Start the year with purpose, hope, and a stronger walk with God. These five practical resolutions will help you grow your faith, trust God more deeply, and keep Jesus at the center of your new year.
During the holiday season, it’s easy to plan our lives as though we are in complete control and leave God out of the picture. When that happens, goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions can quickly become overwhelming. A believer’s life should be purpose-driven, but never self-centered. That’s why faith in the new year matters so much. As you set goals for a new season, make strengthening your faith in God part of the plan.
Making new resolutions can feel exciting and empowering. But when our plans revolve only around our own desires and dreams, we can lose sight of God. Instead, include faith in your New Year’s goals. Doing so sets the stage for real spiritual growth. Even if last year ended on a sour note, you can still move forward with hope, trust, and renewed confidence in God.
5 Faith Resolutions for the New Year
Every year, many of us make New Year’s resolutions but struggle to follow through. We often find ourselves repeating old habits instead. Maybe this year you want to grow your business, spend more time with family, or improve your health. Whatever goals you set, make room for faith in the new year, because God is the source of our provision. Here are five practical ways to strengthen your faith in the new year.
1. Read the Bible Daily
Reading the Bible gives us a clearer view of God’s character and helps us understand His many attributes. It teaches us how to trust Him, reveals His will, and guides us in daily living. Above all, it strengthens our faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.”
In my book “Believing Faith Speaks,” I share how two Bible stories challenged me to grow in faith. In Matthew 9:27–29, two blind men followed Jesus into a house, hoping to be healed. Jesus asked whether they believed He could restore their sight. When they answered, “Yes,” He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” Immediately, they received their sight.
In another story, Jesus saw a fig tree from a distance and went to look for fruit. But when He came to it, He found only leaves. So He said, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again,” and His disciples heard it. The next day, they saw that the tree had withered from the roots. Peter pointed it out, and Jesus responded with a lesson about faith: if you believe what you say will happen, even a mountain can be moved (Mark 11:12–14; 20–24).
2. Practice What You Read
These two stories stirred my faith. I looked at my painful, swollen knee and spoke to it just as Jesus spoke to the fig tree. I said, “From this day forward, you will be normal, and you will cause me no more pain.” The next morning, the swelling and pain were gone. It was amazing. I had spoken in faith, believed what I said would happen, and saw the result. That experience led me to read the Bible more deeply, confess my faith, and eventually write “Believing Faith Speaks.”
The Bible tells us not only to hear the Word, but also to do what it says (Romans 2:13; James 1:22). So practice the things you read in Scripture, even when they feel unusual. I did, and my faith produced results. Speaking to your situation may feel unnatural, but faith often asks us to trust beyond what makes sense. Don’t dismiss your faith. Remember the words of Jesus: “According to your faith, let it be done to you.”
3. Write Your Goals and Place Them in Plain Sight
Habakkuk 2:2-3 says, “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
This passage originally points to God’s vision for the prophet Habakkuk, but the principle also applies to goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions. In either case, faith and patience are essential as you work toward what God has placed on your heart. According to your faith, it will be done for you.
Writing your goals and placing them where you will see them—on the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, or dresser—helps keep them in front of you. It can also motivate you, inspire you, and strengthen your faith along the way.
Writing your goals will also ignite your motivation. A 2015 study by psychologist Gail Matthews links goal-setting to self-confidence. People who wrote down their goals were “33 percent more successful in achieving their goals than those who kept their goals in their heads.”
Every dream or goal requires patience. You must be willing to wait for its fulfillment. God’s words to Habakkuk were reassuring, and they can reassure you too. Keep your goals before your eyes, trust God’s timing, and believe by faith that what He has promised will come to pass.
4. Pray Daily
Prayer is another powerful way to strengthen your faith. At its core, prayer is simply a conversation with God. When we pray daily, we invite Him into every part of our lives. And the more we talk with Him, the more we grow to know and trust Him. Prayer also builds faith when we look back and remember what God has already done in response to our prayers.
As you pray over your New Year goals and resolutions, ask God for favor. Nehemiah is a powerful example. He had a seemingly impossible task: rebuilding Jerusalem’s gates without money, tools, or laborers. Still, he prayed and asked God to grant him favor with the king.
“The king then asked me, ‘So what do you want?’ Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, ‘If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it.’ The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, ‘How long will your work take, and when would you expect to return?’ I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me.”
— Nehemiah 2:4-6 MSG
Whether your goal feels reachable or impossible, pray daily and ask God for help. According to your faith, it will be done for you. Keep praying, and God will make a way.
5. Trust in and Make Room in Your Life for Jesus
The surest way to strengthen your faith in the new year is to make room for Jesus at the center of your life. He holds together every dream, every hope, and every part of your life. As Colossians 1:17 reminds us, He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
The Lord cares deeply for you. He can provide, uplift, restore, and bless you with more than you can imagine. He is the reason you can hope, dream, and move forward in faith, and He is your source.
As you step into the New Year, increase your confidence in God and choose faith. In the middle of all your plans and resolutions, take time to commit the year to Jesus. He loves you unconditionally and desires that you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Questions Christians Ask About Faith and the New Year
How can I strengthen my faith in the new year?
Strengthen your faith by reading the Bible daily, praying consistently, practicing what God’s Word says, writing down faith-filled goals, and keeping Jesus at the center of your plans.
What are good Christian New Year resolutions?
Good Christian New Year resolutions include spending more time in prayer, following a Bible reading plan, trusting God with your goals, serving others, and making spiritual growth a priority.
Why is reading the Bible daily important for faith?
Reading the Bible daily strengthens faith because it reveals God’s character, teaches His promises, and helps believers trust Him more deeply in everyday life.
How does prayer help build faith?
Prayer builds faith by deepening your relationship with God, helping you depend on Him, and reminding you of the ways He answers and provides.
How can I include Jesus in my goals for the new year?
You can include Jesus in your goals by praying over your plans, aligning your priorities with Scripture, and inviting Him to guide your decisions throughout the year.
References
UNSW profile/reference for Gail Matthews
BibleGateway references for Mark 11:20–24, Romans 2:13, and James 1:22
Believing Faith Speaks by Eric Dunbar
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These are powerful resolutions that will strengthen our faith. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own plans that we forget that we can do nothing without the Lord. Thanks for reading.
So true
“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”(2 Corinthians 3:3-6). These are some excellent new year resolution suggestions! I might add we must consider our human spirit as we edify the body of Christ. As you referred to the Scripture: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing…but what is this passage “not saying”?It does not say who has to say it, it does not say where you had to be when you hear. For instance, you don’t have to be in church to hear from the pastor to obtain faith. Therefore, when you practice reading your Bible, you could read aloud, and hear the word of God…Right?
Yes sir. As long as you hear it, and more importantly, hear it with your inner spirit ear.
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:13-16). It is my personal opinion, that when we diligently commit ourselves to the study of the word of God, we can then better understand how the Scriptures speak of the spirit, there are actually two spirits. One is ofcourse the Holy Spirit, and the other is our inner-man which is the human spirit. This passage admonishes us to renew our inward man ( human spirit) daily. I AM A SPIRIT, I HAVE A SOUL, I LIVE IN A BODY!
Amen, Brother Jefferson. Isn’t it awesome that we have the same spirit of faith as God? I believe the time is approaching that the entire body of Christ will realize this and then, we will change the world. Thank you for reading.
Yes, my Bro. Eric, I too have hope for thr body of Christ to come into this reality. However, I am not as optimistic that this will be achieve by all. Scripture ackowledges that the will of God is that He desires none too perish. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”(2 Peter 2:9). Although, He has provided everything we need, including the Holy Spirit, The written word of God, The Supreme Sacrifice(Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) for our sins; who has given us ALL POWER. Unfortunately, there will still be many who will not believe.
That is why we must keep working, utilizing every tool, avenue, venue, and platforms that God may give us the grace to stand, and withstand the evil days in which we live. But this we can be sure of: God has given us the victory (1 Corinthians 15{57); and the victory that has overcome the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). Thank you for reading, and sharing your thoughts, Bro. Jefferson.