4 Prayers for a Purposeful New Year

Cultivate What Matters. And one thing that she said, as a goal planning expert I would call her is that there is nothing special about January first. I also have another good friend. Her name is Leslie Lamarto, and she sent down an email at the end of last year explaining that November December time frame is usually when everybody is trying to set their goals. However, this is usually the worst time to try to set your goals, because you have Thanksgiving, you have Christmas, all the things that

are going on. However, we rush trying to set our goals and think of our intentions for the year because we know that right after Christmas, right after this holiday season, January first is right around the corner. But as I said before from my friend Laura Casey, there's nothing special about January first. Any day is an excellent day to think about not only your goals for the year, but more importantly God's purpose for your life. And so that's

what I want to talk about today. I want to share with you for scriptures and four different ways you can be praying for a purposeful twenty twenty three. Welcome back, friend. You are listening to the Teach Us to Pray podcast, where we teach believers practical and real life tips on how to grow your faith and relationship with God through

the power of prayer. I'm Christina Patterson, host of the Teach Us to Pray podcast and founder of Beloved Women, where I encourage, equip and empower women in the love of Jesus Christ and the truth of God's Word. In the introduction of today's podcast, I shared with you some thoughts from my friend Leslie Lomarto that explained November December is really not the best time to try to be

planning for the new year. She suggests actually waiting until January or February, after you've kind of come down your holiday high from November and December and have a clearer mind and schedule to really think about how you want to intentionally pursue God's purpose for your new year. If you're like me, like I also share, it's taken me a little bit of time to kind of ease into this new year. And so maybe you haven't set your

goals yet or maybe you already have. Either way, here are some biblical principles I want us to be thinking about as we set our goals for the new year, and some scriptures to pray over as we pursue God's purpose in twenty twenty three. The first scripture that I want to share with you is Proverbs nineteen, verse twenty one that says many are the plans in a person's heart,

but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. And I absolutely love this scripture because I'm one of those people that has so many plans, so many ideas, so many dreams. I have lists and notebooks and digital planners and all the things to write down all my dreams. Now here's the thing about that. As exciting as it is to have ideas and dreams and things that you want to do for the new year, it can also be really overwhelming because then you start to think, well, how am

I going to do all these things? And then you start to realize the limitation that you have in yourself, whether that be your resources, your energy, or your time, and you realize, wait a minute, I'm probably not going to be able to do all of this. Now that could discourage you, And honestly, I think that's one of the reasons why a lot of people don't even think about purposely setting goals, because there's this fear that I won't reach them. But this scripture encourages me so much

for two reasons. One, it shares that it is completely natural to have many plans. It says many are the plans in a person's heart. That's a natural thing. Sometimes you might feel like, oh, I have all these ideas, I'm doing too much. But you're only doing too much if you actually try to pursue every single dream and plan that comes to your mind at the same time. So our goal then isn't to try to do all

the things all the time. Our goal is to and this is my second favorite part of this scripture, pursue God's purpose that will ultimately prevail. So we have a lot of plans for this year, but our plans don't have to be our sole focus, because some plans will come to pass and some won't. But what we can be sure of is that God's per this will prevail. And so that's why instead of setting traditional goals, I

actually like to set what I call purposeful goals. Right, So a traditional goal would say, I want to lose twenty pounds by the end of the year. Okay, that's very limiting, actually, because what if you lose nineteen pounds by the end of the year, are you going to feel like a failure because you just didn't reach the mark. With traditional goals, there's often this focus on the goal itself or the plan itself, then the actual progression that

we're making towards that goal throughout the entire year. You know, reaching a goal is just a moment in time, but the journey to get to that goal is what we should be focusing on, because that's what we're going to be spending a majority of our time doing throughout the year. So a purposeful goal would say, I want to be my most healthy self so I can have more energy to give attention to my children. Now, doesn't that sound a lot more flexible? Right? Doesn't that sound a lot

more doable. It's not this rigid yes or no, I've achieved it or I didn't achieve it kind of goal. It's this, I'm aiming to be my most healthy self. Because here's the thing. What if you lose the twenty pounds, right, but you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, or you're sick, right, you're just not healthy, Then losing twenty pounds in and of itself probably doesn't reach the end, destination,

or outcome that you really wanted. But with a purposeful goal, not only is the goal flexible and more holistic, it is actually connected to why we want to do what we're aiming to do, because you want more energy to play with your kids. And when we connect purpose to our plans and our goals, we're more likely to achieve them because we're not trying to do something just to do it. We're trying to do it because there is a deeper meaning behind it. There's a reason why we

want to do it. So we're connecting our plans to our purpose, and that's why I love the scripture. Again, Yes, have many plans, right, but make sure they're connected to purpose. Make sure they're connected to God's purpose. So let's pray for our purpose. This here really briefly, Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to enter a new year. Father God, I thank you that you've given us so many ideas, Lord, but that those plans and ideas that

you've placed on our heart are connected to your ultimate purpose. Lord. I pray that you reveal that purpose to us, Lord, and let that be our focus for twenty twenty three. The next scripture that I want to share with you that we can be praying over for twenty twenty three is Proverbs sixteen nine that says we can make our plans,

but the Lord determines our steps. So here we go another scripture expressing that we have plans right, and we can make those plans, but God has the ultimate say in how things end, and our previous verse God's purpose prevailed. In this verse. It explains that God is the one that will determine the steps that we take. And so we want to start with purpose, like I just previously shared with you, but then we also want to focus on those steps to get to that purpose. I call

these achievements. They are the result of your purpose lived out. Right. So if the purposeful goal, again is to be your healthiest self, there are certain achievements that you will reach along the way. So maybe you do lose the ten pounds, right, maybe you are able to run one mile without stopping. These would be achievements. Now, a lot of people what they do is they confuse achievements with their end goal. And so what you have to realize is, I'm not

saying don't have goals. I'm not saying don't say, hey, I do want to lose ten pounds or I do want to write a book, right, But those achievements occur as we focus on our ultimate purpose. So we start with our purpose and then we think about the steps or achievements that we will reach on the path to that purpose. And so each achievement serves as a stepping stone on our journey towards the purpose that God has for our life. And so God shares with us us

what those steps are. He's the one that's directing our steps. What we have to realize is that our life isn't just about checking off plans and achievements, but enjoying the journey of discovering God's purpose for our life, one step, one achievement at a time. Let's pray about those steps. Dear God, again, we thank you for the plans that you give us. Lord. We thank you that they're connected to your purpose. Lord, but we also thank you that you provide the steps for us to take along the way.

I pray Lord that you direct our steps. Lord, guide our steps and lead us in the direction of your purpose. And Jesus name, we pray Amen. The next scripture that I want to share with you is Proverbs twenty one to five that says the plans of the legent leads surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. And I pulled this scripture out because, like I was sharing with you, with traditional goals, we often

make them so strict. I have to do this in this little amount of time, right, And if we're honest with ourselves, the amount of time that we usually give to a particular plan or goal isn't long enough. Because we're anxious and we want to see those plans come to pass as soon as possible. But when we do this, we actually end up burning ourselves out and it doesn't end up giving us the results that we want it.

And so this scripture really reminds me that just because you get something done fast doesn't mean that it's going to be done well, and that there's actual great significance in taking your time when it comes to your when it comes to the day to day activities that you do to reach those achievements that lead to the purpose that God has for you. And so we just take it one step at a time, and we do so

one task at a time so that we can see results. Now, this is where a lot of people get stuck because it's exciting to think of our goals and achievements and all the things that we want to reach, but the steps to get there are not always that glamorous, those day to day steps that you have to do to get there. Still, it's the day to day activities that are necessary if we want to reach our goals. If you want to write a book, guess what you probably need to get up in the morning and write for

thirty minutes to an hour every single day. If you want to lose weight, you probably need to get up and walk around your neighborhood consistently a few times out the week. If you want to have a home that is a sanctuary to your family, you're going to have to fall the clothes and wash the dishes, and make sure you do the day to day activities that keeps

a house in order. Some of these tasks will be mundane, but when we realize that they are necessary to reach our purpose, we can then enjoy them for the glory of God. Instead of looking at them as boring tasks that are taking away from our purpose, we can look at them as purposeful day to day tasks that actually lead to the purpose that we desire and that God desires for us. First Corinthians ten, verse thirty one says, so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,

do all to the glory of God. Again, the purpose our plans go back to God. Even our day to day tasks go back to giving God glory. And when we have this mindset, it makes it easy for us to take those day to day steps through those day to days a task to reach our purposeful goals. Let us pray, Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the life in our bodies that we woke up today, Lord, to be able to do the task that you have assigned to us. Lord, no matter how grand we feel

these tasks are, or how mundane they may feel. Lord, we pray for a heart that desires to give you glory and all that we do. The final scripture that I want to share for you as you pray about the new year is proverb sixteen to three that says, commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Commit your work to the Lord and your

plans will be established. You know, many people fail at reaching their goals because they see goals as a one time accomplishment, right, and they don't see setting goals and intention as a lifestyle commitment. In these proverbs, it's saying we should be committing our work to God. That's not a one time thing that you do and then just say, Okay, I'm finished, I'm gonna sit down now. No, it's a lifestyle. It's our commitment to the habits that it takes to

reach our goals. You know why everybody has goals, but not everybody reaches them. It's what you do consistently that separates those that have goals and have goals and actually reach those goals. It's not just about saying I want to write a book. It's about saying I want to be an author who actually completes a book. It's not about saying, oh, I just want to lose ten pounds. It's saying I want to be someone who is healthy. It's not about saying, oh, I just want more well

wealth for my family. It's about saying, I want to be the type of person that has habits and financial responsibility that makes me a wealthy person. So when we're more focused on just doing, just accomplishing, just checking things off of the list, and not becoming the type of person that reaches those purposeful goals, we just revert back to our old way of living. But living intentionally with purpose is more than just checking off items on it

to do list. It's a consistent and faithful lifestyle composed of daily, monthly, and yearly habits that make us the purposeful believers in God that he created us to be. Let us pray, dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for the plans that you've placed on my heart, the purpose, Lord, that you have given me, the step that you've ordered for me to take. This Here, Lord, I commit this work to you for your glory, and I pray and trust that these plans will be established in Jesus Christ,

and we pray Amen. I hope that this episode has given you some biblical perspective on how to set purposeful goals. If you want to go even further with this biblical method for planning, I want you to know that if you join the Beloved Women app as a member, you will receive a digital version of my Beloved Planner for

twenty twenty three. This planner further walks you through my purposeful planning process to actually help you reflect on last year what your purposeful goals can be for this year, choosing a word and scripture for the year, and planning pages for the entire year as you focus on God's

ultimate purpose for your life. This is a weekly layout planner with planning pages, purposeful goal pages to outline all your purposeful goals for the year, and monthly and weekly layouts to set you up for your most purposeful year. Yet again, anyone who signs up as a Beloved Women member at Belovedwomen dot Tv for a limited amount of time, will receive my twenty twenty three Beloved Planner to help you plan a life that is guided by grace, fueled by faith, and led by love. Again, you can sign

up as a Beloved Member at Belovedwomen dot tv. It is my hope that today's episode has provided you with insight and helpful tips on how you can pray. We have so much more to talk of when it comes to prayer, so I hope that if you were encouraged by today's episode, you will share it with a friend and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes of the Teach Us to Pray Podcast, where we will continue to learn how, just like breathing, prayer can become a natural, consistent,

and life giving part of our everyday lives. Until then, be sure to connect with me at Beloved Women dot org and join me on the Beloved Women app for unlimited videos to grow your faith, learn God's word, and encourage your soul. Available now in the Apple and Google play stores or at Belovedwomen dot tv. Thank you so much for taking time to listen today. God bless you and I'll talk to you in the next episode. Teach Us to Pray is a production of Life Audio and

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