Kickstart Your Year with 5 Days of Prayer

A New Year Rhythm of Reflection

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New Year resolutions are the most common and widely practiced rhythm of reflection in our culture, and these can be helpful and good. Same with choosing one word to be mindful of in the year. I, myself, have found this practice very meaningful. Do those things, but may I suggest a pre-requisite? Start with prayer.

Before you choose a word or make a resolution start with another rhythm of reflection: a new year's prayer. I'll walk you through one we've been practicing, modeled after the Lord's Prayer. You can do this individually or with your family or small group.

Prayer is simply communicating with God. If we want a relationship with a friend to grow, we share conversation with one another. This is also true for us with the Lord. Prayer is talking with God. It is two-sided - both talking with and listening to God.

In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us how to pray, saying:

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:5-15

As we start this new year, we’re going to practice talking with God using the Lord's Prayer as our framework so we can grow closer to Him. First, let’s talk a little about who we are talking to…”

Character of God

Understanding who we’re talking to changes how we talk to someone. For example, a kid talks differently to their friend than they do to their teacher. When talking with a parent, your tone and body language may change. There's a striking difference when answering the phone of a telemarketer versus answering the phone from a best friend. It’s the same with God.

Jesus taught us how to pray. He said,

“Pray then like this, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…'" - Matthew 6:9

“Hallowed” means worthy is His name.

The character of God is never changing. All of the qualities and character of God shared - He is the same all the time and all at the same time, meaning He is always faithful and comforting, forgiving, kind, loving, all the time. As humans, we have moments when we are unkind and unloving, but God is always the same. When we come to Him in prayer, “hallowed be His name” means we position our hearts in humility and understand who we are coming to - the God of the universe, the creator of heaven and earth.

As you reflect over this last year, what is one characteristic of God that means a lot to you? Maybe you felt God's love In a very personal way or you saw God's faithfulness. If you experienced healing, celebrate God as your Healer. Then, pray a simple prayer thanking God for who He is.

Giving Thanks

Now, that we know who we are talking to, how do we come to Him? God’s word says we:

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name! - Psalm 100:4

In Philippians, Paul commands us to:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!…The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Philippians 4:4-6

Did you catch that prepositional phrase — “with thanksgiving.” Ann Voskamp wrote a book called One Thousand Gifts about the power of gratitude to rise above her circumstances. In this, she teaches,

Giving thanks always precedes the miracle. - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Let’s enter His gates with thanksgiving, praising God for allowing His kingdom to come, for His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Before we bring our requests, let’s bring our praise and gratitude. Looking back over your last year, what is 1 thing you are thankful to God for? How did you see the goodness and wholeness of His kingdom come in your life? Then, pray a simple prayer of thanks for all God has done for us.

Supplication + Intercession

Now that our hearts are properly positioned and we know who we are talking to and we have entered His presence with gratitude and praise, now we let our requests be made known to Him. Jesus said it this way:

Give us this day our daily bread - Matthew 6:11

Daily reminds us our dependence on God. He doesn't give us a year or even a week's supply, because He longs for relationship with us. We come to Him daily in prayer and in growing dependence. "Bread" is more than just our physical needs but all of our needs - spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, financial, relational.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul teaches him how to pray by saying,

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. - 1 Timothy 2:1

Notice he said “urge” - there is importance around this. Notice “supplications.” This is a fancy word for how God supplies and provides for our needs. “Intercessions” means we intercede or pray on behalf of one another. We join others in their battles and pray with them and for them.

Let’s practice this. Share 1 need we have. (If doing this as a group, recommend the leader starts and share an honest and vulnerable need to set the tone for your group.) Then, the person to the right will say a simple prayer for this friend. Remember, God does not require lengthy prayers, He hears our simple words too.

Confession + Carry One Another's Burdens

We draw near to God in prayer so we can be close to Him. As we become close to Him, we become more like Him. Confession is one of the most important ways we drop the burdens we are carrying for two reasons. One, when we confess, we bring our sin out of the darkness and into the light. God’s word says the enemy must flee. In other words, when we confess a sin, the enemy loses his power over us in this area. Secondly, when we confess, others are brought into our battle with us and they help us carry this burden.

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us,

Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - James 5:16

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds us to:

...carry one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2

It’s important to remember another cannot help carry our burden unless we share it with them. We must be known. We must confess our struggles to one another in order to experience the peace God has for us in this.

Jesus models confession and forgiveness toward others:

...and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. - Matthew 6:12

Jesus knew these two go hand in hand, and as we practice confession, we will see this to be true in our own hearts and relationships. As we regularly confess our sins daily, we are reminded and humbled of our own need for grace and redemption. From this humbled and grateful heart, we are softened and more freely able to live out the command to extend forgiveness to others - not because they have earned it, but because it has been freely given to us, so we freely give forgiveness to others.

Then, we ask for the Holy Spirit to help us:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matthew 6:13

Let’s practice this. Share 1 confession. It can be as vague or as vulnerable as you feel led to share. For example, there is nothing wrong with saying “family.” God knows your heart and the situation fully. Then, pray a blanket prayer to end your time of prayer.

We can practice this process of prayer in our own personal prayer time:

• Who you are talking with (hallowed be His name)

• How you enter His presence (with thanks)

• What (needs and intercession)

• The deeper what (confession and freedom)

Our strength grows not as we become more independent but as we grow dependent on God, strengthened as we come to Him daily and throughout our day in prayer. Our joy grows as we become close to God and enjoy conversation and friendship with Him. Our peace grows as we follow Christ's example and we learn to rest in the wonder-filled presence of God.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.