 

The writer of the Book of Hebrews clearly reminds us that it is through Jesus Christ that our sins are forgiven, and that we are made pure in God’s sight.  Having confessed our sins before God and confessed our faith in the saving grace of God, let us move forward with confidence that, indeed, God has heard our prayers and has forgiven us.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others 

(from Leading Intercessions p5, Prayers for the Seasons Year A p30 & 31) 

Loving God, we bring to you our prayers for the World around us and for people individually.

Loving God, we bring before you our cares and our concerns.

Loving God, we live in a World where mistrust and selfishness breeds cruelty towards others, the abuse of power and privilege, the oppression of the powerless and the poor, discrimination towards those who are classed as ‘different’, and indifference towards the needs of others.

May the decision-makers in Governments and Business, in cultures and communities, acknowledge your Lordship over all of Humanity, and acknowledge their accountability to you for their actions and their inactions towards those whom you love in equal measure.

Loving God, we live in a World where forgiving others is seen as a sign of weakness, where holding onto grudges is the norm.

Make us instruments of peace, reconcile us where we are in dispute with others and cleanse us from all resentment.

Loving God, we live in a World where the innocent are the ones who suffer in times of conflicts, where the unprotected are the ones who are the victims of terror and crime.

We pray for your protection over children and their families.  May they experience your care such that their lives and their livelihoods are prosperous and fulfilling.

Loving God, we live in a World where many suffer pain from accident or illness, where many are disabled or sick in body, mind and spirit.

Please bring relief to those who suffer, please bring healing and wholeness to the ill and the injured.  Please bless the efforts of medical and nursing staff, of counsellors and service providers.

Loving God, we live in a World where the Church seen as irrelevant or, at the very least, distrusted.

Reawaken in your Church its calling to be the light of the World, to provoke the World to judge itself in terms of your standards and principles.  Reawaken in your Church its calling to boldly proclaim your Gospel message of hope for the sinful and the lost.  Reawaken in your Church its calling to show leadership in the caring for the needy and in proper stewardship of your Creation.

Loving God, may we be aware that you walk beside us every moment of our day.  May we be aware of the peace within that you promise to give to us.  For these things we pray.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,

now and forever.  Amen.