Are you ready for 2026? Have you been thinking about what your goals and intentions are to make next year better than 2025? I have. Many of us craft resolutions that generally fit in these categories: health and fitness, financial goals, personal development, and relationship improvement. Those are fantastic, don’t get me wrong, and they’re on my list, too, but what if we started with our spiritual lives? What if we made it our priority to start every day with the Lord Jesus? He’s the most important Person in our lives, right?
This year, let's reframe the "New Year, New You" concept. Instead of striving for self-made transformation, let's seek a God-led renewal.
The Bible tells us,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. — 2 Corinthians 5:17
This newness isn't something we achieve through sheer willpower; it is a gift we receive and cultivate through our relationship with Him. A powerful way to do this is by dedicating time to His Word.
Making daily Bible reading a priority can fundamentally change our perspective. When we open the Scriptures, we are not just reading an ancient book; we are positioning ourselves to hear from the living God. Psalm 119:105 says,
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
By starting our day with this light, we illuminate our steps before we even face the world's challenges. It doesn't have to be a long, complicated study. It can be as simple as reading a Proverb a day or working through a Gospel chapter by chapter. The key is consistency.
Beyond just reading, engaging in Bible study deepens our understanding and strengthens our faith. This is where we move from simply hearing God's voice to conversing with Him about His truth. We can use study guides, join a small group at church, gather a few friends and do a Bible study together (Check out great options here.), or simply write our thoughts on a passage in Scripture and prayers in a journal. As we meditate on what we read, we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and minds. Paul encourages this in Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Ultimately, these practices are not about checking a box on a spiritual to-do list. They are about relationship. Spending time in the Bible and in prayer is how we grow closer to Jesus. It is how we learn to trust Him more, love Him more deeply, and reflect His character in our lives.
As we look ahead to 2026, let's resolve to put first things first.
Let's build our year on the solid foundation of God's Word and a vibrant, growing relationship with our Savior. This is the path to becoming a truly "new you" in Christ.
Book Recommendations for New Year, New You
Jump to these sections:
Devotionals
Bible study
Bibles
Journals
Kids
Devotionals
Breath as Prayer by Jennifer Tucker. God created our bodies, minds, and spirits to be intimately connected with one another. Purpose-filled breathing is one of the most effective, calming ways to integrate all aspects of who we are, especially during times of intense stress. Breath as Prayer invites you to the crossroads of Christian contemplative practice, Scripture, psychology, and science to deepen your faith, bring peace to your body, and discover a new reliance on Christ. Breathe deeply, lean into God's Word, and discover why every breath can be an invitation to pray. Learn more.
God Is With You Every Day by Max Lucado. You are not alone. There is One who is always with you, always available, always caring. The One who created the universe, who set the world in motion—He is with you. Not just on joyful days. Not just on tough days. God is with you every single day, cheering for you, lifting you up, and drawing you closer to Him.This 365-day devotional begins each week with a prayer and scripture, followed by six days of devotions and Bible verses for reflection, weaving in messages of comfort, grace, and encouragement. Learn more.
5 Minutes with Jesus by Sheila Walsh. Your life is hectic! Juggling family time, work, and church equals jam-packed days. You want to spend time in God’s Word, but the busyness of life keeps getting in the way. What if, however, you could take five minutes to invest in making each day matter? With her signature honesty, vulnerability, and humor, bestselling author Sheila Walsh helps you find perspective in the midst of your fast-paced life. Every entry features a powerful devotion, a guiding takeaway, and related Scripture that will nourish you, sustain you, and remind you that you are not alone. Learn more.
Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Jesus Calling is your yearlong guide to living a more peaceful, faith-filled life. This deluxe commemorative edition celebrates decades of lives impacted by Jesus Calling with 12 bonus devotions and 12 new letters to readers from beloved author Sarah Young for each month of the year, and so much more. Learn more.
The Weekly Prayer Project Are you ready to accept a challenge that could dramatically change your life? The Weekly Prayer Project invites you to journal, pray, reflect, and connect with God using a 52-week guided prayer journal. You'll learn to pray with intention and explore the different types of prayers found in the Bible, with journaling prompts that guide you to reflect on God's work in your life. Learn more.
Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children by Jodie Berndt. Parent and author Jodie Berndt understands what it's like to release children into the world and still care deeply about them and everything they're up against in life. In Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children, Jodie shares prayers designed with your adult children in mind, whether they're just leaving the nest, flying well on their own, or struggling to take off at all. Jodie shares advice on navigating all aspects of adulthood with encouraging stories from experienced parents who are praying their children through real-life issues like leaving the church, struggling with health concerns, navigating broken marriages, fighting addiction, dealing with financial problems, and more. Learn more.
Bible study
Experiencing the Heart of Jesus for 52 Weeks by Max Lucado. This 52-week study on the person of Jesus Christ is designed so that you can start it at any point in the year. Although the details of Jesus's life may be familiar to you from the gospel accounts, can you consider him a companion? A dear friend? A brother? Do his habits rub off on you because of how much time you spend with him? Experiencing the Heart of Jesus for 52 Weeks is about walking with Jesus so closely that we become like him, that we begin to imitate him day in, day out. This is, after all, the core of what it really means to be a Christian—an imitator of Christ. Learn more.
Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks by Ann Spangler. This 52-week Bible study is designed so that you can start it at any point in the year. Names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names and titles of God recorded in the Bible. Based on Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, two bestselling books by Ann Spangler, this unique Bible study helps you explore the most important of God’s names and titles as they are revealed in the Bible. It also teaches you how to pray with specific focus on each of the names of God. Learn more.
The Daniel Prayer Bible Study Guide by Anne Graham Lotz. Do you long for a more powerful prayer life? Do you grow discouraged when your prayers don't seem to change anything or allow you to hear God's voice? In this six-session video Bible study workshop (video access included), Anne Graham Lotz presents a biblical approach to prayer that will help you: Learn to listen for God's voice, Know Him in a personal relationship, and Communicate with Him through His Word. By taking a close look at the life of Daniel, Anne unpacks the prayer he prayed in Daniel 9. Following the pattern of Daniel's original prayer as a model for how we speak to our Creator, she helps us develop a more meaningful and powerful prayer life. Learn more.
Bibles
NIV Application Bible Learn What the Bible Means. Discover What it Means for You. Featuring thousands of study notes drawn from the bestselling NIV Application Commentary series (over 2 million copies sold), the NIV Application Bible helps you understand Scripture and connect it to your world in a whole new way. This study Bible guides you in discovering how the ancient truths found in Scripture relate to your experiences today using insight from trusted evangelical scholars, paired with timely biblical application principles. Throughout the Bible, Original Meaning Notes help you explore the meaning of the biblical text while Application Notes make it personal, helping you to integrate the Bible’s teachings into your everyday life. Learn more.
NIV The Story With over 3 million sold, The Story tells the grandest, most compelling story of all time! God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Story is all about: the story of the Bible, God's great love affair with humanity. Condensed into 31 accessible chapters, The Story sweeps you into the unfolding progression of Bible characters and events from Genesis to Revelation. Using the world’s most popular modern-English Bible, the New International Version, and printed in the exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface, it allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to read like a novel. Like any good story, The Story is filled with intrigue, drama, conflict, romance, and redemption—and this story’s true! Learn more.
NKJV The Everyday Bible Develop the habit of daily Bible reading to strengthen your relationship with the Lord. The Everyday Bible guides you to read the entire Bible in 365 sections designed for daily 15-minute readings. Each day is a blend of Scripture from the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament. With no complicated charts or plans, this provides a simple way to read the Bible in one year. Learn more.
Journals
5-Minute Gratitude Journal Can 5 minutes of thankfulness change the rest of your day? What about the rest of your life? When we allow the stressors of life to take over our perspective, we tend lose sight of just how miraculously beautiful this world is. We miss the small, glorious moments that can set our souls afire and make our cups overflow. So, what if we stopped, for just 5 minutes a day and wrote down something that we are grateful for? Instead of letting our day to day troubles pull us under, what if we allow our blessings to help us rise? The all new 5-Minute Gratitude Journal is a daily journal that provides an opportunity to cultivate a grateful and beholden outlook on the everyday miracle called life. And it's only available from the FaithGateway Store! Learn more.
Daily Prayer Journal A beautiful spiral-bound journal to record your daily prayer requests. This spiral-bound Daily Prayer Journal with botanical watercolor artwork is a perfect addition to your time with God. It includes 366 undated sections for entering prayer requests and answered prayers, with selected Bible verses and decorative verse pages throughout. Customize its use to your own needs: Start daily at the beginning of the year, or start any time and add prayers, gratitude, and praise as often you desire in your quiet time. Great to give as a gift or for your own use! Learn more.
Kids
Bedtime Prayers for Little Ones Bestselling author Max Lucado will teach your children to pray and praise with these rhyming bedtime prayers about blessings, needs, fears, and hopes, written by Max and his wife Denalyn. After talking to God each night, your little one will fall asleep feeling loved and safe. Learn more.
