A Prayer for 2006

Almighty God,
by whose mercy my life has continued for another year,
I pray that, as my years increase, my sins may not increase.
As age advances,
let me become more open, more faithful and more trusting in you.
Let me not be distracted by lesser things
from what is truly important.
And if I become infirm as I grow old,
may I not be overwhelmed by self-pity or bitterness.
Continue and increase your loving kindness towards me,
so that, when you finally call me to yourself,
I may enter into eternal happiness with you, through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen.

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
It was Dr. Johnson's custom to write a prayer in the early hours of New Year's Day; he did this every year beginning in 1745.

Taken from The Book of a Thousand Prayers. Compiled by Angela Ashwin, Marshall Pickering, 1996.