I am amazed at how quickly 2024 became history. It was quite an eventful year, and a quick backward glance recalls Donald Trump beating out his Republican challengers to face President Biden’s replacement, Kamala Harris, in the November election. The Key Bridge fell after being struck by a cargo ship. Paris hosted the Summer Olympics with its perverse opening which featured drag queens portraying the scene of DaVinci’s Last Supper. There was a solar eclipse, an assassination attempt on Trump and deadly hurricanes, and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza expanded to other terrorist groups across the Middle East.

There were also many notable deaths this past year. Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies, famed country star Toby Keith, the infamous O.J. Simpson, the wonderful gospel singer Mandisa, Dabney Coleman, Bill Walton, Donald Sutherland, Richard Simmons, Bob Newhart, Willie Mays, James Earl Jones, Pete Rose, and Dame Maggie Smith. If you don’t recognize some of these names, consider yourself young.

As usual, the year came with an assortment of triumphs and tragedies, blessings and burdens, and laughter and tears. We all had our share of personal accomplishments and failures, enjoyed good health, and had some sick days. Most certainly, we all consumed too much sugar. The diabetes crisis has intensified and over 800 million people suffer from the disease worldwide.

And now, as 2025 looms before us, the door of opportunity swings wide. A flip of a calendar page somehow convinces us that change is possible and that this year will be different. Still, most resolutions people make are tossed by the end of January. So, what’s going to guarantee that this new year will be better than the last? How can we make sure that we’ll lose the weight, read the Bible through, kick that bad habit, spend more time with family, and save more of our money?

Time is relentless. Before we know it, 2025 will itself be part of history. Therefore, I encourage you to make a commitment to pray more and pray better. Prayer is the key to true and lasting change. It expresses an attitude of humility that admits we’re entirely dependent on the Lord for everything. It’s an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. Great men of the past have attributed their success to time spent in prayer.

We have no clue what 2025 holds for us. However, if we recognize that the events of the new year come through the loving hands of Divine Providence, and we determine to meet Him everyday in prayer, completely trusting and obeying Him, seeking first His kingdom and righteousness, we’ll be just fine. So fear not. Stop trying to succeed, to accomplish great things, to reach all your goals, and start building a life of prayer. It will surprise what great things the Lord will do in and through you.