30 Best New Year Prayers to Welcome 2025

May God make your year a happy one!

Not by shielding us from all sorrows and pain,

But by strengthening us to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making our path easy,

But by making us sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from us,

But by taking fear from our heart;

Not by granting us unbroken sunshine,

But by keeping our face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making our life always pleasant,

But by showing us when people and their causes need us most,

and by making us anxious to be there to help.

God's love, peace, hope and joy to us for the year ahead.

—Author Unknown; Adapted by Debra Mooney

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

—Thomas Merton

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for making all things new! As another new year begins, help me live each day for You. May I continually have a new song in my heart to sing to You, no matter what comes my way. I trust in You because I know that Your mercies are new every morning, and nothing ahead of me will take You by surprise.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

—Joan Walker Hahn

When the carols have been stilled,

When the star-topped tree is taken down,

When family and friends are gone home,

When we are back to our schedules,

The work of Christmas begins:

To welcome the refugee,

To heal a broken planet,

To feed the hungry,

To build bridges of trust, not walls of fear,

To share our gifts,

To seek justice and peace for all people,

To bring Christ’s light to the world.

—Michael Dougherty

Dear God,

On this day I ask You to grant this request,

May I know who I am and what I am,

Every moment of every day.

May I be a catalyst for light and love,

And bring inspiration to those whose eyes I meet.

May I have the strength to stand tall in the face of conflict,

And the courage to speak my voice, even when I'm scared.

May I have the humility to follow my heart,

And the passion to live my soul's desires.

May I seek to know the highest truth

And dismiss the gravitational pull of my lower self.

May I embrace and love the totality of myself,

My darkness as well as my light.

May I be brave enough to hear my heart,

To let it soften so that I may gracefully

Choose faith over fear.

Today is my day to surrender anything that stands

Between the sacredness of my humanity and my divinity.

May I be drenched in my Holiness

And engulfed by Your love.

May all else melt away.

And so it is.

—Debbie Ford

Father, I abandon myself into your hands.

Do with me whatever you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you.

I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.

Into your hands I commend my spirit. I offer it to you with all the love that is in my heart.

For I love you, Lord, and so want to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

Amen.

—Charles de Foucauld

O God of steadfast love, trusting you, we devote our hearts to learning and our lives to walking.

Teach us truth, that we may walk with courage.

Teach us mercy, that we may walk with humility.

Teach us forgiveness, that we may walk with compassion.

Teach us grace, that we may walk with strength.

Teach us wonder, that we may walk with praise.

Teach us goodness, that we may walk with those in need.

O God of steadfast love, learning from you, may we walk well.

Amen.

—J. Bradley Wigger

Today's a new day, a chance for a new start. Yesterday is gone and with it, any regrets, mistakes, or failures I may have experienced. It's a good day to be glad and give thanks, and I do, Lord. Thank you for today, a new opportunity to love, give, and be all that you want me to be.

—Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Lord,

Please help me learn from my mistakes this past year, but not dwell on them.

Please help me not rest on my accomplishments in this past year, but use them to further your work in and through me.

Please help me not quarrel with those who injured me this past year.

Instead, O Father, lead me in your path and help me see your mighty works this next year.

I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

—Isaiah 43:18-19

Dear Lord,

As the new year begins, I look to You for our hope, joy, and peace. Give me the courage to do all that You ask of me. Please also make me brave to not do what isn’t from You. Show me how to walk in grace and embrace Your love for me even more.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

—Holly Gerth

Heavenly Father,

At midnight,

When the old year dies,

And the new comes bounding in,

I draw strength from knowing

That in the next twelve months

The snows will go

The buds will burst

The heat will rise

The leaves will fly,

That all these things will happen

According to Your schedule

And in Your time;

That there is order in Your universe,

And that I am part of it.

—Van Varner

Lord Jesus,

I thank You that You are with me, that You are in me. Resolutions might come in one year and go out the other. Open my ears this year, so that I can hear You and enjoy You at every junction, when You tell me to turn right or left.

Amen.

—Pete Briscoe

Dear God,

Thank You for new beginnings. What an incredible day this is with a fresh year's potential stretched out before me. I want to be found faithful this year in each and every opportunity You bring to me. Thank You, Lord, for new beginnings. I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

—Pastor David McGee

Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams.Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern not yourself with what you tried and failed in, but what it is still possible to do. Now is the time to put aside past and present setbacks and failures and look with confidence to the new day called tomorrow.

—Pope John XXIII

God of Love,

You are with us in every transition and change.

As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety, we recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love.

We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us.

We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment.

We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our own work.Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another.

We ask this in your Holy Name.

—Joseph P. Shadle

Dear God,

Give me the courage to begin again — to overlook the difficulties, to overcome the obstacles and to stay open to the moment as best I can. Help me be patient enough to know it takes time to start over, and wise enough to ask for help from friends and family when I need it. As I look to the future, may I reflect on the past and remember the lessons it’s taught me. And God, may I always look to you for strength and guidance.

—Abbey Caskets

As the dawn breaks on a new year, let us give thanks for all we hold dear: our health, our family and our friends.

Let us release our grudges, our anger and our pains, for these are nothing but binding chains. Let us live each day in the most loving ways, the God-conscious way. Let us serve all who are in need, regardless of race, color or creed.

Let us keep God of our own understanding in our hearts and to chant God's name each day. Let us lead the world from darkness to light, from falsehood to truth and from wrong to right.

Let us remember that we are all one, embracing all, discriminating against none.

May your year be filled with peace, prosperity and love. May God's blessings shower upon you and bestow upon each of you a bright, healthy and peaceful new year.

—Rev. Marcy Sheremetta

God of all time, help us enter the New Year quietly, thoughtful of who we are to ourselves and to others, mindful that our steps make an impact and our words carry power.

May we walk gently.

May we speak only after we have listened well.

Creator of all life, help us enter the New Year reverently, aware that you have endowed every creature and plant, every person and habitat with beauty and purpose.

May we regard the world with tenderness.

May we honor rather than destroy.

Lover of all souls, help us enter the New Year joyfully, willing to laugh and dance and dream, remembering our many gifts with thanks and looking forward to blessings yet to come.

May we welcome your lavish love. In this new year, may the grace and peace of Christ bless us now and in the days ahead.

—Vinita Hampton Wright; Offered by Douglas Ruschman

May the Lord make my New Year a happy one…

Not by shielding me from sorrow and pain, but by strengthening me to bear it if it comes.

Not by making my path easy, but by making me sturdy enough to tread any path.

Not by taking hardship from me, but by taking all cowardice and fear from my heart as I meet hardships.

Not by granting me unbroken sunshine, but by keeping my face bright even in the shadows.

Not by making my life always pleasant, but by showing me where men and His cause need me most and by making me zealous to be there and to help…

God, make my year a happy one.

—Guideposts Magazine (January 1973)

Our Father God,

Parent of all children, father to all parents,

Be with us, and in particular with our families.

You know our needs for health, happiness, wholeness, for shelter, safety, solace, for the overworked and unemployed among us.

Mend the rifts between us, restore the lost ones to us.

And let nothing come between us and You, Creator of our universal family of humankind.

—Rick Hamlin, Guideposts contributor