Prayer for the new year

Almighty Father, as the year 2022 ends and as we welcome 2023, I offer to You my prayerful wishes for our country, our leaders, and our countrymen:

Continue to have Your hand on this nation and shower it with Your choicest blessings;

Be our hiding place, refuge, constant help, hope, healer, and comforter during this COVID-19 pandemic and when a natural disaster strikes;

Remind our leaders that they are not our nation’s messiahs because You alone are sovereign and that they should seek the guidance of Your son Jesus as they make decisions that affect our country;

Grant our leaders the strength to be humble, the patience and discernment to do what is right, especially for the poor and downtrodden;

Lord, give us as a people the strength to be more assertive with our rights, to give voice to our plights and concerns, and fulfill our duties and obligations as good citizens.

REGINALD B. TAMAYO,
Marikina City