Day 1
Shiloah Hale

Dearest Lord Jesus,

You are everything, and apart from You there is nothing. We bless Your sweet name for the rescue that it brings. Thank You for adopting us and calling us Your own. You are a good and perfect Father.

We come to You to be made new and to be restored in You. May we feel a closeness to You and hear Your voice clearly. Let our hearts grow to be perfectly in sync with Yours so that we would see not only where we need to grow and mature but also where You want to use us in our church and community.

For all that lies before us in this new year, where we may be tempted to say, “It is what it is,” let us instead ask, “What would You have it be?” And then let us, by grace and by Your mighty hand, be part of Your work to make it happen. Jesus, we boldly pray that passivity would be abolished and that we would firmly abide in You. Lord, stir up our hearts and bring forth unheard of bravery that we may bring Your Kingdom here and now to our community in unprecedented ways.

Where there has been death and loss of faith, make us Your light and a beacon of defiant hope. Where others feel invisible and overlooked, give us eyes that see them--truly see them in ways only You can, with compassion and grace. Where others feel lost and unloved, give us arms that reach out and love like You do.

Transform us. Strip away the old, the excess, the unnecessary. Prune the distractions and the vice-like ways we cope. Consecrate us for You alone and all that lies ahead.

Lord, make Your glory known. Bring forth explosive life and light, letting the hope of glory burst radiant in our everyday. Use us when we are afraid, confused, or stagnant. Use us in spite of ourselves. We give it all--our whole selves to You, Jesus.

Amen.