Pray Through Your Dreams for the Year Ahead
A prayer guide to help you dream and plan for the year to come, hearing God’s ideas and partnering with His perspective.
You will need: a Bible, pen and paper.
This guide is designed to open up questions for you to explore with God. Don’t aim to come out of this time of prayer with a watertight plan for your year – rather, this is a chance for you to connect with your dreams, get God’s perspective on them, and enter the year with a sense of purpose and excitement.
Looking behind: Gratitude
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
As you begin this time of dreaming about the future, cast your mind back over the last year. How did God come through for you? What dreams came true? Think about where you were this time last year, and start to list out all of the ways you have seen God’s goodness since then.
Start to thank Him for His faithfulness to you. Stir up your gratitude. No matter what this past year has been like, His love has been steadfast – and it’s this love and faithfulness that is the foundation of the year to come.
Looking ahead: Hopes and dreams
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to come. Ask Him to guide this time and help you dream God’s dreams for you.
Now, turn your mind to the future. What dreams and goals do you have for the year to come?
Be as specific as possible. You may find it helpful to divide your dreams for the year into a few different categories.
We suggest these rough areas to think about:
School and career
Family
Friendships
Walk with God
Fun (holidays, experiences, hobbies)
Write lists, make mind-maps, draw pictures – even make mood-boards if that’s what helps you connect with your dreams and desires. What do you want your life to look like, this time next year? How do you want to feel, and what do you want to have achieved?
Looking to God: What does He think?
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…”
Now that you have a clear idea of some of your dreams for the next year, it’s time to bring them into conversation with God. Take each category or ‘section’ of your life, and present these dreams to God.
You may want to ask Him questions like:
Here’s my vision for this part of my life. What’s Your vision?
Is there anywhere I am dreaming too small?
When You look at my coming year, what are You excited about?
Don’t be afraid to spend time here. Let God lead the conversation, and get curious about His perspective.
Other questions to pray about:
Who is God asking me to serve this year?
What is God calling me to trust Him with this year?
What relationships is God inviting me to invest in this year?
Is there anything I am carrying from the past year that God is inviting me to lay down as I move into the year ahead?
Surrender
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”
And finally, as you bring this time of prayer to a close, present your dreams to God, trusting that He wants to bless you beyond what you can imagine.
Father, thank you for speaking to me today. I yield these dreams and desires to you now. May your will be done in my life as it is in heaven. I trust you to guide me, protect me, and bless my steps.
