Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

O Lord, you alone are worthy of the praise of our lips and our lives. There is no one like you. You are clothed in majesty and might. Nothing escapes your sight, nothing surprises or overwhelms you. Yet, as we look around ourselves today, we see pain and discord in so many places and so many lives. We are paying the price in our world, our cultures and our lives for trusting in the temporary riches of this world, the power of military force and the thinking of our limited minds.

As we approach a new year, give us a new passion to know your heart and to follow your leadership over any other voice in our lives. May we view people and circumstances as you do. May we desire righteousness as you do. May we despise evil as you do. Deliver us as a people from trusting in ourselves. Free us from the need to be in charge. Forgive us for trusting in our own wisdom instead of yours Help us to be a nation that reflects your ways, your values and your heart. To this, we commit ourselves anew, in Jesus’ name

– Amen.