¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has^[a] come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB)

I am not sure about you, but as I have gotten older I often have trouble feeling new again.

I had a teacher once who celebrated the first of every month like New Year’s day. He had decided to make a point to give himself the feeling of renewal monthly instead of yearly. I suspect that his New Month’s resolutions were easier to keep.

If we consider his viewpoint it may make more sense than we think, especially when it comes to our faith life.

Life throws a lot at us every day. It seems to seek to just wear us out. As the years tick by, responsibilities grow and we stack burden upon burden on our shoulders. A feeling of renewal, of the old passing away and the new comming becomes ever more difficult.

Thus, like my teacher, we need to find ways to find renewal in our faith life. This is where we need to look upon prayer as a renewal. We specifically need to pray for renewal of our minds. This cannot happen in the hectic pace of our lives.

I believe this; We must seek a space and a time to find silence and solitude so that we can be with God. We must seek renewal through intimacy with God, more fervantly than seek anything else in our lives. If we do not, if we find no solitude with God, we will simply grow weaker under the ever increasing burden of life.