A Prayer for the New Year

Thursday January 5 2023

Lord of the turning years
And the growing Universe,
We station ourselves at the beginning
Of this New Year.
With diaries and calendars
Already filling, yet still there are
Blank spaces and gaps and question marks.
What will this year of grace be?
What will be the highs and lows,
The hopes and fears,
The dreams and nightmares
That still must shape and form and fill
These coming days?

Where, in the gaps, will the Lord of time
Find the place to whisper and speak and shout?
Where, in the gaps, will be the times of
Quiet reflection and soul nourishing?

God of the ages,
In Your Creator hands all time is held,
The past, the present, the future.
You have already thought of paths for us
To travel along.
You have already built into each day that element of choice
That enriches, and sometimes perplexes,
Our relationship with You.
What do You want us to be in this life?
What do You want us to do in this year?

We hold each shining minute, day and month,
In our trembling yet grateful hands,
Acknowledging that full time and empty time
Are equal gifts from You,
To be used, and experienced.
In these liquid moments,
With our days not yet completely committed,
We hold up this New Year to you,
And all life within it,
And ask for blessing, blessing, blessing.
For us and for our loved ones;
For our work and for our leisure;
For our country and our world;
And for Your Church in these times of change,
And uncertainty, and opportunity.

Lord of the turning years,
Hear all our prayers this day in the Name of Jesus.

Amen.