Patient and Perfect Father, with glad and grateful hearts, we bless You for ushering us into a brand NEW YEAR! 2025! How patient You have been with us throughout the years gone by – especially the year that had just passed by! 2024! Your patience with us, throughout all the years of our sojourn on earth, is enduring and exemplary. Some may be mocking: “a NEW YEAR has begun – but where is the promise of His coming?” Your response to such mockers is the same as it was in the days of Peter. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; NASB).

Indeed, Your patience with us is incredible

Indeed, Your patience with us is incredible! It’s immeasurable! It’s because of Your patience toward us that this NEW YEAR has come upon us. While we appreciate Your patience toward us, we affirm that Your work with us, all these years, is perfect (see Deuteronomy 32:4). For You, our heavenly Father, are perfect (see Matthew 5:48). In fact, You have not done us any wrong, in all the years You have permitted us to live on the earth You created. In fact, no man, or woman can successfully accuse You of wronging him or her (Job accused You of doing him wrong; but he later retracted and repented in dust and ashes when he realized that he, rather, was wrong (see Job 19:6; 42:6).

Truly, Your works and Your ways with us are perfect

Truly, Your works and Your ways with us are perfect. Therefore, we, like, Moses, ascribe greatness to You our God (see Deuteronomy 32:3a). “The Rock! [Your] work is perfect, for all [Your] ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright [are You]” (Deuteronomy 32:3b-4; NASB). We thank You for Your faithfulness demonstrated to us through the years till today. Indeed, we have been faithless, but You have remained faithful to us. For Your word says of You: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13; NASB).

Patient and Perfect Father, we owe our very lives to You.

Patient and Perfect Father, we owe our very lives to You. Our existence on this planet of Yours is totally dependent on You. Your word says: “Alas, who can live unless God has ordained it?” (Numbers 24:23b). Indeed, in this NEW YEAR, and in the years past, we owe our lives to You. This is because You Yourself give to all people life and breath and all things (see Acts 17:25). Moreover, Your word affirms that in Your hand is the breath of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind (see Job 12:10). To further underscore the truth that we owe our very lives to You, the Spirit of God made this powerful statement through Elihu. “If He should determine to do so, if He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust” (Job 34:14-15; NASB).

We cannot live our lives the way we want

Because we owe very our lives to You, we cannot live our lives the way we want, especially in this NEW YEAR. Heavenly Father, we confess to You. We have lived the way we please in years gone by. Please, forgive us for living the way we please. But in this NEW YEAR, our desire is to truly and totally live for You, our God. Therefore, through Your Holy Spirit, enable us to completely submit ourselves to You. Indeed, our lives are more fulfilling when we live to please You. Your word exhorts us to “have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to [You]” (2 Corinthians 5:9; NASB)!

We commit our way to You

Since we owe our very lives to You and to desire, to be pleasing to You, we commit our way to You. Lord, You know all things, even declaring the end from the beginning (see Isaiah 47:10). In fact, all that will occur in 2025, and even beyond, is known to You. Indeed, we may be surprised as events unfold in 2025. But not You. None of the events that will happen in 2025 will take You by surprise. Yes, You know all about what will be happening in 2025. Not only that, You will be in full control of all the events occurring in it.

Patient and Perfect Father, we…dedicate the New Year of 2025 to You

As such, Patient and Perfect Father, we humbly and heartily dedicate the NEW YEAR of 2025 to You. Be pleased to accomplish what concerns our families, friends, and us. Also, may it be good in Your eyes to perform Your divine purposes for the nation of Israel – Your chosen and cherished people. As well, please carry out Your good plans for Your Church – Your consecrated and called-out believers. Furthermore, in this NEW YEAR, we beseech You to bring to pass Your desires and designs for Your world. A world that’s made up of all the countries and coastlands You created under the heavens!

Indeed, You are the Creator of Israel

Indeed, You are “the Creator of Israel” (Isaiah 43:15) and “the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 49:7). You have loved Israel with an everlasting love (see Jeremiah 31:2-3). Your word makes it clear that they are precious in Your eyes (see Isaiah 43:3). Moreover, You have set Your eyes on them for good (see Jeremiah 24:6). Therefore, we beseech You on behalf of the nation of Israel. Your desire for Israel, after establishing them as a nation, is that they worship You alone, the true God (see Exodus 20:3-4). Indeed, Your desire for Israel to worship You alone, has not changed over the years.

We earnestly pray

Therefore, we earnestly pray that You will do a special work in the hearts of the people of Israel. Please, Creator of Israel, create in them, a sincere longing to worship You, and You alone.  You, Lord, long for such worshipers, who will worship You in spirit and truth (see John 4:23-24). This is because You are not interested in worshipers who honor You with their lips or worship You in vain (see Matthew 15:8-9).

We pray for Your gracious work

Also, “Redeemer of Israel” (Isaiah 49:7), we pray for Your gracious work of giving Israel a renewed desire to walk in all Your ways.  For this is one of the things You required of them since the days of Moses. “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him…” (Deuteronomy 10:12a; NASB). Earlier, Israel was specifically taught that their walking in all the way God has commanded was for their own well-being and longevity in the land they were to possess (see Deuteronomy 5:33).

We confess

We confess that even though You made this requirement very clear to Israel, and its benefits, yet they often failed to abide by it. Through Your prophet Ezekiel, You repeatedly spoke of Israel’s failure to walk in Your statutes (Ezekiel 20:13, 16, 18, 21). Because of Israel’s repeated failure to walk in all Your ways, it’s all the more important to pray that they be renewed to do so, in such a time as this! Also, please grant that they will not walk in the customs of the nations. For that’s a great temptation – which You warned them against in the wilderness – on their way to the Promised Land (see Leviticus 18:3; 20:23).

Patient and Perfect Father, we pray that Israel will wait for You

Also, Patient and Perfect Father, we pray that Israel will wait for You to guide them in all their decisions. For You promised that “none of those who wait for You will not be ashamed” (Psalms 25:3; NASB). We pray that the leadership of Israel, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, will seek Your counsel. O yes, man’s efforts can accomplish a lot (see Genesis 11:1-8), but not necessarily what will last for eternity. Therefore, save Prime Minister Netanyahu and his cabinet from leaning on their own human wisdom in making decisions that can accomplish a lot. But not what is lasting in Your sight, nor for the spiritual progress of the nation of Israel.

We pray for Your Church

And now, we pray for Your Church at the beginning of the NEW YEAR of 2025. We sincerely thank You for Your great love for Your Church – a love that’s unceasing, unchanging and unconditional. Indeed, Your agape love for Your Church seeks Your very best for her both in this life and in the life soon to come. Father, Your desire for Your Church, is not only to enjoy Your love, but also to express it toward You. This is specifically stated in the great and foremost commandment. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5; cf. Matthew 22:37; NASB).

We pray that, Your Holy Spirit will enable Your Church

Therefore, we pray that, Your Holy Spirit will enable Your Church, in this NEW YEAR, to love You with all our being. But what does it really mean to love the Lord our God? You stated the answer to this question in simple and succinct terms for us. “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the One who loves Me” (John 14:21a; NASB; cf. John 14:15, 23; 1 John 5:3). Therefore, please Father, renew our love for You Yourself in this NEW YEAR through our obedience to You.  Let our obedience to You be complete, not casual! Prompt, not procrastinating! Perfect, not partial! For You are not interested in partial obedience.

Patient and Perfect Father, rekindle our love for our fellow believers

As well, Patient and Perfect Father, rekindle our love for our fellow believers. For You gave us a new commandment, that we love one another, even as You have loved us (see John 13:34). You also said it this way: “the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:21; NASB). For it is by having love for one another that all men will know that we are Your disciples (see John 13:35). But, sadly and sincerely, we confess that we’re not known for loving one another. But for our lashing out at one another. We’re not known for our care and concern for one another. But for criticizing and condemning one another. We’re not known for forgiving and fellowshipping with each other. But for fighting and finding fault with each other. O Lord, forgive us for bringing shame to Your holy name. Please, grant that by the working of Your Holy Spirit, we will turn a new leaf in this NEW YEAR. And be known as people having love for one another.

O Lord,…You commissioned Your Church

O Lord, out of Your agape love, You commissioned Your Church to carry the good news of life and salvation in Jesus Christ to others. The Lord Jesus Christ, “the Head of the Church” (Ephesians 5:23), authoritatively spelled out Your mandate for Your Church. That is to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20; NASB). As such, grant that Your Holy Spirit, will empower Your Church to prioritize making disciples of all the nations. Not merely getting people to make decisions for Christ. Again, Lord, forgive us Your Church for focusing on getting people to make decisions for Christ to report in our evangelistic reports. Rather than making them genuine disciples of Christ – who are becoming more and more like Him each day.

Lord of all the earth, we lift up Your world to You

And now, “Lord of all the earth” (Joshua 3:11, 13), we lift up Your world to You. In Your world, “there is none who is righteous, not even one…there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10, 12b; NASB). This is the bad news for Your world. Fortunately, You have good news for Your world. And that is, You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (see John 3:16). Moreover, Your word reveals that You are patient toward the world of sinners, “not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; NASB).

Patient and Perfect Father, Your great desire…is that they turn to You

O Patient and Perfect Father, Your great desire for Your world of sinners today, is that they turn You. Yes, You want them to turn to You, the loving and living God. You desire that they turn from their sins, to You, the One true God of the universe. Your solemn admonition to wayward and wicked Israel applies to the world of sinners today. “’As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11; NASB).

We earnestly pray

Therefore, we earnestly pray that through the Spirit’s supernatural working, there will be a great turning to You in this NEW YEAR. Actually, Your persecuted believers from Jerusalem had the privilege of seeing a great turning to the Lord through their preaching. The word says: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:22; NASB). O Lord, grant that there will be a genuine and great turning to You among the people of the world. We thank You Lord for the blessing You gave the early disciples in their efforts of spreading the good news. It is now our turn to experience the same blessing of a great turning to the Lord through our preaching.

Patient and Perfect Father, we thank You

And now, Patient and Perfect Father, we thank You for making all things new {see Revelation 21:5). We look to You to do something new in our lives and circumstances in the NEW YEAR. For You promised: “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth, will you not be aware of it?” (Isaiah 43:19a; NASB). Also, we trust that You will accomplish all Your good pleasure (see Isaiah 46:10), even as we’ve prayed for Israel, Your Church and Your world. We present our prayers, praises, petitions and penitence to You in the blessed and beloved name of Jesus Christ. Your Son! Our Savior! Amen!