We so often pray from a sense of need. In Scripture, Your son Jesus always prayed from a sense of Your abundance. And so Father, we too pray in Your abundance.
Father, please bless all of the children born this year, their parents and siblings, and their future friends. May they all be drawn into a deeper relationship with You as they grow in Your light and love. Let these babies grow to reflect Your light more perfectly so that others too may be drawn into a deeper relationship with You.
Father, for all those You call home this year, please grant Your grace of a good death, to have one last opportunity to choose You, to choose Life. May we meet them again with You in heaven. Have mercy on their souls, Father.
And Father, for all of us in between, grant us Your grace to choose You today, and each day of this year, to be drawn into an ever deepening relationship with You, with others, and with ourselves. Send your grace into every doubt, fear, and temptation, to transform us, to heal us, to draw us nearer to You. Help us drink every drop from the cup of life You offer us, both the drops of joy and the drops of sorrow, for all is gift. Help us be beacons of Your light and love in the world.
We pray with, through, and in Your Son’s name. Amen, amen.
Ah! One more trip around the sun…