Day 12 - Sunday, January 12
Ashley Minkler
New Christians
These are the new Christians in our church family, baptized in 2024:
Ava Chamorro
Azha Garcia
Blake Helpert
Branden Taylor
Claire Foltermann (rebaptized)
Connor Phelps
Emerson Rodgers
Haley Blair
Heather Throckmorton
Kenzie Farmer
Linda Butler
Nolan Hawes
Rachel Zook
Rose Smith
Ryan Foltermann
Xander Ryan
Zane Sloan
(If we missed anyone, it is completely unintentional, and we apologize. Please pray for them, too!)
Dear God, our steadfast, loving Father, we humbly and gratefully come to You today in celebration and prayer for Your children that were baptized into Christ at Garden Ridge this last year!
We ask that You bless each of our new brothers and sisters. Please bless each step into their new lives of faith, as they walk in righteousness and relationship with You. May they feel Your love, grace, peace, and hope, in abundance.
We are so thankful for the lives of each one of our new family members. We rejoice that each of them has chosen to receive Your priceless gift and that they have set their hearts on things above.
Thank You for calling each of them by name. You have given them everything they need for life and godliness, so we pray that they will seek with intention to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As You transform them into new creations, may they learn to align their lives, decisions, and actions with Your will. In everything, may they seek direction and orientation in Your truth and wisdom, according to Jesus’ teachings, so that they may be reflections of Him for others to see. Help them find Your solid ground, the foundation they are meant to build on as they live out Your purpose for their individual lives. And as they go out into the world as Your disciples, may each of them let the Holy Spirit lead them and continually do good work in them, for them, and through them.
We pray over each area of their spiritual growth, when spending time with You in prayer and Bible study, when worshipping and gathering with the church, and when serving and loving like Jesus in their relationships with others. May each practice grow stronger as they connect to You with intention in their daily lives.
We pray for them to feel Your strength when the road gets hard and the devil comes in seeking to deceive, distract, and discourage them. May they know You are right there fighting the enemy for them as they live by Your truth, keep their eyes on You, and trust in Your promises. Give them the wisdom and discernment to see clearly which is You and which is the enemy.
As humans, we don’t always get it right. In those moments, help them remember Your promise to cleanse and forgive if they keep walking in the light, confess, and repent. May they know the importance of running towards You and not away from You. Your grace can transform our mistakes into powerful teaching moments. In heartfelt reflection, guide them to learn those lessons, finding peace in Your loving corrections and seeing ways they can use their personal experiences to help others through their challenges.
In a world that’s always unsettled and changing, may they find their stability in the gift of Your unchanging nature. May they feel Your love and faithfulness during every season of life so that they will choose to praise You and reach for You as the anchor they can hold onto when everything else feels uncertain.
We pray over them during their imperfect travels on Your perfectly planned road, as they learn, grow, know, love, and glorify You for the rest of their lives. May they live humbly and gratefully so that their lives will bring glory to You.
Guide them in living differently, in ways where others see You and want to learn. Help them to remember the Holy Spirit is always present when needing guidance to answer those questions that come. And we pray that new believers will be born out of those moments and conversations so Your Kingdom will grow.
As we pray over these new Christians today, we know the importance and responsibility we have as their church family of believers to nurture their young faith. So, we also come to You in prayer over our spiritual roles, as we walk alongside them. We ask that You guide both sides of each relationship when seeking or leading. Help us connect and see the parts of each other that You need us to see, so that no matter what stage of faith development we are in, each of us might grow stronger in our faith together. Guide us in being a community that is filled with patience, encouragement, support, and inspiration, practicing together, modeling through our actions, having open and safe discussions, and sharing in opportunities to serve.
Help all be led with and in Your love, truth, and wisdom so that those who are new in Christ, can learn and grow in their understanding of You and can actively apply their faith in daily life. May all of us seek You first during our fellowship with one another. Thank You for all of our diverse puzzle pieces and for guiding us to work together to fit as one, all for Your glory.
May we see and feel the joy as You work in our lives. Thank You for restoring us and making us whole. Let us remind each other to praise You through the highs and the lows, because through it all, You are always greater and always good.
Send us, Lord, and help each of us go with open hearts wherever those paths lead us individually and together.
We love You, and we thank You for all that You are in our lives.
Please hear our hearts as we pray these words in Jesus’ name, Amen.