A new year can hold new promise. New opportunity. New potential. That’s especially important—and welcome—this year as we turn the page from 2020 to 2021. There’s no better time to explore new ways to connect with God in prayer. And there may be no better way to fulfill that promise, opportunity and potential than with prayer.
With that in mind, here are a few new things to try as you pray this year:
1) Recite a daily verse.
This site, Guideposts.org, offers an invaluable free service: a daily scripture and reflection sent via email. If you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do that here. Once signed up, you can make that daily scripture (or a key word or portion of it) a topic of prayer throughout the day. Try it, and see how God speaks to you through His word.
2) Choose a simple prayer each week.
Why not start every week by choosing a simple, easy-to-remember prayer to recite repeatedly—say, in traffic, in the grocery store, when someone puts you “on hold” and so on? You may choose “the Jesus Prayer” one week: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Maybe the line of a hymn the next week: “Have Thine own way, Lord.” You might find yourself returning frequently to a favorite prayer as you feel its heart-lifting and life-changing effects.
3) Settle on a new prayer trigger…or two.
Many people use prayer triggers to deepen and broaden their prayer lives. Perhaps you’ve done so at times. But a new year presents the opportunity for new prompts. Do you pass a cemetery on your way to work? Why not let that sight remind you to pray for those who are grieving? Maybe the chime of an incoming email (like church bells used to do) could remind you to pray for your church or your pastor—or both.
If, like many others these days, you wash your hands more often and more thoroughly than you used to, you might choose those moments to speak or sing a prayer.
These are just a few new ways to pray in 2021, and you may have a few more ideas. If the new year prompts even a bit more prayer from you, who knows what it will produce? It may make these coming months some of your most prayerful—and blessed—ever.
