How to Start 2018 in the Right Way Spiritually

By Dr. Ronnie Floyd
Sr. Pastor Cross Church Northwest, AR
President, National Day of Prayer
Immediate Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention

If you do not plan to succeed in your spiritual life in 2018, you will fail. I want to challenge you to start 2018 in the right way spiritually. If you start strong, you are setting yourself up to finish strong.

There are many things you can plan to do to achieve this spiritual need and goal, but I want to suggest one that has really helped us at Cross Church.

Focus Leads to Success

At Cross Church, we have found that when we have a focused effort, it helps us go so much farther together. For the past several years, Cross Church has been allocating twenty-one days together to start our lives right spiritually each year.

Consider Twenty-One Days in January

January 1-21, 2018, we will be placing our focus on 21 Days of Prayer. We will focus our prayer each day in three specific areas:

• Personal: A specific personal need that you have on your heart. In other words, pray for your greatest burden or burdens daily.
• Church: We will communicate specific things our church needs to focus on each day.
• National: Our nation has so many needs, and we will communicate some specific needs for our church to focus on each day.

There is something dynamic that occurs when we pray in agreement, at the same time, about specific things.

Additionally, we will encourage as many people as possible to fast, however God is leading them, during these twenty-one days. Fasting is abstinence from food with a spiritual goal in mind. When we humble ourselves through fasting, our prayers are purified, our hearts are softened, and God’s power ignites us like nothing else.

But let me be more than clear: The overall emphasis is something every person can do. Everyone can pray with specificity about things on their heart and things we will share for twenty-one days.

Daily Engagement and Communication Will Occur During Each of the Twenty-One Days: January 1-21, 2018

During these twenty-one days, our goal is to engage and encourage each other through daily communication. There are two ways we will communicate during each of these twenty-one days:

1. Daily Texts Sent at 6:00 a.m. CST

In these short daily texts, we will lead you to target a personal need, share a church need, and a national need. We will also share a Scripture as you pray for these needs and anything else God places on your heart.

You can sign up by texting “21days” to 313131. This daily text will provide focus and intentionality to our 21 Days of Prayer.

2. Join Me Daily via Facebook Live or Call in via Phone at 6:30 a.m. CST

During each of these twenty-one days, join me via Facebook Live, or call in via phone at (563) 999-1422 each morning for a brief message from God’s Word and prayer together.

These daily experiences will last no longer than 20 minutes. You can participate with us wherever you are in the world, and invite others to join us.

Plan Now for Spiritual Success in 2018

Whether you choose to participate with us or not in these twenty-one days from January 1 through January 21, develop your own plan. The key is having a plan to make your life all God wants you to be in 2018.

Think about your plan for the year and plan to join me for these twenty-one days of prayer.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared at Dr. Floyd’s personal blog and is used by permission.