Why You Should Replace Your New Year’s Resolution With a New Year’s Prayer Instead

The thing I love about New Year’s resolutions is that they get you thinking about how you can improve certain aspects of your life. They breath new life into our goals and motivate us to accomplish them. The thing I hate about New Year’s resolutions is that very few people ever achieve what they set out to do on January 1st.

Speaking of, how are you doing with your resolutions so far? The first week of January is almost over. Are you still going strong?  I wholeheartedly hope that you are, and you can count on me to be your biggest cheerleader!

GO, BEAUTIFUL GOAL MAKER, GO!

However, if you’re on the other end of the spectrum, that’s okay too!

Whether you’re the most committed resolution maker, have already fallen off the New Year’s resolution wagon, or didn’t even make a resolution, I have something that you can do that I guarantee will make this year your best one yet (PLUS I have a special gift I made just for you)! But first, let’s take a closer look at these elusive things we call resolutions and why they are so hard to keep.

The Reason We Make New Year’s Resolutions

We all love resolutions because no matter where we are in our lives, there is always room for improvement.  We could all be eating a little better, exercising a bit more, and dedicating more of our time to the Lord (to name a few). I’m all for self-improvement and striving to become my best self. Like you, I want to accomplish as much as I can with what little time I’m given here on earth. I’ve come to realize, though, that resolutions have never helped me to accomplish any of my goals. I’m talking not even one!

Even though I always have the best intentions of sticking to my New Year’s resolutions, once the Christmas decorations are packed away and my normal life resumes, they’re easily forgotten. Can you relate?

Last year, in an attempt to simplify and maybe even stick to a New Year’s resolution for once, I decided to pick one word, just one, that I hoped would encompass and become my life’s theme for the next year. I thought that remembering one little word would be easier and more attainable than remembering and sticking to multiple resolutions.

Yes, that would have to be easier. After all, who can’t remember one word? 

Um…the answer to that question would be…me!

It was only one word, and only one year has passed, but I have no idea what word I chose!

Why We Can Never Seem To Keep Our Resolutions

Over the years, I’ve perfected my resolution list-making skills. I can make an entire list of incredible life-changing resolutions, I even enjoy doing it, but unfortunately, my follow-through hasn’t improved. In the words of the apostle Paul, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15).

Why is it that we all want to stick with our resolutions, but we never seem to be able to?

It’s because we depend merely on ourselves to accomplish them! For some reason, we tend to sort aspects of our lives into two categories:

1. Things that are significant to God (health concerns, who to marry, events that cause us pain, etc.),
2. Things that are insignificant to God (your plans for the weekend, where to vacation, your resolution list, etc.).

What we fail to realize is that to God, there is no insignificant aspect of our lives.

He is concerned about the most significant decisions to the smallest details; He even knows how many hairs are on your head (Luke 12:7)!

God wants to hear about your struggles with food or your lack of motivation to exercise. He wants to hear it all! He doesn’t expect you to work on (and overcome) anything in your life on your own, or in your own strength and power. He wants to help you! God loves you so much that He cares about every one of your goals, and He will help you accomplish them if they are part of His will. And, if they are not part of His perfect will for you, He will redirect you to something better that He has planned for you. God wants to be included in every aspect of our lives, even our New Year’s resolutions.

A New Year’s Resolution Prayer

Remember when I said I had something you could do that I guaranteed would make this year your best one yet? Well, here it is: instead of placing all your hope in a list of goals, surrender your wants to the Lord in a New Year’s prayer.

This year, I decided to write down my New Year’s prayer (and I encourage you to do the same) so that I can read it next year on New Year’s Eve. Unlike past resolutions, I know I’ll be blessed when I’m able to place mental check marks on all the beautiful things God accomplished in my life and the prayers He answered. There is no safer or more fruitful place to lay down all your desires and goals than at the feet of Jesus.

I know that on December 31st, you made some wonderful resolutions, and I want you to accomplish those goals for yourself. Ask the Lord for help and the strength to do so. However, when comparing my track record (or yours) to God’s, there is no comparison! He follows through on everything He says and has been doing so since the beginning of time. Me, on the other hand, not so much. On most days, I can’t even get through my daily to-do list! This is why a New Year’s prayer is soooo much better than a resolution!

I know it can sometimes be hard to know where to start when it comes to prayer or even what to include in your prayers.

I didn’t want that to stop any of you, so here’s your special gift: I created a FREE Prayer Idea List to get you started, PLUS journal pages that you can write your prayer on. All you have to do is sign up below + click Get It, and it will be delivered straight to your inbox!  Once you have your Prayer Idea List and journal pages, all you need is a comfy chair and a nice hot cup of tea to start this year off the best way you possibly could!

Already a subscriber? No need to sign up below. Just head over to the Subscriber Only Free Resources Library to access your Prayer Idea List and Journal Pages + exclusive content created just for subscribers!

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Start The Year Off Right

This Prayer Idea List is meant to give you some ideas when you can’t think of what to pray for, but remember, it’s just a starting off point. I pray that once you start writing down your prayer on these beautiful pages, it will be hard for you to stop! That’s what happened to me!

I started my prayer by surrendering not only the next year but my entire life to the Lord and what He wants to do in my life. By praying this and trusting that God works all things out for my good, I know that I will be able to keep my eyes intently on Jesus throughout the upcoming year, whether the waters are calm or raging (Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4). Knowing that everything that will happen in the coming days and months is part of God’s plan for my life filled me with such strength, peace, happiness, and hope (and I pray it does the same for you).

As I continued with my prayer, I laid my wants and needs at the Lord’s feet, and I asked Him for help with the things I know I need to work on (like praying more), but my prayer didn’t just stop with me and my wants. I prayed for my husband, my family, and all the other people in my life. This is the thing I love most about New Year’s prayers, as opposed to resolutions: it isn’t just about me. It’s open to all the other people that I love and care about!

What are you waiting for? I love that you’re spending time with me here, but I would much rather have you be spending time with the Lord in prayer. Don’t put it off because we all know that when we put off spending time with the Lord, we usually don’t end up doing it.

But, before you go, I want to wish you a Happy New Year and let you know how excited I am for this upcoming year! I have some new + great things planned for Organic Christian Living (and each of you!) that I can’t wait to share! I know God has great things in store for every single one of us in the new year!