Daniel C. Okpara
Prophetic Declaration for the Year:
“I have victory over everything that strove with me in the past, for God has given me room to flourish in the land.
“Therefore this is My Year of REHOBOTH.”
Today’s Reading:
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Setting goals is not something you don’t know about. I believe that many of us have already set goals for the New Year, things we would like to accomplish and places we would like to go.
As you can see from the verse above, Jesus encourages us to sit down and draw a plan of what we want to do and how we would accomplish them. So goal setting and planning is something every child of God should practice always.
But my worry is that many people don’t achieve the goals they always set out to achieve every year. For me, it was like I failed from year to year, until I stopped setting New Year goals and started asking myself, “Why don’t I always achieve all the things I write down every New Year that I would like to achieve?”
I believe I’m not the only one in that situation. In fact, one survey said that…
90% of people forget their New Year goals just after 13 days.
Imagine that!
After all the hullaballoo of setting goals, after just 13 days, they forget them.
Why?
Oh well, that may be a lesson for another day. But one thing I realized that worked for me was to stop saying, “I will do this” “I will do that” and try to focus on a few Biblical solutions, like saying,
- “LORD, help me to fast once every week this year.”
- “LORD, help me to spend up to 30 minutes in personal prayer daily.”
- “To read at least one chapter of the Bible every day.”
As I began to commit to biblical solutions like that, I started to learn of things I should focus on achieving. I realized that the goals we set are not the right goals for ourselves, that’s why we fail in them in the first place.
Every individual has a unique place and destiny and set of things God wants you to achieve. But we can’t achieve these goals just listing out things to do every year. When we commit to biblical solutions and spiritual growth goals, somehow, we’ll learn of the right things to actually work on.
As I said in my book, Prayers for the Year…
“Instead of listing out many things you want to do, wait on the LORD and discover His path for you. It is only when we follow His path that we achieve what truly matters.”
Read the following scriptures…
Biblical Basis for Setting Spiritual Goals.
1 Timothy 4:8 – Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.
Matthew 6:33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Psalm 33:11 – “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
Psalm 37:4-5 – “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him . . . .”
Psalm 127:1 – “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”
Proverbs 3:6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
Proverbs 16:9 – “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Benefits of Spiritual Goals
- Spiritual goals enable you to grow more intimate with God.
- Committing to spiritual goals will empower you to eventually discern what matters for your destiny and avoid the stuff that doesn’t really matter.
- Spiritual goals empower you to achieve your other goals of…losing weight, making money, being happy, etc.
- Spiritual goals generally make you better.
- Committing to spiritual goals will make you learn more about the depth of our world and what’s really happening.
- One of the biggest challenges of life is living and coping with different kinds of people. There are many who come with sweet tongues but inwardly are wolves. When you commit to spiritual goals, your spirit becomes more alive and you can discern the hearts of men more quickly and overcome many traps that come with sweet presentations and proposals.
How to Set Spiritual Goals.
To be continued tomorrow
Prayers For Spiritual Growth
Read and Pray from the following verses
Ephesians 3:16 – “LORD, Strengthen me in the inner man.”
Ephesians 3:17 – “Holy Spirit, cause me to be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love.”
Ephesians 3:18 – “Holy Spirit, make me to comprehend God’s love – the breadth and length and height and depth of it.”
Ephesians 3:19 – “Holy Spirit, fill me through all my being with the fullness of God, that I might become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.”
Philippians 3:10 – “Holy Spirit, cause me to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.”
Ephesians 1:17 – 19 – “LORD, please grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that the eyes of my heart be flooded with light, so that I may know and appreciate the greatness of Your power in me
Philippians 1:10-12 – “Holy Spirit, help me to learn to sense what is vital and of real value, so that I may abound and be filled with the fruits of righteousness.”
John 17:12 – “Lord Keep me and my loved ones and protect us from the evil one.
Colossians 1:9-11 – “Holy Spirit, Help me to know God’s will for my life every day and every year and cause me to walk in what You have ordained for me, that I may be strengthened with all power, to exercise every kind of endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks.”
Daniel C. Okpara
Daniel C. Okpara is the author of numerous best-selling books, including, What Do You Have in Your House?, Parable of the Serpent, Pillars of Excellence in Life and Business, Take it By Force, Prayer Wave, and Many others. He is the founder of Better Life World Outreach Center, a non-denominational ministry dedicated to global evangelism and equipping of God's people to live a better life. He is also the founder of Breakthrough Prayers Foundation www.breakthroughprayers.org), an online portal leading people all over the world to encounter God and change their lives through prayer. He has authored over 50 books on business, prayer, relationship, and investment.
Comment…Very Powerful insight and shall read, learn and meditate on all the above. Bless you Pastor
Thanks for stopping by Sister Caroline. May God bless you all round this year
Every morning when I sit and read I repeat the prophetic declaration for the year ,I look forward to reading your emails every morning they are very enlightening and the prayer after reading are so powerful ,because of praying these prayer I have realized that my life has changed a lot .i look forward with excitement for the rest of emails and continuing my fast .Thanks very much Pastor .