I know I know. We still have 7 weeks left of 2016. Don’t count this year out just yet, right? Of course not! BUT I know once the holidays start rolling, New Year’s Eve will be here before we know it and I had something super important to share regarding goals.
I have shared multiple times about my favorite goal-setting tool: powersheets from Cultivate What Matters (formerly Lara Casey Shop). If you haven’t heard about them, it is a goal setting guide that will help you uncover yearly goals and then help you create a list of monthly goals so you can actually make you progress each month. I have been using them for 4 years now and can easily say that it’s one of the top two reasons I have been able to achieve so many things that I set out to achieve in that time. If you are feeling stuck check them out! Or read to the end of the post for a chance to win a set!! 🙂 And y’all, they will sell out soon so don’t wait!
So what is the second thing I credit with achieving goals over the last few years? Lots of prayer!! I mean, you knew the prayer girl was going to say that, didn’t you? This is not some trite, vague answer though. Prayer has transformed my life and my goals!
So today, I wanted to share some practical ways to prepare for 2017 with prayer.
1. Choose to obey.
This seems odd to place first. What are we obeying? How do we know if we want to obey BEFORE we know what God’s plan is? That’s precisely why it’s first. We have to choose to obey before we know God’s plan. If we do it before, we are showing our faith and trust in God. If we insist on waiting till after we hear His plan, we are simply trusting the plan and not God.
2. Ask God to reveal to you HIS plan for 2017.
- Ask Him what goals He wants you to pursue
- Ask Him for a humble heart to never place those goals and dreams above Him
- Ask Him to reveal any hidden areas of sin or places you may be blind to that He wants to work on
- Ask Him for an understanding of His grace as you pursue things and fail
3. Get quiet enough to hear Him speak to you.
We simply cannot hear God’s voice if we allow noise in 24-7. We have to make room for Him to speak. Check out this post on silence and solitude for a good place to start.
4. Fast.
You should know, I was going to put “consider fasting” because it’s one of those disciplines we think are optional or even weird, but I think it’s actually essential and want to really challenge you to do this. There are some things we only learn when we are hungry for God more than we are for the things of this world. I’ll be blogging soon on fasting but feel free to check out YouVersion plans on fasting if you are looking for some beginning thoughts on fasting.
5. Write out and commit to your goals but hold them loosely.
Once you make your goals and feel God’s leading, keep an open mind and allow God to change things if necessary. Our goals should not ultimately determine our life’s direction. They are a good tool that God can use in our life, BUT God’s leading trumps any good goal.
6. Pray monthly about your goals.
If you have seen our yearly prayer journal, you have noticed a change on the personal page. We broke it down to personal requests and goals so that you could be lifting your goals up to God monthly. This helps in a few ways. If we are praying for our goals daily, it will influence our actions. It is difficult to pray first thing in the morning that God will help you make a good financial decision and then hit the mall shopping. (And I said difficult, not impossible). If we are constantly praying for our goals, it is a sign of surrender to God. It helps with #1 and #5.
Friends, like I said, 2016 is not over!! Keep intentionally pursuing your goals for this year. I think simultaneously praying for 2017 and preparing for the year ahead won’t distract from this year, but will actually help keep you energized for the rest of the year!
BEST YEAR EVER GIVEAWAY
And here’s a little something that also might give you a jump start to the best year ever! We will be giving away the following to one luck winner on Tuesday, November 15!
1. “VMP Best Year Ever” bundle (now available in the shop here!) including:
- 2017 Yearly Prayer Journal
- The Fresh Start Journal
- The Fresh Hope Journal
- The Fresh Courage Journal
- The Finishing School Book
- The Finishing School Workbook
- The Finishing School Guidebook
2. The 2017 Powersheets Workbook!
A $185 value!
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