{"id":19123,"date":"2026-01-03T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/?p=19123"},"modified":"2026-01-03T09:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T09:02:02","slug":"prayer-for-the-week-saturday-3rd-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/prayer-for-the-week-saturday-3rd-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer for the Week – Saturday 3rd January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Light That Leads Us: New Year, Epiphany, and Covenant<\/strong><\/p>\n

The turning of the year invites reflection and resolve\u2014looking back with honesty and forward with hope. The Church, in her wisdom, places this moment alongside the season of Epiphany, when we celebrate God\u2019s self-revelation in Christ. The New Year asks us what we will do with the days ahead; Epiphany reminds us who goes with us. Together, they draw us into covenant\u2014renewed relationship with God who faithfully seeks us first.<\/p>\n

Epiphany proclaims that God does not remain hidden. In the child of Bethlehem, God is made known not only to Israel, but to the Magi from distant lands. Their journey tells us that God\u2019s light reaches beyond boundaries of culture, certainty, and comfort. Christ is revealed to those willing to seek, to travel unfamiliar roads, and to trust that the light they see is enough for the next step.<\/p>\n

As Methodists, we enter the New Year mindful that faith is not merely believed but lived\u2014received and responded to. This is why the Covenant Renewal tradition holds such a meaningful place at the start of the year. In the Covenant Prayer, we offer ourselves again to God, not knowing exactly where the path will lead, but trusting the One who leads us:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am no longer my own, but yours.<\/p>\n

Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;<\/p>\n

put me to doing, put me to suffering\u2026<\/p>\n

Let me be full, let me be empty.\u201d<\/p>\n

These words echo the journey of the Magi. They did not know the full cost or consequence of following the star, yet they went. Covenant faith is Epiphany faith\u2014choosing trust over control, obedience over certainty, surrender over self-direction.<\/p>\n

The gifts the Magi bring\u2014gold, frankincense, and myrrh\u2014reflect the offering of their whole selves. Likewise, the Covenant Prayer asks not for selective commitment, but for complete availability. As this year begins, we are invited to place before Christ our plans and our fears, our strength and our weariness, confident that nothing offered in faith is wasted.<\/p>\n

Scripture tells us that after encountering Christ, the Magi returned home \u201cby another way.\u201d Revelation leads to transformation. Covenant renewal is not a ritual of repetition, but of redirection. Having seen the light, we cannot continue unchanged. God calls us into new ways of living, loving, and serving in the world.<\/p>\n

In a time marked by uncertainty and division, Epiphany assures us that the light still shines, and covenant reminds us that we belong\u2014to God and to one another. We do not step into this New Year alone or unclaimed. We go as a people who have seen the light and renewed our promise to follow wherever it leads.<\/p>\n

May this year be shaped not simply by resolutions, but by covenant faithfulness. May we follow the light with courage, offer ourselves with trust, and, having encountered Christ anew, return to the world by another way\u2014bearing His light into every place we are sent.<\/p>\n

Warmest regards<\/p>\n

Leonora\u00a0 – CoChair<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Photo by Diego C\u00e9spedes Cabrera<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Light That Leads Us: New Year, Epiphany, and Covenant The turning of the year invites reflection and resolve\u2014looking back with honesty and forward with hope. The Church, in her wisdom, places this moment alongside the season of Epiphany, when we celebrate God\u2019s self-revelation in Christ. The New Year asks us what we will do with the days ahead; Epiphany […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer","category-prayer-for-the-week"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 06:18:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19123"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19125,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19123\/revisions\/19125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}