A Prayer for the New Year

"O God, the Author of all good,

I come to Thee for the grace another [year] will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world; I carry about within me [a sinful & unsanctified] heart. I know that without Thee I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by Thy power. Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.

Preserve...

• my understanding from subtilty of error,
• my affections from love of idols,
• my character from stain of vice,
• my profession from every form of evil.

May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore Thy blessing, and in which I cannot invite Thy inspection.

Prosper me in all lawful undertakings, or prepare me for disappointments.

Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord? or be poor, and steal, and take Thy name in vain.

May every creature be made good to me by prayer and Thy will.

Teach me how...

• to use the world and not abuse it,
• to improve my talents,
• to redeem my time,
• to walk in wisdom toward those without, and in kindness to those within,
• to do good to all men, and especially to my fellow Christians.

And to Thee be the glory. Amen!"

---from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers