How has this year been to you? How much of your desires for the year have you got presently? Many times people end up regretting at the end of the year, but this shouldn't be. You can secure your New Year long before it starts. This post encourages you not to walk into the New Year carelessly as other years, but to rush in, ready for the best.

And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover - Exodus 12:11 (NKJV).

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry - Matthew 4:2 (NKJV). Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region - Luke 4:14 (NKJV).

Your preparation determines your speed and how far you will go in possessing all that is ordained for you in the New Year. What you do with your today determines what your tomorrow will be. YOU are the determining factor of your future. God is constant; He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

When God wanted to move the Israelites to the Promised Land, He instructed them to eat the Passover meal in a haste and all dressed, ready to go (Exodus 12:11). I believe this is symbolic. You are to be all prepared and in a haste to possess entirely what God has promised you in His word or personally.

Before Jesus Christ fully embarked on His assignment, He prepared for forty days and nights fasting and praying; after which He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit and news of Him was noised abroad (Luke 4:14). The Lord accomplished His assignment within three and half years with no delays.

Taking out some time to plan and prepare for the entire New Year will not be a waste considering the result you will get at the end. It is not wise to leave your future to chance, secure it in Christ. A wise man said that life does not give you what you deserve but what you demand. It's time to demand for God's word to be fulfilled in your life. If you walk into the New Year without any concrete and concise preparation, it will give you whatever it likes. If you say you don't have the time to plan and prepare, then you will be preparing to embrace whatever you see.

Fasting and praying is one important way to prepare for the New Year. In prayers you table your desires for the year before God and believe Him to bring those desires to pass (Psalm 37:4-5). Name them one by one and pray them into being. This will build up your faith and cause you to expect nothing less than what you have agreed with God. You will find yourself eagerly waiting for the year to come so you can rush in and possess your possession, riding on God's wings.

In conclusion, it is not wisdom to start a New Year without securing it in the spirit realm, because the spirit realm determines the physical realm. Do set apart a time with God to fast and pray, and the New Year will welcome you to your desired blessings.

Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor and author of "Peace Money Can't Buy" and "The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ". She has a passion to teach people how to enjoy peace, God's love, and Christian living for a more fulfilling life. Want a more fulfilling life?