How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? Most polls indicate over half those who make a get fit resolution do something out of alignment with that resolution within the first three days of a new year.
Cultivating new lifestyle habits is not easy. If we’re trying to get physically fit, we need accountability. We need someone in our lives who has permission to challenge us to keep going when we want to give up. It helps to set appointed times to engage in the behaviors that will help us reach our goals.
In the Mandarin Family, we are renewing our efforts to Get Fit spiritually. The Apostle Paul says, “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things” (I Timothy 4:8 NIV). Over the next several weeks, we will engage in specific training techniques to Get Fit. And out of all the habits in which we will engage, none is more important than prayer.
That’s why today, we are introducing a 40-day prayer campaign called 7-5-2. We are asking every Mandarin Family member to make a commitment between today and February 19 to:
· Pray for your family 7 days a week,
· Pray with your family 5 days a week,
· Pray with your spouse 2 days a week.
We need help to do this, so we’re providing you a wide variety of resources, and we’ll be offering consistent and positive encouragement as we pray together.
We believe that prayer changes things. In fact, we believe that prayer changes everything. Today I will be asking you to make a 7-5-2 commitment. Pursuing a new normal begins with this step. Are you ready?
-Mike Johnson