Every year I draft a prayer to bid farewell to the year that is ending and to welcome the new one with our children and grandchildren.

This year, however, when I sat down to draft it, I confess it was unusually difficult because 2020 has been such a trying, and in some cases devastating, year for so many … and 2021 insinuates itself full of ominous uncertainties.

I turned to the Lord for an answer and I found it in His Word, in the book of Job to be precise.

In this book, Satan challenged God to take away from Job the good things he had been receiving from the Lord, The devil’s challenge was not about Job failing to survive without it, but that Job would curse God if He denied him what he felt entitled to.

This is where so many believers find themselves today. They have prayed for righteousness in government and the opposite seems to be taking place … for deliverance from a plague and new spikes are breaking … for provision and the cupboard is growing emptier … for health but instead illness is taking hold … for fellowship with loved ones and lockdown was imposed … for joyful celebrations, and instead shut-down of churches has become the new “normal”.

What makes all this so deeply painful, perplexing and confusing is that this is happening at a time when so much prayer and intercession are being lifted up by believers.

An unfolding story

Where is God in all this?

As in the days of Job, God has faith in His children and, as a result, He is confidently waiting for us to praise Him for His Kingdom to be manifested, even though the cords of death have entangled us (Job 13:15; Psalm 18:4).

Therefore, this is the moment to praise God, as Job did, for that which we still don’t understand, and to trust Him to make all things – pleasant and unpleasant, understood and not understood – work together for good according to His purpose for us, not only to prove the devil wrong, but also to give cause to His angels in heaven to fill the celestial space with joyful praise because these are things into which angels are looking on. Yes, angels are watching! (see 1 Peter 1:12)

According to Romans 8:28, life is not a picture but a movie of which God is the producer! The frame we are looking at today is not the end but just one frame in a long reel. The end is victorious and we must press on (see Galatians 6:9-10).

Yes, we will end up with more, not less, as Job did. (See Job 42:10)

A prayer in faith

Join us in praying this prayer as we transition into 2021:

“Dear Heavenly Father: You are our fortress and our refuge, our prompt rescuer in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1) 2020 has been a most difficult year and 2021 doesn’t appear promising from a human perspective.

“Nevertheless, today we declare that our help comes from Thee who made not only the mountains but also the heavens and the earth! (Psalm 121:1)

“We choose to believe that You will break through at the right time. You may be silent at times, but you are never absent. Lord, by faith we praise you for you will make all things work together for good and we will see your goodness in the land of the living. (Romans 8:28; Psalm 27:13)

“We choose to believe that the fiery furnace in which we find ourselves today will only burn those that threw us into it and the cords that held us captive, and we will walk with you in the fire and this will become a witness to unbelievers who will be saved because not even one of our hairs has been singed.

“Yes, Lord, by faith we believe that we can do (and endure) all things through Jesus Christ who is the ultimate source of power.

“We bless 2020 as it comes to an end, and we welcome 2021 as the Year of the Lord, in Jesus’ Name!”

Print and pray this prayer with your loved ones. It will give God’s strength for the journey and it will prove the devil wrong as we demonstrate that we don’t praise God because of what He gives, but because of who He is, our Father and our Saviour.

Have a blessed New Year.

Republished with permission from Transform Our World, a ministry by Ed Silvoso. 

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