Today’s Verse
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Mark 1:35
Starting Where It Matters Most
New Year’s Day is filled with fresh starts and new commitments. We make lists, set goals, plan strategies for how this year will be different. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But before the planning, before the goal-setting, before the self-improvement agenda kicks in, there’s something more important: getting on your knees.
Starting the year in prayer isn’t about checking a spiritual box or performing a ritual. It’s about positioning yourself rightly from day one. It’s saying, “I don’t have what it takes to do this year well on my own. I need You. Every day. Every decision. Every challenge. I’m starting where I should start, dependent on God.”
This posture matters more than we realize. How you begin often determines how you continue. If you start the year relying on your own strength, making your own plans, trusting your own wisdom, you’ll likely spend the year exhausted, frustrated, and wondering why things feel so hard. But if you start on your knees, acknowledging your need for God, seeking His guidance, surrendering your agenda, you position yourself to walk through the year with Him.
Jesus modeled this. Before major decisions, before ministry, before facing the cross, He withdrew to pray. Not because He was weak, but because He understood something profound: connection with the Father was the source of everything. Power. Wisdom. Strength. Direction. It all flowed from that relationship.
Today, as you step into a new year, don’t rush past this moment. Start on your knees. Let prayer be the foundation. Dependence on God isn’t weakness, it’s the wisest way to live. And how you begin today will shape the days that follow.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, I’m beginning this year on my knees, in a posture of prayer and surrender, acknowledging my need for You from the very first day.
I could start this year with resolutions, plans, and self-reliance, but instead I’m choosing to start with dependence, humility, and seeking Your face.
Teach me to set the tone for this entire year by beginning it the way I want to live it, on my knees in prayer, connected to You, leaning on Your strength not mine.
Starting on my knees isn’t weakness but wisdom, recognizing that everything I need for the year ahead flows from time spent in Your presence.
Help me make prayer the foundation of this year, not an afterthought or a last resort, but my first response, my daily practice, my constant connection to You.
Remind me that how I begin matters, that starting this year on my knees positions me to walk through it with You, guided by Your wisdom, empowered by Your Spirit.
Give me consistency to maintain this posture throughout the year, to return to my knees again and again, staying dependent, staying connected, staying surrendered.
Let this year be marked by prayer from beginning to end, and may starting on my knees today set the trajectory for 365 days of walking closely with You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.