A New Prayer

I can't count how many times I have started a One Year Reading Plan. Needless to say, I have read Genesis 1 almost more than any passage of scripture except perhaps a few of my plumb lines. This January 1st, I asked God for something new as I read this well worn passage... and I got a new prayer.

As I read about God creating, He brought to mind bits of wonders I have gotten to see of His vast world so far. Then as I continued to read, the verse "Create in me a clean heart" came to mind. I usually think of this prayer by the Psalmist only as a request to be washed clean to have a fresh start. Or when reading the creation events, I get excited that God has the same power that He had at creation to change me. What struck me this time was the word "create" and the image we are given of God's creativity in Genesis 1. Everything was void, and God created this amazing world we live in with bright colorful flowers, sparkling stars, blue seas, lush mountains, white crunchy snow... This same creativity could happen in my heart! So this is my New Years Prayer:

Lord, I want you to create in my heart a clean heart. I want my heart to be pure. Please make something new. Create in my heart the way You did at creation. Separate the darkness and light in my heart. Fill me with Your light. Sprout new lush vegetation so that seeds grow and I bear juicy fruit. May the soil of my heart be soft. May I sprout colorful flowers that show Your work of creation. Most of all may I fulfill Your design of mankind to be "in your likeness". Make me a reflection of Your glory. May my life magnify You. Help this year not be about a bunch of to dos, but about magnifying You, abiding in You, seeking and knowing You even in the midst of life... in the midst of the dreaded mundane. May I reflect You to all those I meet this year. Create a new wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend that is full of Your creativity!

I pray this will be true for you too this year!