01/01/2025
A Prayer for the Ending of a Year
O Lord of Eternity, every year I ask,
“Where did the time go?”
And here again, I tear off the last
page of my calendar, and ponder:
“A year gone, and to what end or profit?”
I call to mind the psalmist saying,
“Teach us to number our days, that
we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
And though my actions may suggest otherwise, I know my days are not of infinite supply. Therefore, help me to undertake an accounting of the past year.
On the dark side of my ledger, help me be
honest enough to see the angry words,
the acts of self-centeredness, the arrogant thoughts that have soured my walk with you.
Make me aware of the divisions I have created with others, and how that may have driven them further from you.
Lord, if I dwelt on these failings, I would
conclude the year was a net loss.
But I know that in the divine economy of your grace there’s a brighter side to the ledger I keep.
Bring to my remembrance those actions
that were reflective of your presence in my life, the moments when patience prevailed, when self-interest was restrained by love. And those precious times when joy came to others and myself because I sought you first.
Over all this, your love, your patience, and your forgiveness prevail,
making the balance sheet of this year
reflect a great profit.
For you have walked with me, and anything I have learned from you is eternal gain.
This turning of the last page is not the end. For you maintain no ledgers, and you separate me from my sins as far as
the east is from the west.
You are no keeper of accounts, O Lord,
and New Year’s Eve is an artificial human construct; Our hours will march on whether we celebrate this night or not.
And tomorrow will bring a new calendar,
a fresh stack of pages, which we will fill with our deeds and you with your grace.
New opportunities for obedience await.
So in these final minutes of 2024, I reflect, repent, and rejoice.
Even though I fail, You will not.
You will redeem.
You will make all things new - including me. And I am thankful.
Amen.
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By Wayne Garvey
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