As we say goodbye (maybe even good riddance) to 2025, I’m reminded just how much prayer has served as an essential balm, refuge, and strong tower in the midst of such a trying and tumultuous year. Whatever 2026 has in store, I’m confident that we will need to flex our prayer muscles. Prayer centers us in God’s presence. Prayer prepares and equips us for courageous action. Prayer empowers us when we feel weak and encourages us when we feel demoralized.
I’m deeply grateful that we have a staff team that believes in the necessity of prayer, evidenced through the many short ones that they have shared below. My prayer as we sojourn together into 2026 is that our fervent prayers guide and embolden us to advance God’s reign of justice, peace, and steadfast love with greater urgency and courage.
“Lord, teach us to be still in your presence, filled with your love and compassion, and zealous with your joy for justice. May we find reservoirs of rest and double portions of holy discernment. Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.” —Mitchell Atencio, senior associate news editor
“Lord, shatter the chains of fear which tighten around your people, especially those who work to protect your holy image, found through all things. Help us discern how your will can pierce our grief and paranoia during times of doubt. Let the weight of your spirit, and the fire of your light, gravitate all creation closer to the divine.” —Joseph Barry, donor services assistant
“Creative God, set before us the unadulterated vision of your kingdom on earth. Bring to the surface the prophetic imagination hidden deep within us. And ignite within us the joy and courage to live it out faithfully every day.” —Cortnie Brooks, digital education and outreach specialist
“Faithful God, thank you for your profound love shared with us through the joys and sorrows of the past year. Help us grieve what was lost while holding fast to hope and to your peace as we begin a new year. Grant us strength and courage to meet the challenges ahead, protect the most vulnerable among us, and help us to love one another deeply and to serve you with gladness and singleness of heart.” —Rick Chamiec-Case, director of donor engagement and human resources manager
“God of beauty, help us to see you when all looks ugly. God of hope, help us believe that good things are being done in and through our lives. Guide our steps to walk faithfully in joy, peace, and love, even when our feet are heavy and the way seems unclear.” —Josina Guess, associate editor
“God, in your infinite mercy, spread your hope, peace, joy, and love during this season and beyond. We pray that hearts will be softened and minds changed through our shared humanity, which can only happen through your power. Protect and encourage those who live in fear, and those whose lives hang in the balance. Show up in the light and shadows of our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.” —Rev. Moya Harris, senior director of programs
READ MORE: 8 Stories That Gave Us Hope in 2025
“God of new years and new beginnings, make us people who choose hope before cynicism and service before spectacle. Teach us to value proving our empathy over proving that we’re right. Make our hands be steadier than our fears and our love stubborn enough to outlast the news cycles.” —Tyler Huckabee, managing editor, sojo.net
“Light of the World, come lift the darkness out of our eyes. As we ponder what to make of these tumultuous times, keep our hearts closely attuned to what moves yours. Let us seek you in silence, crave you in chaos, and find you in loss. May your everlasting love meet us in the margins.” —Marjorie Rose T. Lim, social media and communications assistant
“God our companion, as we journey this year toward wholeness, set our feet on paths of justice. Expand our hearts to bear uncertainty and give our minds the capacity for complexity. May we witness you repairing what has ruptured, healing what divides us, and when our vision fails, may we trust you all the more.” —Judah R. Lopez, intern
“God, during these dark days we seek your light and your mercy. Give us strength to be your hands and feet in this turbulent world. Comfort us as we face injustice and the despair of so many. Help us to remember each and every person is made in your divine image.” —Cynthia Martens, senior director of circulation
“God, invigorate us with a vision for your peace where wolf lives with lamb, leopard lies with goat, and infants play near the cobra’s den. As we experience conflict, overwhelm, and brokenness, remind us that your love grows from a stump, seemingly dead, seemingly barren. There is hope.” —Matt Murphy, chief operating officer
“God, revive our cold and weary hearts in a world that makes cynicism so appealing. Give us courage to look deeply at all that is broken; show us how to grieve instead of just doomscroll. Be with us in the midst of this mess, and enliven us to the surprising ways you are already at work making all things new.” —Betsy Shirley, editor in chief
Whatever 2026 has in store, I’m confident that we will need to flex our prayer muscles.
Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community. Follow him on Bluesky @revadamtaylor.
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