We will always reach points in our life where we feel stuck and need to change. I moved out when I was seventeen. I have 9 brothers and sisters. We shared everything … rooms, bathrooms, hand me down clothes, toys, you name it. I wanted to have some space of my own. So I saved up my money (I’ve been working since I was 14) and moved out to a two bedroom apartment.
It was definitely a fixer-upper; I refinished the floors, painted, and fumigated – yes, there were roaches. But it was my own space. I didn’t know if I could make it on my own, but I went ahead and did it. I didn’t know the dangers, the responsibility, or see my need to still emotionally rely on my family. But that’s what innovation is.
Innovation is defined as:
- a new idea, device, or method
- The act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods
- Taking a known entity and then redefining its use, process, or engineering
- creativity
We usually feel the need to innovate when we hit an immovable obstacle in our lives. I have had to innovate many different times in my life, and it is in these moments I learned to believe in prayer.
Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all he is going to do for them.2 Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord.
2 Timothy 2:12 TLB
When we slow down and think about God, our obstacles become stepping stones for innovation. God is an innovator. He created the world when it was black and formless. He gave meaning and purpose behind each creation. He gave abilities to adapt situations, deconstruct complex problems and construct solutions that have benefited billions.
Our challenge is we often spend too much time stuck or thinking about ourselves and our problems and not enough time capturing a vision from God the innovator.
Innovation Comes From Prayer
When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives were only towards evil, 6 he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart. he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them.”8 But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord.
Genesis 6:5-8 TLB
The first step in innovating is identifying our obstacles. Spiritually, this scripture says our obstacle is that the natural direction of our lives is toward evil and away from God. We can even take good things and use them for sin. For example relationships that should be encouraging can become about using each other, and talents we’ve been given can become what we use for selfish gain instead of making the world a better place.
The Bible says this breaks God’s heart. At this point humans on earth had become so incredibly filled with evil and depravity God needed to start over. But Noah brought him joy. So God faced the obstacle and called Noah to innovate.
So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Genesis 6:13-14 TLB
God told Noah to build an ark – a large boat – 450 feet long, 45 feet tall, 70 feet wide. Need a visual? Many modern naval engineers use the same ratio when designing naval ships.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Hebrews 11:7 NIV
When Noah talked to God, God gave him a vision of innovation. That is what a real prayer is like!
The Bible says Noah worked “in holy fear” – meaning he was motivated and focused because of what he had to do. Sometimes in life your “want to” follows your “have to.” Innovation doesn’t always happen just because we want it to – sometimes it happens because we get to a place where we have no other option.
Noah went to work to save his family and it took him close to 100 years to complete the ark. A wealthy dutch man did it with a full construction company – Noah did it with seven other people (including women and children).
In the past, these spirits were disobedient—when God patiently waited during the time of Noah. Noah built an ark in which a few (that is, eight) lives were rescued through water. Baptism is like that. It saves you now — not because it removes dirt from your body but because it is the mark of a good conscience toward God. Your salvation comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
1 Peter 3:20-21 CEB
God’s same innovation is what gave us baptism. I believe God has been calling people to build (metaphorical) arks since the time of Noah. Baptism is an ark – an innovative solution that gets us close to God. God gave us the church as an ark. God gives us E-sports as an ark to save those of us who have special needs kids. He give us friendship and family as an ark to save us from loneliness. And he will give us more arks to help us with our specific situations if we will pray to him.
Five Innovative Prayers
There is a quote that says, “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” Prayer is like the constant pounding of water, time and time again until finally rock gives way. Prayer is the only way we can get the power and vision to innovate.
“Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him to strengthen him.44 Being full of pain, Jesus prayed even harder. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:42-44 NCV
Vision is not about what could happen but what must happen. Just because God gives you the innovation, doesn’t mean it happens quickly.
Lazy people don’t pray. We tend to quit too easily and drift too fast from prayer; we will talk to a person longer about things than we will pray about them!
What innovative thing will God do through you to change the world? A heart? A family? A future? Finding the answers to those questions starts with 5 innovative prayers.
1. Honest Prayers
During his life on earth, Jesus prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.8 Although Jesus was the Son of God, he learned to be obedient through his sufferings.
Hebrews 5:7-8 AMP
We might pray through circumstances but not always with emotional honesty. Emotional honesty is when we reveal our inner thoughts and pain, when we are vulnerable and honest. This is how we learn about our true heart, desires and needs.
When you are devoted to God you release your emotions, saying “I can surrender myself to you.” All prayer depends on this kind of surrender.
What do you need to be emotionally honest about?
2. Humble Prayers
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.
James 4:13 NLT
The passage doesn’t say you can’t have what you want, but you have to be honest about why you want it. In our pride we would often rather not ask to hide our motives, than be humble and receive.
It’s harder to be humble with God than people. When was the last time you told God you were sorry and lived out that apology with others? It’s easy to say sorry to people and not change what we believe or how we treat them.
If you’re stuck not helping more people, how much are you asking God? If your marriage is not changing, how much are you asking? If you want to own a house, how much are you asking? If you want to get out of debt, how much are you asking?
What do you need to be humble enough to ask God for?
3. Forgiving Prayers
Whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone.Then your Father in heaven will forgive your failures.”
Mark 11:25 GW
It’s hard to forgive when you won’t take responsibility for your own sin and its impact on others. But we will be burdened, alone and filled with distrust when we won’t forgive. We might even pray, but it won’t work because we want God to do something for us that we are not willing to do for others.
Forgiveness means saying “We can be close again, I will trust you again, I will be vulnerable with you again.”
If you are bitter, you don’t need someone to hear you out, you need to take responsibility for your part in the relationship. That’s the only way to get rid of bitterness.
Who do you need to forgive and restore your heart back for?
4. Determined Prayers
Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 AMP
There are things we have just stopped asking for. Have you ever felt things like:
- No one is going to give me anything
- I’ll take care of myself
- I don’t want to be owned by anyone
- I don’t feel like anyone has my back
These attitudes reflect self-reliance instead of faith and trust. God listens and cares about what we need.
What do you need that you have stopped asking for?
5. God-Centered Prayers
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
James 1:5-6 NLT
… A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.
James 1:7-8 GW
Do you think God says no more times than he says yes? The Bible says the opposite – God is generous! We need to change our view of God if we don’t see him correctly. Generous means lavish, openhanded, abundant, plentiful, charitable, unselfish.
God may say no sometimes, but he isn’t saying don’t ask. We don’t know how God’s answers all work together with the billion other people who are asking for the same things we are – sometimes you just might have to wait a little bit.
But he does and he has said yes far more times than he has said no or not yet.
We all have our mountains and we need God’s help to move them. When you believe in what you pray for, you wait and search for God’s answer.
Prayers that are honest, humble, forgiving, determined and God centered change the world.
“I’m not praying only for them. I’m also praying for those who will believe in me through their message.21 I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me.
John 17:20-21 GW
Jesus’ prayers changed the world. Do yours? Pick one of the innovative prayers to work on this week.
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This is Day 6 of our Prophetic Words. We believe that the best way for you to receive this information is to pray and have the Lord Jesus himself reveal what He has in store for you this year.
It really doesn’t matter what the world says about what will happen this year the Lord is more than able to protect you, provide for you and bring
Prayer for Divine Direction
you through any situation regardless of what is happening around you.
Just think about the 2 million Israelites that wandered the desert for 40 years – they had food, they had water, they never got sick, their clothes or shoes never wore out. That is miraculous because I am sure if anyone attempted to walk around in the desert for 40 years today they probably wouldn’t be able to go more than a few days without dying. Deuteronomy 8:4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
We serve a God of the miraculous. A prophecy for this year that concerns everyone else could be completely different for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is a God of personal relationship. He wants an individual relationship with you. Therefore, you need to hear from Him what His plans are for your individual life this year.
We’ve had a few days of cleansing to start out this process so that on Day 6 you are ready to hear and receive the message from the Lord.
The most important thing for you to know is that the Lord desires to prosper you and He has your best interest at heart.
God is more than willing to reveal His plan to you.
Psalm 138:3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
The key to getting the direction is making time for God and coming before Him with a clean heart. You shouldn’t enter into this time of prayer hurried or with a few minutes to spare. You need to at least have 1 hour to spend in the presence of the Lord uninterrupted. If you have more time alone that will be even better.
You need to be prepared with your bible, a notebook and pen to write down whatever the Lord is saying to you.
1. To prepare your heart to receive His word you must first come before Him confessing your sins. Here is a list of scriptural sins that you can use during this time. Or, you can ask Him to reveal to you the things that you need to confess and He will reveal them to you.
Psalm 66:18-19 If I had cherished sin in my heart,the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
2. You will then need to get into a place of worship and praising the Lord, you can use any Christian music for this.
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
3. Give thanks to the Lord for everything that He has done for you thus far.
Praise and thanksgiving brings you into the presence of the Lord. Confessing your sins removes anything that would stop Him from answering your prayers and removes the barriers that may prevent you from hearing Him.
4. Now it is time for you to ask and receive the instructions because your heart and mind is prepared to receive.
The following prayer is to ask for His Divine Direction and His prophetic word for 2013 for your life.
Merciful Father, thank you for forgiving me of my sins and for surrounding me with your love, mercy and grace. Thank you that as a child of God I can enter your throne room with confidence where I can receive all of your blessings (Hebrews 4:16). Thank you that the only mediator that I need to speak with you is Jesus whose shed blood on the cross covered all of my iniquities past, present and future (1 Timothy 2:5). Thank you that I need not be afraid to ask because I know it will be given to me and that when I come to you believing in faith You will indeed answer me (Matthew 21:22). I bind up any evil spiritual activity that may cause me to hear incorrectly and I cast them from my presence into a place where they will stand judgement before the Lord Jesus Christ. I close the ears of the enemy from hearing the plans you have for me. I blind the eyes of the evil ones from seeing it. I loose clarity of mind to receive this message (Matthew 16:19). Cleanse my mind from any preconceived notions or presumptions concerning my future as I want to hear it directly from you. Cause my mind to be opened and my ears to hear what You Holy Spirit is saying. This day I come to seeking direction, revelation and the plans that you have for me this year. Lord I need you to show me my future, what do you have in store for me in my relationships, my business life, and the ministry that you’ve given to me. I say to You speak Lord for your servant is listening and I wait for your instructions. I will write down every impression that you will give me to me now, every scripture that you will bring to my mind and I will trust in Your power to bring them to completion. I pray wisdom and understanding of what you show me so that I may make you delight in me as your servant in Jesus Name. Amen.
Now you wait. You write down every impression that will come to your mind and heart, any scriptures that you are given, any visions that you may receive at that moment and after tonight any dreams that you receive.
Trust that the Lord will speak to you very clearly through His word. Open your bible and begin reading the scriptures you received from Him. If He did not lead you to any specific scripture just open the bible and read until you get the message. Write down the scriptures in your notebook and what they mean to you.
With this information you will be ready for this year. The Lord may give you dreams and you need to write them down. Please be careful when sharing dreams with others. If you don’t understand the dreams, pray and ask the Lord to give you the interpretation. If you need an anonymous source for interpretation, please feel free to contact us if you need help interpreting any of them.
We are so excited for you. God wants you to be on the right track this year and walking in His will. Trust His message.
Continue with the final prayer in this series Prayer for Day 7 – Praying for Determination, Tenacity and Strength. You will be well on your way to a blessed year.
God bless you.
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Heavenly Father, I come to You with a spirit of admiration, adoration and praise as I seek your guidance. I bow at the foot of Your throne to honor You because of who You are. I Love You, I worship You and I give You the glory that is due to Your wonderful name.
Lord, You are my refuge and my fortress, my Strong-tower, My Deliverer. In You I live and have my being. You are the all-consuming fire that burns within me and I thank You for Your continued blessings.
Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
Psalms 105:4 Search for the Lord and for His strength. Seek His face always.
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Guidance in all endeavors
Almighty God, I pray for guidance in all my endeavors. Lead me through the paths of righteous, as I have been struggling with trying to accomplish tasks in my own strength.
Guide me, Father, as I listen attentively to the sound of Your voice. I want to be receptive to Your Call.
Bless me in everything I do and help me to rely solely on Your promises. I know that all things are possible because I believe in You. I can do all things through You, who gives me the strength.
Psalms 119:132-133 Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name. Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
Peter 2:9 – 10 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Guide me, Father, as I listen to Your voice. I am receptive to Your Call. Click To Tweet
God is bigger than anything you are facing
Today, I declare that You, my God, are bigger than anything I can possibly face, because my steps are ordered and directed by YOU.
I seek You, Abba Father, to be my eyes and my ears though all situations. I will praise your name, as You alone can satisfy the hunger and thirst that I have for You.
Thank You for these mercies, which I pray in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, SO BE IT… AMEN!
Psalms 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Psalms 25 19-21
See how many enemies I have; see how much they hate me.
Protect me and save me; keep me from defeat.
I come to you for safety.
May my goodness and honesty preserve me, because I trust in you.
Today, I declare that You, my God, are bigger than anything I can possibly face. Click To Tweet
Worship Song: God Will Make A Way
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So often in our lives happens the situations when we are lost or at least not sure how to behave. Sometimes it is so trying to make a decision and to choose the right way. You feel that you can’t rely only on your experience or on the advice of other people. You think that it is not the advice you need, it doesn’t lead to the peace in your mind and heart, you feel undecided and confused. The only thing that you want is some clarity in your thinking, some wisdom on which you could base your decisions. God is our Shepard, who guides us all in our life journey. We need to walk with Him, talk to Him daily. And of course, we can say a prayer for guidance, direction, clarity, and wisdom.
Prayer for Guidance, Direction, Clarity, and Wisdom
Everlasting Father, wonderful and counselor, you are the almighty God, the all-knowing and all-seeing God. Nothing is hidden from you, and even darkness is as plain as light before you. I praise and adore your holy name for who you are and for the things you do.
God, I approach unto your presence today in the multitude of your mercy; I know that you know my ways and I do not want to be wise in my own eyes. Thus, Lord, I ask that you lead me today and give me guidance, direction, clarity, and wisdom into your truth. God, order my steps by your Holy Spirit, let my choices be guided by your word, let me not go ahead of you.
I humbly ask for your guidance and direction today as I go through life. Please guide me in your love and lead me in your light that I may not fall into temptation, that darkness may not overtake me. God, I pray that you light my candle and enlighten my darkness. I pray for clarity in my situation. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
When to Say Prayer for Guidance, Direction, Clarity, and Wisdom?
A prayer for guidance, direction, clarity, and wisdom is a prayer we say when in need of counsel or light in times of confusion and trouble.
A prayer for guidance shows our absolute dependence on God for direction, wisdom, clarity, and inspiration. It is a prayer that every believer must consciously pray every day in order avail oneself of God’s help and direction in these changing times that we live in.
The prayer for guidance, direction, clarity, and wisdom is a vital prayer that one needs to pray daily. We daily make decisions, sometimes stand at crossroads and need direction. In all these situations we need a higher authority to lead and guide us the right way. Sometimes we don’t even notice traps or nets are in our way, but as we daily pray for guidance, the Lord directs us to victory.
We can’t afford to make mistakes that can cancel or dent our destinies hence; we daily desire prayers that the Father of light, the all-knowing God will give our heart counsel and guidance.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy parts” (Proverbs 3:5).
The word direct means guide. Never assume that your judgment is right, never try to figure out things on your own, learn to say the prayer for guidance, direction, wisdom and clarity in all you do and God will keep you on track.
You need the prayer for guidance in a time of the battle. Your battle may be financial, spiritual, emotional, marital, parental, leadership, etc. If you will learn to trust God with all your heart, humble yourself and pray for guidance, direction, wisdom, and clarity. The Lord will deliver into your hands divine strategies that will give you the victory.
Not by power, by military strength or by political strategies, but by the Spirit of God mountains can be moved. Pray to Him for guidance today, and He will surely lead you into victory.
Also read: PRAYER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
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