This is the last in a three part series on keeping your New Year’s resolutions.
In the first two posts, I wrote of the importance of getting your resolutions from the Lord then writing them down.
The third key, which is the key to getting to the finish line, is keeping your resolutions and goals before you in prayer.
One of the major reasons people fail in fulfilling their New Year’s resolutions is that as the year progresses they get forgotten, fade in significance in comparison with other challenges or are abandoned for lack of progress. Praying weekly over your resolutions reminds you they are not merely good ideas but directives from the Lord and provides a consistent opportunity to monitor your progress.
Praying consistently over your resolutions also keeps your conscience engaged and sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that ultimately brings about real change, not mere force of will. Keeping engaged with the Holy Spirit allows Him to get to the root causes and obstacles to change and reminds us during the day when we are defaulting into old patterns of conduct that have resulted in failure in the past.
Lastly, praying consistently over your resolutions will help you develop the strategies for reaching your goals. For example, it’s not enough to say you want to lead three people the Lord this year. You need to pray about who those people might be, how best to reach them and what their needs might be.
With that I wish you God’s grace that you might see real progress and achieve His goals for your life in 2012. GS