Our Loving Father,

Thank You for this new year that You have allowed us to see. Thank You for Your grace and mercy.

Lord, we adore You and worship You. For there is no other God in the heavens above or in the earth below.

I pray for our hearts this morning. Search our hearts and reveal to us the hurting burdens we carry, and the wicked imaginations we harbor. Lord, we know that we are not worthy even of the least of Your mercies, but You are merciful and gracious to us anyway.

Help us not to take this grace and mercy for granted. Lord, some of us are unable to celebrate the new year because we no longer have that hopeful spirit and passion we had in previous years due to many hurts, disappointments, rejections and struggles. It just seems there is nothing really to celebrate, because things never seem to get better anyway, but always worse — adding to the cares and sufferings we already have in our lives.

Some of us are living in vicious cycles of resentment and anger towards people that have wronged us, and even towards You.

Lord, soften our hearts. Rebuke us not in Your wrath. You have told us to call You FATHER. A name that signifies relationship, between a child and a parent. Father, forgive our hard hearts and soften them to receive Your love. Many a time, people have painted the wrong picture of You in our minds. I pray that You may reveal Yourself to us. Make known to us Your loving and gracious ways, that we may behold You as though for the first time.

I pray for those who have been wounded by loved ones. Lord, intervene and heal these hearts in Jesus Mighty Name. More than anything in this world, You desire a broken and contrite heart, — these are what You find pleasing. I pray that we may not be ashamed to come to You with our scars, loads of unnecessary burdens that we carry everyday, and even those we allow ourselves to carry for others too. Receive our broken and empty selves and fill us with Your love.

Lord, we hurt each other badly, and mostly because we have been hurt by others too, so we do not know how to give love to others. Show unto us your loving heart, a heart that has never condemned His children, but has loved us with an everlasting love. A heart that came into this sin cursed world and died in our stead. Grant us a love so pure, that no man can give.

Thank You for the sacrifice You made on the cross. We did not deserve it yet because You loved us so deeply, You hang on a tree. Help us to extend the same grace to those we hate in our hearts and grudgingly perceive not to deserve any grace, despite how badly they might have hurt us.

Lord, search our hearts everyday and know if there is any wicked way within them and reveal it to us, that we may learn of You.

This year, create in us a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within us. Cast not Your presence away from us and take not Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation and uphold us everyday with Your free spirit.

Ezekiel 36

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be Your God.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

♣

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