Numbered Days and Wise Hearts
"Teach us to number our days that
we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Just as the end of an old year gives us cause for reflection on God's blessings, the start of a new year provides an opportunity for a clean slate and fresh start. And surely if God's compassions and mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), they seem doubly so at the beginning of a new year.
Most of us resolve each new year to change something in our lives. Perhaps we purpose to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, spend less, get out of debt, get organized, or reduce our screen time. We may even resolve to have a consistent daily quiet time with God, read through the Bible, or to pray more. One of the things I like to do annually is to choose a specific prayer verse, both for myself and our family, for the coming year.
Our 2006 family prayer verse was Hebrews 13:21, "May He work in us what is pleasing to Him." Throughout that year's highs and lows, I kept praying that God would work in each family member’s life whatever pleased Him. Eventually Hebrews 13:21 became my lifelong “go to” prayer verse for our family. That passage has seen us through many life decisions including job searches, potential relationships, career moves, disappointments, setbacks, and sufferings. Each situation became an opportunity to pray, “Work in us what is pleasing to you” and then trusting God to do just that.
Psalm 112:7 “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast trusting in the LORD” was my prayer focus verse in 2022. As we began the new year, I prayed for a steadfast heart, one that is fixed, firm, and secure no matter my circumstances. I had no way of knowing beforehand that God was preparing me for the suffering and heartache that would come in 2022 with James Bruce’s sudden death and my breast cancer diagnosis. But throughout 2022 and into 2023, God steadied my heart and answered my prayer over and over again as we faced additional challenges.
Today’s verse “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12) was a prayer penned by Moses about 3400 years ago and is my 2025 prayer focus verse. Moses begins his prayer in Psalm 90 with a look at God, the eternal timeless God who measures a thousand years as a day (v4). He then focuses on the mortality (v3,5) and brevity of man whose average life span is only 70-80 years (v10). Moses finishes his prayer with a plea for God to help us (not just him!) number, not our years, but our days. He begs God for a heart of wisdom.
In this season of my life I am praying for a wise heart in the midst of numbered days.
The new year is a great opportunity to read God’s Word, look for His promises, and then start praying God's word back to Him. God loves to hear his people pray and take him at his word. All prayer begins with a recognition of our need and an acknowledgement of our ultimate dependence on God. What do you need to trust God for in 2025? Are you willing to ask and then trust him to answer as He deems best?
“God will either give us what we ask for in prayer or give us what we would have asked for if we knew everything he knows.” Tim Keller
“Lord, teach us to pray!” Luke 11:1 (NIV)