Prayer for the new year
Dear Lord,
2012 has dawned upon us, and the world is still very much in need of You.
Right now Europe and the rest of the world is in a deep crisis, Jesus, and as you know politicians and heads of state are rightly worried over what will happen e.g. to the member states of what is known as the EU. Human error and hubris has brought on them a dire financial situation - although problems seem to be unevenly distributed across the continents. Citizens of some of the countries have apparently been acting more in line with your moral precepts and thus avoided the trouble the Greeks have brought upon themselves, but since I am not an expert in the field of economics, I cannot know, Lord whether Germans e.g. will soon find themselves equally beset by unemployment and general discontent.
Whatever the causes of the present situation may be, I pray that those who are working towards solutions - policies and other measures that will resolve the crisis - may be granted success, so that pent-up anger and frustration will not spill over into the streets, and that we may avoid scenes like those we witnessed on the streets of France some years ago where scores of youth vented their volcanic ire by burning cars, looting shops and causing pain and fear to dominate.
Lord, may Your people in Europe and the world be granted grace to set examples that will attract the attention of outsiders. May they lead their lives, facing their crises trusting You, so that eventually the distraught and the alienated will experience a resurgence of hope. May your good news be shared in homes, on the streets and in the workplaces in ways that don't diminish its demands on its listeners, or compromise the provocative power of your cross. You didn't lay down your life, Lord, to merely gain a fanclub. You died in order for new creations, people made new on the inside, to follow your examples as apprentices of your heavenly trade.
Dear Lord. In the midst of all the present turmoil and upheavals that we observe across our globe, may we over and over again discover just who we are in You, and may our eyes be made to see the true magnitude of the resources available for us in You. It's so easy to lose courage, abandoning our youthful passions and vision that energized us. It's easy to grow old in our faith, Lord, so that our prayers become stale and cold, producing nothing but empty echoes around us. Help us regain what we lost whenever we felt to weak to fight, and simply gave in because we were tricked into believing that our enemy was too overpowering for there to be any point in resisting.
Jesus, dear Jesus. May I and those I love embrace your initiatives for us in 2012. May we, with eyes wide open, be made to realize what exactly your perfect will is, and ignite in us the passion to follow you to places, and in ways, we've never experienced before. We feel old mindsets and the urge for comfort closing in on us whenever the pull for the new is expanding inside. Help us, want to break free from past triumphs and defeats. Nostalgia won't stand us in good stead this, or at any other, time. We need the new, and thus we need You.
Lord, help us fall desperately in love with You. For it's love that will take us to wherever and whatever we're destined for. We welcome new learning and fresh insights, but above anything else we need Your love to replenish and bolster our own. Without You we can do nothing at all. And there's no knowing, yet, of what can be accomplished if You perform Your majestic works in and through us.
Lord, You're a caged Lion in us waiting to be released. Be released - and stay unfettered and free. May we thus be audacious and persistent in reclaiming and retrieving each nation that You bought with Your own sacrifice all those many years ago.
Amen.
2012 has dawned upon us, and the world is still very much in need of You.
Right now Europe and the rest of the world is in a deep crisis, Jesus, and as you know politicians and heads of state are rightly worried over what will happen e.g. to the member states of what is known as the EU. Human error and hubris has brought on them a dire financial situation - although problems seem to be unevenly distributed across the continents. Citizens of some of the countries have apparently been acting more in line with your moral precepts and thus avoided the trouble the Greeks have brought upon themselves, but since I am not an expert in the field of economics, I cannot know, Lord whether Germans e.g. will soon find themselves equally beset by unemployment and general discontent.
Whatever the causes of the present situation may be, I pray that those who are working towards solutions - policies and other measures that will resolve the crisis - may be granted success, so that pent-up anger and frustration will not spill over into the streets, and that we may avoid scenes like those we witnessed on the streets of France some years ago where scores of youth vented their volcanic ire by burning cars, looting shops and causing pain and fear to dominate.
Lord, may Your people in Europe and the world be granted grace to set examples that will attract the attention of outsiders. May they lead their lives, facing their crises trusting You, so that eventually the distraught and the alienated will experience a resurgence of hope. May your good news be shared in homes, on the streets and in the workplaces in ways that don't diminish its demands on its listeners, or compromise the provocative power of your cross. You didn't lay down your life, Lord, to merely gain a fanclub. You died in order for new creations, people made new on the inside, to follow your examples as apprentices of your heavenly trade.
Dear Lord. In the midst of all the present turmoil and upheavals that we observe across our globe, may we over and over again discover just who we are in You, and may our eyes be made to see the true magnitude of the resources available for us in You. It's so easy to lose courage, abandoning our youthful passions and vision that energized us. It's easy to grow old in our faith, Lord, so that our prayers become stale and cold, producing nothing but empty echoes around us. Help us regain what we lost whenever we felt to weak to fight, and simply gave in because we were tricked into believing that our enemy was too overpowering for there to be any point in resisting.
Jesus, dear Jesus. May I and those I love embrace your initiatives for us in 2012. May we, with eyes wide open, be made to realize what exactly your perfect will is, and ignite in us the passion to follow you to places, and in ways, we've never experienced before. We feel old mindsets and the urge for comfort closing in on us whenever the pull for the new is expanding inside. Help us, want to break free from past triumphs and defeats. Nostalgia won't stand us in good stead this, or at any other, time. We need the new, and thus we need You.
Lord, help us fall desperately in love with You. For it's love that will take us to wherever and whatever we're destined for. We welcome new learning and fresh insights, but above anything else we need Your love to replenish and bolster our own. Without You we can do nothing at all. And there's no knowing, yet, of what can be accomplished if You perform Your majestic works in and through us.
Lord, You're a caged Lion in us waiting to be released. Be released - and stay unfettered and free. May we thus be audacious and persistent in reclaiming and retrieving each nation that You bought with Your own sacrifice all those many years ago.
Amen.
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