Why is it important to pray for the year ahead before ushering it in?

Pray For the Year 2025

 In January, many believers engage in intense prayer and fasting. This time is used to speak into the year, pray and commit it before the Lord. This is an excellent thing to do because being the first month of the year; it is the first fruit of the year, the tithe month of the year. The

importance of prayer during this window period can never be overemphasized. As the Body of Christ prepares to enter another year, ample time should be set aside to shape, frame, speak, and, build the year, before ushering it in. The scriptures below substantiate this fact.

A. Hebrews 11:3. “By faith we understand that the worlds

 were framed by the word of God, so that what is seen 

was made out of things which do not appear.”

Praying in the months of November and December, gives us an opportunity to shape and frame our oncoming year way before we usher it in. This preparation can be compared to building a house. It is only after the building process is completed that the final product (a house) can be ready for residency or occupancy. Prayer in the month of January, can be equated to both building the house whilst living in it. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that is! Can we envision digging the foundations while living in the hole of the foundation or putting up walls while already you are in the house. Can you imagine the cruelty of the sun and rain as you struggle to complete the building? On the contrary, it is most prudent to build, complete and move in, but final aesthetics and touch ups can be done whilst in the house. Going back to the topic, so what are these final touch ups? The answer is simple, these are the prayer and fasting in January and part February.

Hebrews says we understand that the world was framed by the word of God. Frame the year before the year comes into being. Speak the word that you would want to manifest in that year before the year comes into being. As the subsequent year prepares to manifest or to show up,

package it with what you want to see in the year. Frame it with the word of God, by declaring it as your year of favor, breakthrough, divine health and wealth, growth in your spheres of influence.

 Just as God spoke, and it came into being, you too can speak, and it will come into being. This can be illustrated by:

Psalms 82:6 “You are gods, and all of you children of the most

High.” and Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the

tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

B. Praying before ushering in the new year also provides you with the opportunity to deal with family patterns set to manifest in the coming year. If you have done a study of your family pattern - I suggest you do so  and see that certain events occur in certain months, or after several

years and the coming year happens to be the Nth month or the year that an event is likely to occur, then you need to address the issue beforehand.

Examples of these patterns can be family deaths, marriage failures and divorce, sickness and illness, poverty cycles by loss of incomes, court cases, wrong investments etc. If the coming year is the Nth year or a certain month in the year is the Nth month when such events are likely to

occur, then you should:

1.Engage in spiritual warfare, cancelling the handwriting of written ordinances that are standing against you and your family. Refer to Colossians 2:15.

2.Conduct a courtroom session for you and your family pleading for mercy and the intervention of God so that His mercy may prevail over every judgment set to be executed against you and your family in the coming year. In a nutshell, you go before God the Judge, bring detailed repentance over every sin, iniquity, transgression that would cause the face of God to turn away from you; petition for a verdict of mercy instead of judgment.

Scripture reference: Hebrew 11:22-25; Daniel 7: 9-10; and Zechariah 3.

3. Saturate your environment and especially the suspect months, and year with the word of God. God watches over His word to perform it, it does not go back to Him void as seen in Isaiah 55:11.

C. Praying before the year begins allows you to become your own prophet as you declare and decree your life.

Job 29:22 says “You shall decree a word

 and it shall be established

for you”.

When a prophet of God prophecies over your life they are speaking from either the word of God by revelation that is:- a Rhema word to you, or they are speaking from a glimpse into books written about you by God as illustrated by Psalm 139:16, and Hebrews 10:7. 

You may not have the luxury of having a prophet of God prophesy over your life, or he may not have the time to specifically speak and prophesy over your life in a detailed manner as you would like. Notwithstanding, the word of God is powerful, it is alive, it must come to pass, it releases angels, anointing, mantles and help for you. You can therefore begin to speak the word of the Lord and frame your own life, your children, your spouse, family, destiny, ministry, and nation.

As you pray over the incoming year, ask God to give you revelation over who you are so that you can speak it into your atmosphere. When the Lord brings you into contact with a Man or Woman of God to speak over your life they will be affirming what you have been speaking, their voice will add to what you have been praying and declaring.

D. Praying before you get to the year gives you sufficient time to speak over the gates of every month of the coming year before it shows up. Station the word of God over every gate that you will encounter as you walk through the year.

Gates that you will encounter include:

a. Gates of months & days. This will include time gates, as you move day to day, and month to month.

b. Gates of a new age. This is inclusive of birthdays, of your children, spouses, and yourself.

c. Gates of nations. This is especially if you are set to travel out of the country during the year.

d. Special gates: These include events like anniversaries and weddings set to take place during the year.

e.Gates of new things such as new ventures, businesses, and projects,

f.Education gates: These gates include schools and institutions that you, your spouse or children will be attending in the coming year. This is a key gate and is a destiny defining gate.

E. We are spiritual beings. Every time we enter into the realm of pray we enter into a timeless realm. When we pray we have the ability to step into the past, and into the future. As we pray for the year before it comes into being it is our opportunity to step into the year and station the word of God into the year. Anna the prophetess stayed in the temple from the time of her widowhood and prayed for the coming of Christ, her destiny was fulfilled when she saw the baby Jesus.