Heavenly Father,
I come to you in gratitude for all You have done for me. I give thanks and praise for my trials and blessings in 2022. As I prayerfully come to You, I have many requests.
First, I would like to pray in advance for all the people that will be diagnosed with a new illness this year. My family has been through multiple cancer diagnoses for the past six years. Father, I know these unexpected medical trials puts such stress and worry on families. I pray, Father, for Your peace and strength in all these families. May they feel Your presence and comfort on every telemedicine call, office visit, lab blood draw, and imaging or scan, and You comfort my family.
Next, Father, I would like to pray for all who may see relationships fall apart. I hope they will always turn to You for the light that You provide in dark times. Just as I walked through my divorce constantly praying to You for answers, I pray these people also do the same. I ask, Father, that You strengthen their hearts for the difficult conversations with children on separation, their feelings of failure and inadequacy, and when they sit in the mediation rooms.
Father, many struggle with mental unwellness. For those with anxiety, depression, bipolar illness, panic attacks, ADHD, or any other struggle with their mind, I ask for balance and peace. These conditions are each an illness that works daily against the mind. My prayer for these struggling is healing and contentment. As I struggled, Lord, with severe anxiety, I called Your name, and you calmed my mind. Please offer this calmness to them as well.
I also know God, that many will lose a loved one this upcoming year, maybe expected, maybe not. Still grieving the loss of my own father, I know the pain death will bring. May I pray that these people have a strong relationship with You and faith in You to have peace in a difficult walk? I also pray, Father, that they know and understand the realm of Heaven and the beauty You have promised us in eternal life. May they know Your promise of reuniting us with our loved ones and the gift of salvation. I know my father is with You, waiting for my arrival one day, which offers me the HOPE I need to stay here on this earth.
Father, there are people I know personally struggling with secrets they have hidden and now have come to light in society. Secrets of hidden homosexuality, adultery, lying and cheating, coveting improper images and pornography, some that have denounced You and walked away. I pray that these people will repent and return to You. May they see the forgiveness You offer and recognize that they can and will be forgiven when they ask You. Shame is a worldly emotion Father that only You can wipe away and make white again. May their temptation and downfall be their revival and testimony.
My final prayer is for myself. I feel You holding me tight right now, pulling me into You. I see a deeper relationship with You and intense service in Your name in 2023. I pray, Father, that I hear your words in my heart and mind to fulfill every opportunity You have planned for me. May I not feel fear, but only the call to be Your servant. I love You, Father, and in Jesus’ holy and precious name, I offer this prayer. Amen