Happy New Year! It’s officially 2021. We’ve crossed over into another year praise God. I know everyone has made their list of resolutions and goals including myself but one thing I’ve realized is that nothing is more important than having a strong relationship with God.
The year 2020 was super heavy for us all and we may have drifted away from God and into fear, anger, anxiety, worry, depression, sadness, and more. The good thing is that with the start of a new year comes a great time to hit the reset button on our lives and reconnect with God.
Here are a few ways to get your heart focused on God:
Unplug from social media and other distractions
Distractions come in many different forms and can definitely hinder our quest to connect with God. Social media can be one of our biggest distractions. There’s always news to watch, friends to keep up with and pictures to be liked. I bet if we checked the screen time app on our phone we would be shocked at how much time we actually spend on social media each day. If we are intentional about taking the same amount of time we spend on social media and use it to focus on God, we would see many changes in our lives. So whether it’s 1 month, 3 months or an entire year, try and take time to cut out social media and other distractions like movies and tv to get your heart focused on God.
Fast
Fasting is a great way to get your heart focused on God. Fasting is the process of removing food and other things from your life as a sacrifice to focus on God, pray, and hear God clearly. The most common way of fasting that’s listed in the Bible many times is fasting from food. Even Jesus fasted for a period of time to focus on His Father. Types of fasts include 3 days with no food just liquids, 40 days with only liquids, and the Daniel Fast which is basically no processed foods, no sugars, or starches. You can fast for as long as you want but the most important part of fasting is taking time each day to pray and spend time with God. If you do not pray and spend time with God, your fast is nothing more than a dietary change. You have to be very intentional about fasting.
In the Bible, fasts have been proven to be very powerful. Esther fasted with the people in her court before she approached King Xerses to ask to save her people. Jesus told the disciples that for some demons, the only way to get them to leave a person is by prayer and fasting. If you really want to reconnect with God, start your year with a fast. You can find helpful tips and Bible plans to keep you focused by downloading the YouVersion Bible app and searching for “fasting plans.”
So now that you have two ways that you can get your heart focused on God, you’re going to need help with what to do while you’re eliminating distractions and fasting. Make sure you download the FREE “4 Ways to Grow Your Relationship With God” guide that I created right here on my website. And you can also find more resources to grow your spiritual life in my blog found here. I personally will be starting my 21 day fast today and I’m very excited! I pray you join me on this journey and I want to hear how your January goes as you begin to focus your heart on God.