The ONE most powerful resolution I have ever made.

As we begin another new year on this earth, New Year's resolutions are being made, declared and shared.

• Read more

• Work less, or more

• Laugh more

• Earn more

• Own more

• Buy more

• Buy less

• Travel more

• Eat less

• Exercise more

• The list goes on……

A new year has a popular effect on us all, no matter how much we try to ignore or not buy into the common flurry, we can't help reflecting at some level, and in some direction, thinking about shedding the old to make way for the new.

A few years ago I came across a book called the ONE thing… business coach Garry Keller talks about a concept for success. Focusing on ‘the ONE thing’.

He suggests that we ask ourselves the question, what is the ONE thing we could focus on or do that will have the greatest impact on everything else in our lives? Rather than trying to change everything or do lots of things at once, looking at it from a top down approach.

I see this approach like a waterfall. If I understand what that ONE thing is and do it consistently, it will cascade down or ripple out into everything else in my life.

This is not a new concept, here is a quote from business philosopher Jim Rohn (who was a Christian teaching business philosophies in a secular world in his time)

I had to do some journaling, praying and talking to God, to understand what that ONE thing was for me, peel back the layers of all the things I could do, work it backwards.

At the very top of my waterfall was getting more of God in my life, this in itself is not an action, so then I started to think about the actions I could take to make this happen and there was way more than ONE thing.

I played the mental game of “what's the thing I would choose if I could only choose ONE?” The thing that could be done anywhere, anytime, that would have the greatest impact on anything in my life.

It dawned on me that it is…..

PRAYER

Like plugging into a power socket, plugging into God is a powerful thing, the first way we plug in is through prayer.

It's the ONE thing that nobody can take away from us, it's a portable and effective tool in all of life's situations, something you can do in your head, out loud or with others.

My biggest revelation about prayer, is there is no right or wrong way to do it, the bible suggests what we should include in our prayer, see a version of the famous Lords’ prayer here

There are other ‘versions’ of this prayer in other interpretations of the bible, the one shared is the NIV (New international version).

If you have never prayed before or struggle with what to say to God, start with that, start just speaking that prayer out, it covers all bases and is a great start.

I learned it by heart at school many years ago, but never put any meaning to it until I found a true relationship with God 20 years ago. I started to understand the depth of this short and simple prayer.

Then I started to talk to God in a few ways, one of those was my diary, instead of ‘dear diary’ I put 'Dear God', some days I would pour out in my journal, my troubles, and always I would be lead to writing gratitude and some solutions and feel so much better than things rattling around in my head, alone.

Learning to talk to God often and learning to understand how to hear/see his answers and his work in my life became my pursuit.

Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

How do we ‘seek’ him? Through Prayer.

There are various studies out there to show the power of prayer and meditation and its effect on our brains, emotional and physical health. People that have faith in a higher power (God) are healthier, filled with more hope and generally happier people, despite life being life.

Prayer is the ONE thing for me, biblically it's also the ONE thing we are asked to do in all situations. Everything else moves out of this.

Philippians 4: 6-7 says this (this is on my phone screen saver, it's been a lifesaver verse for me)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Prayer is sharing my troubles with someone else, someone safe who won’t judge me or gossip, will just love me, guide me, forgive me.

• Prayer is tapping into faith, which taps into hope, which taps into the power of the Holy Spirit

• God is already at work in our lives, whether we believe in him or not, prayer helps tap into the work he is already doing which brings it forward

Once I understood that God wants to be involved in every area of my life, I knew I didn't have to do life alone.

Prayer is a tool, an action, that nothing or no-one can take away, you can take it everywhere and use it in every situation.

I have been in some life and death situations in life and Prayer gives me a focus, an anchor, perspective, and God always shows up in some way.

So my new years resolution a few years back became

"Pray more"

This became my focus. My ONE thing.

• I included this in some of my passwords, so I was constantly reminded

• I changed my screen saver on my phone to the verse above

• I printed out an A4 poster and stuck it on my wall with just those BIG words on it “Pray more”

• I started to retrain my brain to think about praying when I am worried, or stressed or anxious

• Often I will pray in my head, or if this situation is big I will ask others to pray for me as well

• I would seek opportunities to gather with others in prayer, there is power in numbers, the bible tells us that where two or three are gathered in his name, he will be there.

Matthew 18:20. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them"

• I often pray for others and let them know I have

• I see prayer as two way chat, conversation with my creator, the one who gave me life, who has seen me through some dark times.

• I made it a habit to chat to him often even if just a few words, like “thank you” or “help me to…” or “protect me” or “ Guide me”

• Sometimes I pray out loud, sometimes in my head, and sometimes in my journal, depending on where I am and what is happening, and if there is something massive I will do all 3.

One thing I have learned about goal setting in life is to keep it simple and apply consistent effort over a period of time. I have other goals, probably too many others, but this is my consistent ONE thing.

We don’t always have to come up with new resolutions, if we have been doing something that has been working in our lives, we don’t need to fix or replace it. We can just assess if it is working and keep doing it, renew our resolve rather than set a whole bunch of new goals.

Prayer:

• Helps me tap into God’s plan for my life and what he wants me to be focusing on and doing

• Helps me tap into who God says I am, when the world tries to tell me I am not good enough, rich enough, skinny enough, smart enough, tidy enough etc…. The peace of knowing and tapping into who I was created to be is a much more peaceful and happier way to live

• Helps me not try to fix things myself, this is exhausting and depleting

• Helps me to live a happier, healthier more faith filled live

• Helps me to focus with gratitude on the good things

• Helps absolutely everything else in my life, because I am tapping into my true life source

As humans we can spend a lot of time debating things like “ Is God real?” “ Does prayer work?”

Pray or don’t pray, believe or don’t believe, everyone has a choice, and that is not for me or anyone to judge.

All I know is what my life was like without this powerful focus, and what it is now with it, the evidence is overwhelming, and I would much rather do this life journey with faith and prayer than without. I don’t need another ‘study’ to tell me what I know, feel and see.

Habits of thinking or responding take time to change and happen with consistent effort.

If this is something you want to do more of or more consistently, or you have decided there is a different ‘ONE’ thing for you this coming year, then start small, start where you are, make small achievable incremental steps in the direction you want to go.

I have, many times, become over enthusiastic about my ability to change things in my life, so I get all excited and think about all the things I could change, this revelation has been a game changer for me because when I just ‘Pray more’ I am always surprised, even though I shouldn’t be, how God shows up for others and for me, often in more ways than I ever even prayed for.

Find your ONE thing friend, and may 2023 be a year you tap more into who God says you are and his purpose and plans for your life

Arohanui

Jen