Prayers in place of resolutions

'Old Man Praying," by Vincent van Gogh, Wikimedia Commons

I’ve never been a big believer in New Year’s resolutions.  Maybe it means I just don’t have enough resolve, that I’m weak on willpower.  But such is a symptom of the human condition in general, not just me.  Researchers consistently find most people fail at keeping New Year’s resolutions.  One frequently cited statistic says 80% of people’s resolutions fail within six weeks.  The most generous estimate I've seen says more than half of resolutions don’t last six months.

Rather than making promises to myself that I likely can’t keep, this year I want to focus on things outside of me that are more enduring -- things that remain constant and true whether I have stamina or not.  They are, in fact, the things that will give spiritual stamina -- the  strength to keep going, one day at a time, in the new year.  “Faith, hope, and love remain -- these three. The greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

So these are the things for my focus in the new year -- and invite you to share that focus with me. I offer these three prayers:

For faith:

Lord, help me trust in you and what you have promised. As a man like me once said, “I believe. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).  Believing is hard when we’re faced with demons in our lives (as that man was).  Believing seems insane when we can’t see you, God, and haven’t a clue what you’re doing. But I pray for confidence, for contentment, for the ability to be thankful for what I do have ... and to be assured that when my heart is seeking God, I “shall not lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

For hope:

“The days of our years are … but labor and sorrow” (Psalm 90:10).  Your word warned me of that, Lord.  Jesus said so, too: “In this world you have trouble” (John 16:33).  The daily grind and obstacles in my path make hanging onto hope exhausting. God, I need reminders that hope in your goodness can’t demand that you prove your goodness in ways obvious to me.  “Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?” (Romans 8:24).  Help me, Lord, to hope for that which I don’t see, and to wait for blessings with patience. 

For love:

Forgive me, Spirit of Christ, for valuing things that are of little value when the greatest of all things is love.  On this earth, institutions and corporations seem to matter so much.  Careers and accomplishments are seen to define who we are.  But that’s not true.  A wise old man called all such things meaningless -- “a chasing after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).  What really matters is being “rooted and grounded in love,” and comprehending “the width and length and height and depth” of that love (Ephesians 3:17,18).  Lord, enable me to “know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), and to extend that love to people around me, knowing love matters most of all.

All Bible quotes from World English Bible (WEB).