Reflect and Pray

What if God set aside a day just to help you pause? The Feast of Trumpets—today’s Rosh Hashanah—was a call to stop, reflect, and pray.

“On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work” (Numbers 29:1).

The start of the new year is a particularly important time on God’s calendar. He called it one of “my appointed feasts” (Leviticus 23:2).

God cared so deeply about this day, He directed that all normal activity was to stop. Instead, everyone was to spend time in reflection and prayer. They were to look seriously at their lives, thinking about what they had done in the past, their attitudes and behavior, possessions and priorities, and their relationships with other people and with God. They were to think about God’s holiness, humble themselves before Him, and turn away from sin and anything that displeased Him.

Today at sundown begins the celebration of this Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah. This day also begins a 10-day period known as the High Holy Days, set apart to ponder, pray, and reflect on our life’s meaning and purpose.

Many Christians have forgotten the importance of Rosh Hashanah, although God Himself declared that the commemoration of this day was to be a “statute forever.”

This is God’s annual reminder for all of His people: We are to consider that we will give an account to Him for everything we say and do. We are to humble ourselves before Him and allow Him to search our hearts, cleanse us from any sin, and give us a fresh start.

This day is important to God. Make it important for you as well!

Reflection Question: Will you keep this appointment God has made with you today?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the “holy convocation” of Numbers 29:1, and how does it relate to Rosh Hashanah?

It is the Feast of Trumpets—a day of trumpet blasts and rest on the first of the seventh month (Tishri). In later Jewish tradition it became Rosh Hashanah, the civil new year and start of the High Holy Days.

Are Christians required to observe Rosh Hashanah?

The New Testament does not command observing the feasts, calling them shadows fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:16–17). Many Christians still find value in reflecting on their meaning, but it is a matter of freedom, not obligation.