Every twelve months, we get an opportunity to make a new start in life. We’ve spent the past year doing our best; sometimes we were successful, other times we missed the mark. Reviewing our ups and downs and looking ahead to what the future could bring requires that we mentally toss the things that didn’t work for us and carry over the things that did. Any godly wisdom we learned from our past experiences tells us that prayers for God’s guidance will keep us moving in the right direction.

None of us want the negative things from our past to linger. However, sometimes we get stuck in something painful and have trouble shaking it off. Dwelling on our past mistakes gives the devil a chance to paralyze us on our spiritual walk. Thankfully, as born-again Christians, we can start off the new year with a clean slate because God has chosen to forget our past. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).

There will definitely be challenges up ahead for us to deal with. We’re incapable of conquering them the way God wants us to without prayer. Thankfully, no matter how many times we’ve messed up in the past, and will continue to do so, God sees us as righteous because of our faith in Jesus Christ. He’s always willing to listen when we pray. “…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16, NLT).

Having the proper mindset as we move forward into the new year is critical if we want to see positive change that lasts. Our thoughts exert a strong influence on the direction our lives, and regularly communing with God through prayer lets Him shape our thoughts. A consistent prayer life should therefore be the bedrock guiding everything we think. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6, 7, NLT). The world is full of worries, but God doesn’t want us to take them with us on our journey.

The negative influences around us make it easy to slip into an ungrateful attitude, but choosing to be thankful for all we have gives our prayers power and authority. “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2, NKJV). A grateful attitude puts us in a position to receive continual blessings from God. It keeps us mindful of all that He has already done for us and continually reminds us to count our blessings.

There’s no telling what will happen in the coming year. “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1, NKJV). Not all of it will be good. Some crazy things will happen, but there’s no need to fear because we won’t go through them alone when we depend on God as our source. Letting Him lead us into the future protects us from blundering and being blindsided by bad situations.

As we prepare to start another chapter in our lives, God’s continued presence gives us hope for the future. We don’t need a crystal ball when the Father is directing our steps.