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| Source: Huffington Post |
Spiritual Resolution
Today, we continue our multi-part series on developing a daily plan of life, a spiritual game plan to improve our prayer life and grow closer to Christ. It is fitting that we talk about this at the beginning of the year since so many people are focusing on New Year's Resolutions. What could be more important than resolving to grow closer to Christ?
New Year's Resolutions
According to the University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology the top 10 resolutions people will have made for the year 2014, in order of rank, are:
- Lose Weight
- Getting Organized
- Spend Less, Save More
- Enjoy Life to the Fullest
- Staying Fit and Healthy
- Learn Something Exciting
- Quit Smoking
- Help Others in Their Dreams
- Fall in Love
- Spend More Time with Family
Notice that none of these resolutions make any mention of improving their relationship with God or even something as improving their spiritual life.
Most Will Fail
According to the same source most of the people who make New Year's Resolutions will fail:
- 75% Make it through 1st Week
- 64% Make it one Month
- 46% Make it 6 months
- 8% Success Rate
The author of Proverbs teaches that “as a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). Anyone who has ever owned a dog has seen this happen. The author of Proverbs is saying that when we make no efforts to change our ways, we might as well be licking up our own vomit. I hope this earthy piece of spiritual advice will motivate you to consider developing a plan to improve your prayer life.
Advice on How to Succeed - SPAM
The statistics we reviewed above demonstrate that most people will not succeed in following through with their resolutions to change. Based on the research we did on making and setting goals, we have narrowed a strategy for success to four basic actions: Start, Persevere, Accountability and Measure or SPAM.Start!
It sounds ridiculously simple, but the first step in making a change in your spiritual development is to begin. This means taking a few actions. This can include getting organized and sorting out the areas that you want to improve upon so that you can begin a plan of action. Tomorrow we will help you address this with a Spiritual Inventory.
Persevere
Persevere
Once you get started, you must commit to persevering. Remember 1/3 of the people don't even make it a month. While most people think it takes about 21 days to develop a habit, but this is a myth. Research conducted by psychologists suggests that building a habit takes about 66 days or two months. Inevitably there are going to be a few bumps in the road, but we just have to plow through and commit to stick to it. Yes, this means we must be disciplined.
Accountable
Having an accountability system is important to succeeding in your goal. One way you can do this is to ask a friend to be your accountability buddy. I recall when I first came back to the Church after attending a CRHP Retreat, I began meeting with +Charles Gura once a week to discuss our spiritual development. Furthermore, I can tell you from my experience with weight loss, that accountability works. When I attended my Weight Watchers' meetings and weigh-ins, I lost 80 pounds. The moment I stopped going to meetings, I started putting the weight back on. In the beginning, I recommend meeting with your accountability buddy once a week for the first two month, After that you can probably meet less frequently.
Accountable
Having an accountability system is important to succeeding in your goal. One way you can do this is to ask a friend to be your accountability buddy. I recall when I first came back to the Church after attending a CRHP Retreat, I began meeting with +Charles Gura once a week to discuss our spiritual development. Furthermore, I can tell you from my experience with weight loss, that accountability works. When I attended my Weight Watchers' meetings and weigh-ins, I lost 80 pounds. The moment I stopped going to meetings, I started putting the weight back on. In the beginning, I recommend meeting with your accountability buddy once a week for the first two month, After that you can probably meet less frequently.
Measurable and Track
The final strategy to aid in succeeding is to make sure you specific and measurable goals to improving your prayer life. You can't just say "I want to get closer to God." Instead, you should plan something like, "I will dedicate 15 minutes of prayer time each morning at 5AM." This is specific, detailed and can be measured. Along with this, I recommend writing down or logging your daily actions to record your progress. This will help you stay on track. You can do this in a written journal or on a smart phone. I actually use a Plan of Life App.
The final strategy to aid in succeeding is to make sure you specific and measurable goals to improving your prayer life. You can't just say "I want to get closer to God." Instead, you should plan something like, "I will dedicate 15 minutes of prayer time each morning at 5AM." This is specific, detailed and can be measured. Along with this, I recommend writing down or logging your daily actions to record your progress. This will help you stay on track. You can do this in a written journal or on a smart phone. I actually use a Plan of Life App.
Tomorrow, we will publish a Spiritual Inventory survey for you to take on your own, so you can gauge where you are in your own prayer life.
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