Transition Series – Desiring His Favor Over Conventional Wisdom

Don’t allow preconceived ideas or your own understanding or common sense mess up His process. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6; NASB). It is very challenging for me to know, sometimes, when to follow common sense, because I know some Christians that don’t believe in it at all. They just want to live in some spooky, spiritual world, and they have no common sense whatsoever. It’s hard at times to leave that spiritual place and go a way that seems to contradict conventional wisdom, or common sense. Most of the time, the Lord’s leadings fall in line with what He has taught me over the years. Sometimes, He clearly confirms to me what he wants me to do and it is very unreasonable. I’ve been taught to follow the favor. I’ve been taught to listen to my earthly father. When God is leading us to do something that seems to contradict what is conventional, you’ll need checkpoints all along the way. Don’t allow preconceived ideas to counteract what you know He’s telling you to do.

Everywhere I go now, people come up to me and ask me when I’m going to send out another call to prayer for elections. They say they are waiting on a Word for the nation. I always say, “If I get one, I’ll send it.” In 2000, I sent out a prayer letter regarding the elections that was anointed of the Lord. He led me to write it and it went to a couple million people in about 24 hours, then it went to millions around the world. This was before social media. It went out by email everywhere. It was really used by the Lord to motivate prayer for America. I could write another one. I could just ask people to pray. I could summon up some passion about the condition of things right now. But, try as I might to get the Lord to give me something, if I don’t have a Word from the Lord, I’m not going to do it. He won’t be able to bless it.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not trust in your own understanding. Agree with Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6; NLV)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

  • Embrace His rest. Embrace His grace. Embrace His favor.
  • Pray for wisdom. God shows us through Solomon that He wants to provide it.
  • Now, ask Him for direction, and in His peace and grace, what is He saying to you? Don’t be afraid of whatever it is, even if it does not make sense! Ask Him how you can carry it out. Do you need to speak, to write, to connect with or organize others? Do you need to fast and pray alone for a number of days. Do you need to give into something? Whatever it is, run it by your leaders, team members, mentors, family and closest friends, then go for it.
  • Focus on the Family recently put up jumbotrons in Times Square, New York, and showed an ultrasound, so everyone could see the life in the mother’s womb. Alive in New York took guts and a lot of money, but God directed it. Pray that many lives were saved from its viewing. Pray that many minds were changed! Pray for every dime of the cost to be covered!
  • Pray for other organizations, like Save the Storks and March for Life, that help women see the life within them as a baby.
  • Click here and here to learn more about how ultrasound images save lives.
  • Let’s believe God for more God-breathed ideas, and the favor to carry them out.

A prayer you can pray:

Father, we, Your people, have the keys to the kingdom in our hands. However, we don’t always know how to move forward with them. You will need to help us. Some of us can spend hours and days alone in Your Presence. Others of us hear You on the go. None of the “how we hear You” matters, as much as knowing for sure that we do. We want Proverbs 2:5-6 to be our reality. There is a time to seek You and a time to do what You are telling us. When You say something that seems beyond our ability, our personality, our faith, our financial capacity, we question it. Rightly so. However, when we are sure it is You, then we have to push past the naysayers, and trust You will grant the favor to accomplish the impossible feat. The “You” things are the great things. Those are the things that change the world and advance Your Kingdom in leaps and bounds. Things like the “Alive in New York” event that Focus on the Family just hosted in Times Square. Things like starting a ministry with vans full of ultrasound machines, so pregnant women considering abortion could see the little faces of the infant they are carrying. A God-idea that has saved many lives! Without Your favor on these ideas, they could never come to pass. Give us more, Jesus. More ideas, more favor, more faith, more boldness. More and more! Amen.

Today’s decree:

The world is waiting for people clothed in God’s anointing and favor to bring His life to this nation!