Prayer Time for New Year

New Beginnings and Fresh Starts

The Bible is full of examples of new beginnings and fresh starts. Consider Adam and Eve. Can you imagine the first time they saw each other? Can you imagine how they must have looked at each other and thought about the future? With no history except what God told them and no knowledge except what God shared, how interesting life would have been as they learned about each other and about this brand new world. A new beginning.

Think of Noah. When he and his family walked off that ark for the first time following the flood, they walked out onto ground that was fresh and new. The sun was shining and all was clean. Noah immediately built an altar and worshiped God. Can you imagine how foreign this world must have looked to him? Can you imagine the sense of responsibility he felt to be the kind of man God wanted him to be? A new beginning.

Abraham traveled to a land that was brand new to him. He set up house in a place that didn’t know God. He was God’s chosen man to start a nation which would bring the Son of God into the world. Can you imagine standing under that starry sky one night listening to God explain his plans, how Abraham was overwhelmed with the enormity of the universe and his role in it? A new beginning.

David, after sexual sin with Bathsheba, received a new beginning. The Ninevites received a new beginning after listening to Jonah and the warning from God. Paul, after his conversion, received a new beginning. The Bible has many examples of new beginnings.

Our Love for New Beginnings

We like the idea of a new beginning. We have had times of new beginnings and fresh starts. In our personal lives we need these times to feel as if we can put the past behind us and move on. Job changes afford us that opportunity sometimes. Moving from one location to another sometimes affords us that new beginning. Sometimes new beginnings do not happen until we have a setback. But once through the difficulty we are ready for a new beginning.

Our culture recognizes new beginnings on New Year’s Day. A national holiday, we celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of another. Our culture endorses an idea that with every January 1, we try to start new—personally and nationally. That doesn’t mean we forget what is behind, but we push forward to doing better, making life better, and trying not to repeat the same mistakes.

Paul’s Example

Paul had a similar idea in Philippians 3:12 and following, in which he said that his goal was to press forward to being with Jesus. He let go of the past and pushed forward to the future. Paul had a lot to let go of. His past was littered with a trail of failures and missed opportunities. Pushing ahead he looked forward to attaining the highest goal of all—being with Jesus. In verse 15 he says that all who are mature should think the same way. And because we want to be mature, we are thankful for new beginnings. They provide us, like Paul, with an opportunity to put the past behind us and to press on to being with Jesus.

New Beginnings for Our Congregation

New beginnings occur within congregations as well. Park Avenue is being given a new beginning. Not just because this is a new year, but because of the future. The process for selecting elders is moving forward. Plans are that within six weeks we will have appointed men to serve as elders, shepherding us to the goal. This is a new beginning for Park Avenue. We are going to share in a time of prayer now. We are going to pray for God’s power to work among us and to thank him for a new beginning.

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