Promises and Prayers

"His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22b-23 (ESV)

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 fresh start. And surely if God's compassions and mercies are new each morning, they seem doubly so at the beginning of a new year.

Most of us resolve at the start of a new year to change something in our lives. Perhaps we resolve to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, spend less, get out of debt, 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 select a specific prayer verse, both for myself and our family, for the coming year.

I usually start praying and looking for the verse around October or November. It's hard to explain how I "know" that the verse is THE verse, other than to say that there is a confidence, certainty, and expectation that comes with first reading, and then ultimately praying, the verse. Often, there are several verses that seem appropriate for this particular season of life. I begin praying those verses and just ask God to help me select one as my "theme" or focus verse for the upcoming year.

God loves to hear His own words prayed back to him. One of King David’s prayers, a man after God’s own heart, was simply, “Do as you have promised.” (2 Samuel 7:25) We can confidently pray that prayer because God is a Promise Maker and a Promise Keeper. The Old Testament literally can be summarized with the word “promise” and the New Testament is best described by the word “fulfilled.”

My 2005 prayer verse for our family was Jeremiah 33:9, "that this city will bring me (God) renown, joy, praise, and honor." I reasoned that if a city could do that, could not our family? During the year, I routinely prayed that our Evans family would bring God joy, praise, renown, and honor, not for our glory, but for His. God answered that prayer in some very specific ways, not the least of which was our youngest son Daniel winning the 6A Bryant Jordan Award.  Daniel’s award and the scholarship money that accompanied it was certainly an honor, but the next morning's newspaper’s headline read, "Evans Snags Honor." God used the prayer verse as a memorial stone event in our family's life. We couldn't have orchestrated Daniel’s award or the headline.   We all knew that both were from God. God met us where we were and answered prayer.

Our 2006 family prayer verse was from 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 is pleasing to 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.

Each year’s verse and the resulting prayers that follow are not a magic formula or “name it and claim it” strategy for getting what we want. They are simply requests acknowledging our dependence on God and asking Him to do what only He can do- work in our lives and hearts to help us grow in His grace and knowledge; to bear fruit in their lives; and to live for His glory, not ours. Over time, the focus verses and the prayers have become part of the fabric of our family's lives, faith, and legacy.

My 2021 personal prayer verse is Proverbs 31:26, “She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” I’ve chosen that verse as a prayer before I speak, teach or write. Colossians 1:10 is my 2021 prayer for our family: “Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.” 

What about you? Do you have a life verse? If not, the New Year is a great opportunity to ask God to give you one just for your life. How about a prayer verse for your own loved ones? It may take more than one session of sitting down and asking God to give you one, but He promises "those who seek Me find Me." (Proverbs 8:17)  Read God’s Word and look for His promises. And then start praying God's word back to Him on behalf of yourself and your loved ones. God loves to hear his people pray and take him at his word.

A new year, promises and prayers remind us of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love. Great is His faithfulness!