By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
I’m overwhelmed and exhausted. This is the 3rd major holiday in 5 weeks. We ate until we nearly burst, then shopped until we dropped, then partied with family and ate even more, and now here we are, preparing to stay up half the night to welcome the new year.
I’m pretty sure the purpose of New Year’s is to be kind of a reset. A chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. That’s why all the ads for gym memberships and at-home exercise equipment and starting our diets and making new resolutions that we know (not so deeply down) we won’t keep anyway.
It’s like a fresh start. We can begin again all those things we thought we ought to have done last year and didn’t. That reminds me, I need to renew my annual membership in the Perfectionist’s Procrastinators Club. We believe in putting off being perfect until later.
So, what are you going to work on in 2026? Since we call this article a “sermonette,” let’s think about spiritual things we can do better next year.
We can always pray more. Very few of us have mastered 24/7/365 praying. Is that even the goal? In one respect, I guess we could say “Yes” if we are thinking about 1 Thes. 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I think we can understand this verse has a different definition of prayer than we generally do. Here, it is a lifestyle. Prayer is recognizing God and talking to him.
We should understand that our life is a trip through time accompanied by the Lord of Heaven Himself. That means we are never out of his presence. We are always in communion with Him, and prayer, along with rejoicing and thanksgiving are the evidence of that.
But, in the respect of how many minutes a day should be set aside just to talk with God, not every minute can be designated for prayer. We need a few minutes to talk to our family, do our jobs, eat, rest, and recreate.
Here’s some wisdom: start where you are. After surgery, I’d work out on a treadmill. At first, five minutes was a lot and left me exhausted. But, soon, five went to 10, and the incline would change, making it even more difficult. Each new level wore me out for a few days, but I grew into them. That’s how we work on our prayer life.
If you don’t spend any time in intentional prayer, start with five minutes two or three times a week. Don’t do what some try in the gym. We can’t do 20 pullups if we haven’t done 19 lately.
If you do pray regularly, think about how to increase it in length and in frequency, but also in intensity. Maybe if you’re at 20 minutes, you can shoot for 30, and if you’re at four days a week, you can move it to five days a week.
Training involves increasing intensity. In the gym (or so I’m told, having never darkened the door of one), they create intensity by faster reps or by harder/heavier reps.
In prayer, that translates to moving from the elementary things like wants and supplications to a relationship and ultimately friendship with the Savior.
And then into spiritual warfare, first for ourselves, and then for situations we are aware of, and finally, to where the Lord leads our prayers to do battle for people, places, and things that He wants to intervene in.
Becoming a warrior is our final goal, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes intentionality, patience, and perseverance. So, unless you are experienced at praying and have gained a strong faith and relationship with Jesus, put that goal aside and start where you are to develop some sort of prayer life.
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.