My 11 Personal Prayers for 2024

Are you ready for the new year? I am feeling the stirring of God’s Spirit over this new season in powerful ways. I love the new because God anoints the new, and this is a big opportunity for us each to slow down and examine our direction in life.

As we move toward 2024, I encourage you to think about what you would like the Lord to do in your life, family, and heart during this upcoming year. Then, write down a few bullet points in a place where you won’t lose them. 🙂 Pray over the consistently throughout the year.

Prayers for your year are different than goals for your year.

Goals have written deadlines, specific steps, and measurable outcomes. I believe in goals too; writing goals is a Biblical thing to do. But in this article, I am simply suggesting that you write out a few areas of prayer focus for your own growth in 2024.

In case it helps, I thought I’d share my examples. I wrote down a list of 11 prayers I desire to pray over in 2024. These 11 areas are in no particular order of importance, but all of them are important. 🙂

These are areas in which I am asking the Lord to help me grow in 2024:

1. To slow down.

I believe 2024 is The Year of Slow, among other things. And I’ve been going fast for too long. I long to slow my life down and follow the Lord as He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. So, I am asking Him to help me do this.

2. To be content in whatever state I am.

I really feel that the Lord is going to be dealing with the Body of Christ about contentment versus the lack thereof in this season (2024 and beyond). And I want to be in total compliance with His Word voluntarily, not waiting for Him to discipline me in order to get me that way.

Being content doesn’t mean we don’t want everything God’s Word says we can have. But it does mean that we don’t have an inner need to chase after other things when our needs are already met. We can long, plan, dream, and desire–but we are also happy where we are.

For me, I don’t feel unhappy where I am. I feel grateful to be where I am in whatever way. However, I want the Lord to search me, dig out any unholy discontent that He finds, and get that out of me. I want to be content in whatever state I am, as the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11 NKJV).

3. For the exceedingly abundantly.

I’ve been through a lot of trauma in the last few years, and in some measure that trauma hurt my heartfelt, gut-level confidence in God for Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think.

As it says in Ephesians 3:20:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV).

The trauma I’ve been through recently was also reminiscent of various difficult times I’ve experienced in the past, going back to my youth. But, the Lord has healed me from that. And now, the Lord is helping me believe Him again from my heart, not just with the choice of faith, and to have full, gut-level confidence in Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think.

(I never wavered in my CHOICE to believe Him, because His Word is true and I’ve come too far with Him to doubt that. But I did waver in my gut-level confidence in Him in this area, which is a totally different matter.)

It’s a journey, and God always provides. But starting a couple of weeks ago and going forward, I am believing God in a new way for exceedingly abundantly above ALL I could ask or think.

4. For an increased grace to take personal responsibility.

Personal responsibility is something everybody struggles with to some degree. For me, the struggle is in the areas of getting organized, slowing down, taking care of my health, RESTING, and so on.

I’ve already started praying about this, but I will continue throughout 2024 in asking God to help me NOT gloss over the important personal things that need to be done in the face of work demands.

Work would be all-consuming if I let it, but don’t worry; I don’t let it. But in 2024, I need to add extra margin to my schedule so that I have sufficient headspace to make the changes I listed above: getting more organized, slowing down, health, rest, and so on.

5. To engage in long periods of prayer.

One of the biggest callings I feel from the Lord right now for myself personally is to return to very long periods of prayer–like getting alone with God and praying for 3-5 hours at a time. I used to do that pretty often, but those times have been fewer since my family responsibilities at home have grown.

I will have to do this during the early morning hours or by taking time off work, but I yearn–and I feel the yearning of the Lord also–to engage in these long periods of prayer again, starting now and going forward. His grace is sufficient!

6. To pursue in prayer the fact that what God has done for others, He will do for me.

So many times, I hear about miracles the Lord has worked for others–and I’m so happy to hear those stories. But, I don’t always remember to believe Him and ask Him to do the same miracles for me.

For example, I hear about the Lord blessing people with vehicles. And we in this community have combined together and blessed people with paid-for vehicles more than once. I have seen this miracle; I have been part of the working of these kinds of miracles, as you also have; and this type of miracle is a huge blessing to both the givers and the recipient.

But, here’s the big question–and it applies to all of us:

Having seen the Lord work those miracles for other people, do I have the faith and confidence that He will do the same for me in my own need? I need the same miracle, but do I notice that He is ready and willing to work miracles on my behalf too?

Do I even take the time to ask Him to do that?

Or, instead, when I have the same need, do I strive and slave away at saving in my own strength, not asking God for help or intervention at all, because in theory I can work hard enough to accomplish the purchasing of a vehicle over time?

Full disclosure: I have a great work ethic, thanks to my parents who taught me how to work diligently, as unto the Lord, at an early age. This is a blessing in many ways. But, the flip side–the overkill side, the part that I take too far–is that I often depend too heavily on work and labor and diligence and effort, rather than on God’s grace.

I want to depend on grace more, and on work less.

That doesn’t mean I will be any less diligent in work, but it does mean that I want my dependence to be more on God and on His grace.

The Bible commands us to work. But we also have to rest in God at the same time. The latter part is what I struggle with. And I choose to believe God, going forward, to take care of me by His grace more than by my own fleshly effort.

7. To make more time for hospitality.

Hospitality is a key grace among God’s people, and it is more important now than ever before. Hospitality fosters community, relationship, spiritual growth, and brings encouragement to the saints.

In 2024, I want to make more time for hospitality–to invite people to spend more quality time together, in whatever format.

8. To become a better planner, as much as God desires me to be.

We have a joke around my office that, for me, “plan” is a “four-letter word.” My team are all great at planning–every single one of them. I am not. So I depend on them to help me plan.

But, I want to get better at “planning the work and working the plan.” I know this will please the Lord, who ORDERS our steps in His Word. There is a place for both graces in the Kingdom (planning and spontaneity), but I want to develop the planning side.

9. To develop more of a heart of worship than ever before.

I want to spend more time in worshipping God with music–in all formats. This includes alone with Him in my quiet time; worshipping Him alone in my car; worshipping Him at work; worshipping Him at church; worshipping Him with other people and without other people.

I simply want WORSHIP to saturate my life. I want to burn with a heart of passionate worship at all times. God deserves that, and I get too easily distracted sometimes.

10. To work ahead more.

An important part of planning is working ahead. I have so many resources in my mind that I want to produce for you, and all of them require many hours of work. I want to get better not only at planning (see #8), but also in working ahead so that there’s no stress with carrying out a consistent plan.

God, help me. 😉

And finally, #11:

11. To have fun with my family more.

This list is in no particular order. Even though I am listing this as #11, it’s one of the highest priorities I have. My family and I have fun now, but we want to build a consistent pattern of playtime with our child.

I have heard that, for a child, love = time and love = play, among other things; and I want to be sure I am meeting both those needs. We do spend plenty of time together, but I desire to spend more time with him, simply playing and having fun in whatever way.

Those are my 11 prayers for 2024–not for work or for concrete goals (I have those too), but personal prayers for 2024.

Again, I wrote them down in no particular order. But what are your prayers for 2024? In what areas do you need the Lord to help you grow?

Take a few minutes and write down some bullet points for yourself! If you write them in your journal and put a tab on the page, you can refer back to them and pray over them often.

What are your personal prayers for 2024? Leave a comment below, and I will pray in agreement with you for God’s will in your life!