21-Day Change Challenge: Focus on God...
This 21-Day Change Challenge is super simple and it's self-guided. That means there are no pop-ups to annoy you and Cortana and Alexa won't alert you with reminders. It's self-guided so you can shift your thinking over the next 21-days to focus more on God so you can hear from Him.
Start with the first challenge and if you miss a day, that's no problem. Just start over. However, we recommend that you don't jump ahead because the steps should be completed in order. The hardest part is staying consistent and reading your Bible each day. If you do that, great! Awesome! But, if you miss a day or forget, don't beat yourself up. Just get back on track and start with the first challenge again. The bonus is you can start this challenge anytime so let's get to it!
Prayer to Focus On the 21-Day Change Challenge
Father God in the name of Jesus, Lord I come to You and give You all the glory, honor and praise. I ask for Your help with this Change Challenge. Help me to focus on the areas I need help with in my life. Help me to look forward and not to look back. I ask for Your guidance, wisdom and mercy. Help me to draw closer to You and focus more on You Lord and Your ministry, will and calling for my life. I will work to read my Bible more and be more present for You in the name and blood of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Shortly after this prayer, expect that you might be challenged in some way. Usually, when you commit to giving God more time, the devil will step in and throw a huge obstacle. But, that's part of the Change Challenge. It happened to me one year. I decreed out loud, "I'm going to fast for Pentecost" and I didn't realize the devil was listening. My family started arguing, my employers were doing mean and spiteful things. It's why the scripture, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" is so important. WHENEVER you try to draw closer to God, the devil will try to step in. Remember, satan is a fallen angel. So, his goal is to get you to stop drawing closer to God. Why? If you learn more about God and read about Jesus's teachings, you'll see that you have authority over the devil - and satan doesn't want you strong like Jesus. He wants you to stay weak and insecure. So, as you go through the Change Challenge, expect a few obstacles like a screaming boss. However, as you go through, you'll see that you can use your God-given authority and rebuke them in Jesus's name and they have to flee. But, that's a few challenges down the line. Let's start with a few easy ones because like the Bible verse we just quoted, while "Many are the afflictions of the righteous...The Lord delivers us from them ALL." Awesome, right?
Buckle up...We're going in.
Day One: Let God In With This Simple Prayer
1. Today's challenge is simple. Say this easy prayer, "Father God in Jesus' name, Lord I give all the glory to You. Lord, help me walk away from anything or anyone that is not like You. Help me to read my Bible (more) and draw closer to You. Please give me help from angels, wisdom and the Holy Spirit and help me to be a better example for You. I ask for your mercy over my life and I want to follow Your will. Please show me the doors and windows of opportunity You have for me, in Jesus's name, Amen."
It's a simple prayer but it's very powerful. You're giving God permission to help you. My mom says it like this, "God is a gentleman" so He doesn't force Himself on you. It's free will. You're also asking for His mercy and wisdom so He can guide you in life. Next, and this is big. You're asking Him to remove the distractions and negativity that are drawing you away from Him. You're also asking for Jesus to step in and help you and to show you windows and doors that God wants you to take. You might not see anything yet but in the heavenly realm, this is a huge shift in your atmosphere.
Homework: If you don't have a Bible, buy one or you can download the Bible app. We use the King James Version but you can also use the NIV or NLT versions alongside the King James Version so you can read your Bible and understand the text in simpler language if you need it.
And, don't worry. Tomorrow's is easy, too. We're going to read a Bible verse in the morning and one at night. Easy "A" right? Bye for now!
Day Two: Read a Bible Verse
2. Today's challenge is simple. Read a Bible verse when you get up in morning and one when you go to bed at night. If you've downloaded the Bible or bought one, great. As an alternative, you can download BibleGateway.com or keep your Bible next to your bed. Now, the challenge is to read a scripture every morning and every night for 21-days. If you forget, don't beat yourself up. No problem. Just go and read a Bible verse when you remember. Easy enough, right? Now here's the change part that might be a bit of a challenge.
In the morning, read your Bible verse first BEFORE you do anything else and at night make it the LAST thing you do before going to bed. So, in the morning, if you're used to checking email first or jumping out of bed and turning on the news, instead, read that one simple Bible verse. We're using Bible verses in Psalms and Luke because there are so many inspirational scriptures there and we want you to hear Jesus's teachings. But why start with the verse first? What you're doing is acknowledging God's Word firsts (before the emails, social media and news). So, you're letting Him start your day. Got it? Below you'll find the 21 Bible verses for each morning and every evening.
Day 1: Day 2:Day 3: Day 4: Day 5:
And, there's an important message for someone. I'm hearing the Holy Spirit say, "I know it's been a long journey for you." You might be tired. You might have tried praying and fasting before and didn't see results. However, we're in a different season. Maranda Curtis sings about this in her song, "Open Heaven". In some seasons it might feel like you can't get a prayer answered but don't give up. We all go through testing and sometimes it's like God wants to see will we keep praying until He answers? Hence, these 21-days can help you draw closer to Father God so you can hear from Him and receive the help you need. Don't give up! We're praying for and with you!
Day 3: Forgive Someone
Today's challenge is simple. Think about someone you might have had a falling out with or someone that crushed your spirit. Don't rehash the old thoughts but come up with a name or names of people that might have hurt you in the past. Now, pray this simple prayer,
"Father God in Jesus's name, Lord I glorify You because You are the Most High God. Today I forgive (name(s)) and I pray for them. I know they didn't mean it and it was the devil trying to hurt me. I also let go of the pain and emotions I feel when I think of them. I choose today to no longer hold those hurt feelings in my heart and I give that situation over to you. I also choose to walk away from any heartache, bitterness or anger I have about them. [If the person took something of yours like money, belongings or a promotion, add this next part] Lord, I know You are just and You see all and know all. I trust You that I will be restored and vindicated. I give you all the glory, honor and praise, in Jesus's name, Amen."
This simple prayer is HUGE because you're letting go of past hurts AND you're taking judgment away so God can handle the situation and fix it His way. This happened to me once. A girl I worked with was my manager. She made it hard for me and tried to have me fired but I prayed. The managers eventually saw what she was doing and fired her. They then gave me her job - so I received the promotion she didn't want me to have. But the HUGE step there was not judging. I could have gone to God and said, "Lord, she's a tyrant," or "Lord, she's just jealous." But, how many times have we been jealous of someone else? God wants us to not judge others so we won't judge. Hence, it's important that when you pray you ask God to judge and restore you. And, He will because God is just and He HATES when His kids (Us, His Children) are taken advantage of.
Homework: Every time you think about that person again, say to yourself, "I only have love, healing and forgiveness for (name(s)). That way you don't look back and you can be forgiven of the things you do because you're forgiving others.
Day 4: Tell Your Testimony
Today's challenge is simple. Share your testimony with someone. Maybe you've never given your testimony before. Some churches do this as a way to share how God works in their life. Maybe they prayed about something and God answered their prayer.
Testimony Examples: There was a young man on YouTube who shared his testimony recently. He lost his wife, two children, job and home to drugs. He became addicted to crack and one day while sleeping under a bridge in the wintertime, he prayed and asked God for help. He described how he felt the light of God warm his entire body and from then on his life changed. He received housing, went back to school and got a new job. Now, he's ministering for God!
But, who do you share your testimony with? Share it with a friend or tell someone you know like your neighbor or someone you meet. You might be giving change to someone that's homeless and you can say, "You know, God answered my prayers, too. I was once..." And, then tell a quick story about something God did for you. Sharing your testimony is important because it helps another person see how God showed up in your life and how He can help them, too.
Day 5: Turn the Devices Off
This challenge sounds really simple but it can be tough so pray and ask Father God to help give you strength with this one. What is the one thing you pick up every day that you can't go without? Is it your phone? Is it your remote for your TV? What about your gaming device?
Today's challenge is to turn it off for one day and replace it with something else. If you luv streaming movies, turn them off today. Instead, put on a few ministry messages. The goal is to have another filter feeding you information - that's not TV, games and videos. We're giving you the ministry messages so you have something to draw your attention. However, you can go cold turkey if you want but we understand it can be hard.
I have 2 neighbors who are addicted to their phones. I mean, they walk with their phones on everywhere. They leave to start their day with videos on their phones and they come home with videos playing. If they take the trash out? You guessed it. The videos are playing on their phones. Part of the reason you want to separate from the devices is they can become a type of idol worship where you can't put them down. And we're in a season where God is calling us to come out from among the crowds and lay down the idols. That means anything that separates you from God you should try to break away from. So fast for one day from your phone, games or TV. Check out the ministry messages. Read your Bible and pray. Anything that will break your flesh from the familiar and comfortable. And, trust me, I know this can be very hard.
One of the first times I fasted from TV I said, "Cool, no problem. I've got this!" Thirty-minutes later I was saying, "Seriously? This is impossible! Lord, please can't it be something else?" If you're already in prayer bargaining with God that you'll give up something else, this challenge is for you. Be determined that you can do it. Remember, it's only for one-day. We're praying for you!
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