KAREN HODGE | CONTRIBUTOR

Navigating a Costco parking lot a week before Christmas will make you a prayerful person. We eagerly scan the windshield for the perfect parking spot near the door while checking our rearview mirror to make sure we do not hit an innocent woman with a cart full of toilet paper. As we circle a parking row one more time, we may be tempted to give up and go home without ever praying at all. As a follower of Christ, there is a value in looking backwards, forward, and upward to gain perspective. The reality is, we often get stuck with a singular view.

The New Year provides the perfect crossroads to examine all three viewpoints. We can glance in the rearview mirror with gratitude and thanksgiving for God’s protection and provision. These blessings fuel our faith to believe God will continue in His Fatherly care. As we step into a new year, we can gaze through the windshield with hopeful anticipation mixed with hazy uncertainty. Forward momentum requires walking by faith and not by sight, a kind of Christ-confidence. Looking backward and forward quickly leads us to recognize the gift of our finite limitations. We take no credit for where we have been and need His grace to move forward. This gap compels us to look up. (Bonus blessings if you have a sunroof or convertible!) We feel our need of God, lift our eyes and heart, and pray like Jehoshaphat, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chron. 20:12).

Prayer Postures & Partners

I would love the joy and privilege of sitting with each of you over a warm beverage and sharing our hearts. I would ask you three questions.

1. As you look backward to 2025, what are three things that fill your heart with gratitude?
2. As you look forward to 2026, what are three things that fill your heart with hopeful expectations?
3. As you look upward, how can I pray for you in the coming weeks as you seek to move forward in faith?

Think about it: on any given day, we often look forward as our feet hit the floor, look backward as we fall into bed, and look upward at meals and in moments of frustration. Prayer requests in a women’s small group often drift in these three trajectories. Women who are stuck looking backward with the shame of a besetting sin. Women who are asking their sisters to pray with them about God’s will for future decisions. And the joy of being united in our hearts and prayers, looking upward as we intercede for one another. I invite you to ask yourself these questions and consider reaching out to another woman to set aside time in January to discuss them as you seek to build a relationship around the privilege of praying for one another.

Hodge’s Heart for 2026

If you looked back across the table and asked me about my prayer posture, I would share with you how the Lord is leading me to pray both personally and for PCA Women’s Ministry in 2026. I find it helpful to allow Scripture to shape my petitions. Here is a peek at my recent prayer journal entry. I hope it encourages you to sit before the Lord, asking Him what He might have for you and the women you serve in the coming year.

Looking Backward: Asking for Fierce Courage

Lord, help us to be thankful for Your provision and protection in the past and lean forward in fierce courage believing that You will keep us faithful to the finish (2 Tim. 1:7).

I am asking the Lord to give us all fierce courage for our hearts to stay faithful. When tempted to shrink back in fear, I am asking for a faith without sight kind of Christ-confidence that moves forward for His glory. When we hide in self-protection and allow our hearts to become callous, I am asking for a bold, unconditional love for friends and enemies. And when we clutch for control because our hearts have become cynical, failing to believe in the sovereignty of God, Lord, give us self-control that is a fruit of Your Spirit’s work in our hearts.

Looking Forward: Asking for Laser Eternal Clarity

Lord, would You give us clarity and laser focus as we live and lead in light of eternity (Heb. 12:1-2).

I am asking the Lord for laser eternal clarity. May we fix our eyes on Jesus rather than doom-scrolling or being captivated by others’ opinions. As we look to Him, may everything else fall away as we gain a Christ-oriented perspective. Keep us from stumbling and getting sidetracked by sin. Please help us to be chief repenters in all our relationships. May the women of His Church look more like Him as we are conformed into His likeness.

Looking Upward: Asking to Cultivate a Fresh Connection with Christ and Others

Lord, please fill our hearts to overflowing with a love for You and those You have brought into our lives (John 13:34-35).

I am asking the Lord to cultivate a fresh connection with Him and with others this year, rather than coasting on past experiences. Would you show my sisters and me the beauty and blessing of belonging to You and each other? Would you allow us to bring fresh creativity to cultivate Gospel-centered community in our homes and in our church? And as the world leans in and looks, would you give us the grace to showcase that we are Your disciples who are following You in life, leadership, and sacrificial love one for another?

Photo by Meg Jenson on Unsplash