The LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue,
Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
Lamentations 3:22–23 GNT
After the hectic holiday season, it can be difficult to face the reality of a new year.
The Christmas lights are coming down. The spirit of goodwill and generosity is harder to find. The days are short and the nights are long. And sometime in late January, all those resolutions you made on January 1 quietly drop off your to-do list.
It’s normal to struggle with the endless pressure to reinvent yourself each year. But God’s Word shows us a different way of living—and it doesn’t require us to strive for change. Scripture teaches us that true and lasting transformation can only be found in Jesus Christ.
While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). When we accept his gift of salvation, God works in us to give us new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26). And Scripture tells us that God will always complete the good work he begins in our lives (Philippians 1:6).
This New Year, you can look to the future in hope, trusting that God will keep his promises and continue to help you grow closer to Christ. Here are three Scriptures you can use to inspire your prayers—both at the beginning of a new year, and every day!
Lord, please give me a new song to sing.
He taught me to sing a new song,
a song of praise to our God.
Many who see this will take warning
and will put their trust in the LORD.
Lord, please give me a new heart and mind.
So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.
Lord, please make me a new creation in Jesus Christ.
Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.
We hope you start this new year with a renewed desire to read God’s Word each day! To get you started, here are some free resources from American Bible Society: