How Prayer Reorients Your Life and Positions You for God’s Will in the New Year

There is something special about the turn of a new year.

Even before we name goals or set intentions, we feel it. That quiet shift in the air. The holiday decorations come down, the house gets reset, and somewhere deep inside us, hope begins to stir again. We know everything is not resolved, and yet we sense possibility.

In our latest Living Well with Dee and Jenn podcast episode, we leaned into that moment. We left the pressure, vision boards, and productivity plans, and swapped them for prayer.

It’s our gentle protest against prayer as performance, and our welcome home for prayer as formation.

Prayer Is Not a Transaction. It’s an Invitation.

One of the central questions we explored was this: What if prayer isn’t about getting answers as much as it is about becoming aligned?

So often, we come into a new year asking God for clarity, direction, and outcomes. None of those things are wrong. But prayer is not meant to function like a divine vending machine: insert request, receive result.

Prayer is God’s invitation to go deeper.

When we pray, we aren’t just presenting our wish list. We are positioning ourselves to be transformed from the inside out. Prayer reshapes our desires, clarifies our identity, and forms our posture toward God.

As Scripture reminds us:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Prayer is how this amazing renewal begins.

Reorientation Begins With an Honest Location

Before God gives direction, He often asks a question.

“Where are you?”

Not because He doesn’t know, but because we often don’t.

Reorientation requires honesty and it’s God who initiates the conversation. In prayer, we name where we actually are:

• Tired
• Anxious
• Grieving
• Disappointed
• Disconnected
• Hopeful but unsure

Prayer becomes the sacred space where we stop pretending and start telling the truth. And that honesty becomes the doorway for healing, clarity, and movement.

God doesn’t shame us for where we are. He meets us right there.

Why Vision Can Wait, but Prayer Can’t

In the episode, we talked openly about why we don’t rush into vision boards at the top of the year.

It’s not because vision is bad, but because alignment matters more than ambition.

When prayer comes first, vision follows rightly.

Prayer filters our desires. It sifts through our ideas, fears, and expectations until what remains is God’s will. Psalm 139 says it beautifully:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… lead me in the everlasting way.”

Prayer allows God to do the searching so that our plans are shaped by His wisdom not our wounds.

Prayer as Rhythm, Not a One-Time Reset

One of the most practical parts of our conversation centered on this truth: prayer works best as a rhythm, not a seasonal event.

Just like music has a beat that keeps everything in sync, prayer creates a spiritual rhythm that keeps us grounded. When we find that rhythm, we know when we’re off. We feel it.

That rhythm might look like:

• Fixed prayer times in the morning or evening
• Short prayers throughout the day
• Scripture-based or guided prayers
• Praying with a trusted partner
• Silent prayer, simply sitting with God

Prayer is a muscle. The more we use it, the stronger it becomes. And yes, starting can feel awkward or uncomfortable but that’s part of the formation.

You don’t have to pray perfectly.

You just have to pray.

Positioning Ourselves Before God, Not Ahead of Him

One of the most freeing shifts we talked about was surrender. Not just surrendering outcomes, but surrendering how God chooses to work.

Sometimes we want God’s will, but only if it comes packaged our way.

Prayer teaches us holy indifference. This is very different from run-of-the-mill apathy. This is a deep trust that God’s methods are just as good as His promises.

When we position ourselves before Him instead of running ahead, we discover that clarity comes from sweet communion devoid of the need to control outcomes.

A Gentle Invitation for the Year Ahead

This January, my invitation is simple: let prayer go first.

Before the planning.
Before the striving.
Before the pressure to perform.

Ask God:

• What are You forming in me this year?
• Where do You want to reorient my heart?
• What rhythms will keep me aligned with You?

As Jenn said, “Prayer will not just change your outcomes. it will change you.”

If this conversation resonated with you, I invite you to watch the full episode of Living Well with Dee and Jenn, share it with a friend, and begin this year reoriented, positioned, and attentive to God’s voice.

Want to go deeper in your personal practice of prayer?

Meet me on retreat in March. Details here–> Learn More