Every January, we sit down with our planners and a dose of fresh hope, trying to imagine what the next twelve months might hold. We map out goals, dream about possibilities, and sketch loose outlines of who we want to become. And while planning is good and wise, there’s something even more important than setting intentions for the year ahead: placing those intentions before the Lord.
The truth is, we don’t know what this year will bring. We don’t know which prayers will be answered with joy, which hopes will require perseverance, or which paths will curve in ways we never anticipated. But we do know this: God is already in every day we will live, and prayer is how we walk into His will rather than rushing ahead with our own.
If you want this year to be shaped more by God’s wisdom than by your own ambition, learning to pray through your plans is essential. Not as a formula or a productivity tool, but as an intimate conversation with the One who holds your life in His hands.
Here’s a simple framework to guide you as you pray through your New Year plans:
1. Begin with Adoration: “Lord, You are…”
Before we ever ask God for anything, we remind our hearts of who He is.
Adoration lifts our eyes from our uncertainties and places them on His unchanging character. It widens our perspective. It humbles our fears. It centers our plans in His greatness rather than our limitations.
You might begin your year with words like:
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“Lord, You are faithful.”
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“You are wise and good in all Your ways.”
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“You are my Shepherd, and You lead me with love.”
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“You are the God who goes before me.”
As you adore Him, your plans begin to settle into their proper place—under His authority and care.
Scripture to meditate on:
Psalm 145:3, Psalm 103:1–5, Revelation 4:11
2. Move towards Surrender: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
After adoration comes the part we often skip: surrender.
If adoration is lifting our gaze, surrender is opening our hands. It’s the quiet willingness to entrust God with our desires—and to trust Him even if He shapes them differently than we imagined.
You might pray:
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“Lord, these are the desires of my heart, but I place them in Your hands.”
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“Shape my goals according to Your will.”
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“Guide my dreams, and take away anything that hinders my obedience.”
This is where peace begins. Not in controlling the year, but in releasing it.
Scripture to meditate on:
Proverbs 3:5–6, Luke 22:42, Psalm 37:4–5
3. Bring Your Petitions: “Lord, I ask…”
Once your heart is turned toward Him and yielded before Him, you can now ask BOLDLY.
Petition is not demanding or manipulating God. It’s the humble cry of a child who trusts her Father. God delights in your requests—big or small. Ask Him for wisdom, clarity, provision, transformation, and strength for the year ahead.
You might pray:
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“Lord, help me steward my time faithfully.”
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“Strengthen me for the work You’ve given me to do.”
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“Grow my faith, my patience, and my love.”
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“Provide what our family needs this year.”
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“Bless my ministry, my business, my home, and my children.”
Nothing is too insignificant for His care or too large for His leadership.
Scripture to meditate on:
Philippians 4:6–7, James 1:5, Matthew 7:7–11
4. Finish by Listening: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”
Often, the most overlooked part of prayer is silence.
Not the silence of absence, but the silence of availability, creating space for the Spirit to nudge, convict, encourage, realign, or simply rest upon your heart.
Listening may look like:
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Sitting with a verse and letting God apply it to your plans
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Journaling what you sense the Lord impressing on you
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Noticing themes He has been highlighting in Scripture
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Allowing His peace to guide your direction
Sometimes He gives a clear prompting. Other times He simply fills you with the assurance that He is with you.
Listening is how your plans become not merely spiritual, but Spirit-shaped.
Scripture to meditate on:
1 Samuel 3:10, Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27
A Year Led by Prayer, Not Pressure
When you pray through your plans in this way, you’re doing more than inviting God into your year. You’re choosing to let Him lead it.
You’re choosing rest over anxiety.
Dependence over striving.
Clarity over confusion.
Peace over pressure.
And as you walk with Him—adoring, surrendering, asking, and listening—your year becomes less about executing the perfect plan and more about following the Good Shepherd who walks beside you.
May this become your rhythm not just on January 1st, but every day God graciously gives you:
“Lord, You are good.
Here are my hopes.
Shape them as You will.
Give what You know I need.
And help me hear Your voice.”
This is how we ought to step into the new year.
