Gateway to 2022:The month of January

A new year offers us beautiful horizons, landscapes to pioneer, but also holds obstacles to overcome and the opportunity to prepare. January speaks of the gateway to a new start and how important is a new beginning to you?

Usually, people tend to tackle new habits or challenges or create a bucket list, set up a vision board – whatever motivates you to press on and to achieve the price. The question is: what price are you laboring for? What will be the source of your strength when the adversary hits or when obstacles appear and you do not have the speed or momentum to get over it?

All the questions!! But it’s the urgency to prepare pounding from my spirit!

Photo by Maksim Goncharenok from Pexels

Preparation is key in this month to prepare us to come into rhythm with the Holy Spirit of God .

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In this series of January I will be writing about the following:

1. A Starter kit 2022
2. Shaping your year with declarations
3. Habits for the new year
4. Morning routines
5. Coming into a rhythm

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A Starter Kit for the new year

Pack your mental– and spiritual toolbox for the new year. Get ready! Prepare!

1. Possess the gate of your year

For me, this is the most important! A new year is a gate to a new beginning. Get to it first before the enemy gets to it! Whoever possesses the gates controls the city.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

Psalm 24

⁷ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

⁸ Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah

Prayer points to possess your gate

• Praise and thanksgiving
• Repentance
• Declare your position in Christ
• Cut ties with the old season
• Pray Psalm 24:7-10
• Pray Colossians 4:2
• Give God access to your year
• Restrict the enemy to enter your year
• Ask for God’s protection
• Declare over your year
• Pray for divine direction
• Ask Him to let His light stream into your new year.
• Ask God to prepare a table to serve you
• Offer Him your prayer altar to answer your prayers.
• Shake of / destroy things that are not acceptable to Him.
• Ask Him to train your eyes and hands
• Claim your rewards of the past season

• Seal the gate of your year
• Ask God to employ His angels over your gate

2. Declarations for a new start

Scripture declarations are first to come into agreement with the word of God. I took on a habit to write monthly – and weekly declarations and then declaring them over my week or month.

In the year 2019, Holy Spirit started to catch my attention with declaration morning routines, specifically during the early morning watch(3am). The Holy Spirit challenged me to write down as much scripture I knew and then to check if I’m correct. This is when I intentionally started to do declarations as part of my morning routine.

2.1 The results of my declaration morning routines

During the time that God invited me to take Him upon His word, I was inconsistent with prayer and Bible study, constantly failing in my attempts to stand, weak in my prayer life, struggled to keep up with work and home( I was alone as my husband was working away from home), my mental health was on a roller coaster and so many more.

Declarations changed my thought patterns and my rhythm.

After I started declarations for a week every morning, I started to notice a positive mindset and a better rhythm in my days. My inconsistent prayer life also started to come together and I became more at peace.

2.2 Why I choose declarations rather than affirmations

I choose to write declarations rather than affirmations.

An affirmation is an indication of who you “think you are not, but who you hope to be.”  

bethmarhefkacoaching.com/blog

A declaration is much stronger and much more powerful than a affirmation made by an individual.

A declaration is a commitment, a powerful statement that triggers a specific outcome.

3. Review your habit closet!

This is one of the main areas and where I began when I started a new journey in 2020; I reviewed my habits and found that they had a huge impact on my mental health and spiritual life. Some of these habits have a way to infiltrate into our lives and then take the driver’s seat! It is however what we allow into our lives! Exchange!

Exchange old habits for new ones!

👉How to Break Bad Habits

4. Plan your morning routine

Do you have a balanced morning routine? The morning routine is a huge topic for me because this is the area where I started to make the first big and definite changes. And it paid off well! Discipline and persistence are crucial here! A balanced and effective morning routine brings you into balance and prepares you for the weights of the day.

Morning routine can be a wide topic to explore and will be discussed in a separate post.

5.Biblical fasting

I would rather begin my year with fasting than new year’s resolutions. Fasting is an effective way to build up resistance. Biblical fasting is far more than abstaining from food, but rather humbling ourselves before God and strengthening our prayer lives.

Fasting is a good way to refresh and to align with the plans of God for our lives and also an opportunity tort

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” 

Matthew 6:16-18.

Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.

Proverbs 15:16

A good start is important to step into an unknown year.

Leap into the new year with preparedness.