2007 Prayer for Growth

It’s late in January. Most people have completed their 2007 resolutions by now. I’ve not done this in several years, mostly because my goals and resolutions usually seem to end up unreached, a source of discouragement instead of challenge.

This year I feel a bit differently. A bit braver. I feel God's been at work in my heart and leading me to grow in some specific areas. Instead of making a long list of resolutions (which ends up being just a list Satan uses to remind me of my shortcomings), I’m making commitments to growth, with God's help, in just four areas. I’ve always loved that verse in Luke where it talks about Jesus’ growth as a young man and so am basing these ideas on that verse (Luke 2: 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.)

To make it easy to remember, I focused on the four aspects of our being (and limited myself to just one goal for each area, although I listed several to give you an example of what I mean):

• Physical (health, diet, exercise, homemaking, etc.)
• Mental (career, education, reading, etc.)
• Spiritual (our relationship with God)
• Social (relationships with others, community commitments etc.)
  

To solidify these commitments, I’m making them matters of prayer, hence the title 2007 Prayer for Growth. I've written these out in a prayer format in a Word document which I'll keep with my Bible journal.

I'm not going to share these prayers in detail here, but I will say I've been challenged by those of you who have shared your resolutions or meditations for the year. I didn't want this year to just roll on by and not be able to look back and see how God has worked in specific areas.

If you're not a resolution person, perhaps this idea is something that would work for you too. That's the cool thing about God - January 31 is as important to him as January 1st! It's never too late!