Almost 8 months into 2021 and I feel like I am still reeling. And if I can be honest, I have fallen into a bit of hopelessness. It seems like the battles are mounting with no reprieve in sight. And yet, those are feelings, and we are called to be moved by faith, not by emotion.

“Do you have your eyes fixed on the breakthrough or the pressure?” -Nate Johnston

Personally, I have become a bit fixated on the negativity, the demise of our society, and fear for our children. I would love to confine my children to a bubble and never let them leave my protective arms. Then I think about the safety that comes from being under the shadow of His wings (Ps. 91:4, but please do read and pray the whole passage). There is assurance that comes with knowing WHOSE we are, an assurance that says we are never alone, an assurance that says HE is our covering, our strong tower, even when the world seems to be crumbling around us.

Stop, breathe, take your eyes off the circumstances and set your eyes on Him. Then, only then, can you look back at the situation with fresh vision and perspective. It’s not about us, it’s not about this country, it’s about HIM. We are created for His Glory; we are the “people of His pasture,” set apart to bring Him praise, honor, and worship (Ps. 95:6-7).

This is what the Lord says—

    he who made a way through the sea,

    a path through the mighty waters,

who drew out the chariots and horses,

    the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

“Forget the former things;

    do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

    and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me,

    the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

    and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

    the people I formed for myself

    that they may proclaim my praise. (Isaiah 43:16-19) (emphasis mine)

He is doing a new thing, He is making a way where there is seemingly no way, because our God has not changed! He is intimately invested in our lives; He is collecting our prayers, hearing our hearts and moving on our behalf, in HIS timing, and in HIS way.

I believe we do not understand the effect our prayers have in the spirit realm. As I was reading Revelation one day, some verses seemed to leap off the page: “Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Rev. 5:8). “The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God . . . Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth.” (Rev.8:4-5)

     What a marvelous image! When you pray, you are filling the prayer bowls of heaven. In God’s perfect timing, your prayers are mixed with the fire of God (His power) and cast back down to earth to change your situation. Your prayers don’t just bounce off the ceiling; they rise like incense before the throne of God.

    Even if you don’t feel like anything is happening in the natural world, when you pray, you are filling the prayer bowls in the spirit realm. When they are full, they will tilt and pour out answers to your prayers!  – Jentzen Franklin, The Amazing Discernment of Women

Our prayers are a fragrant offering to Him! As we speak HIS words aloud, they are LIFE-giving. When we partner with heaven, we become a part of the breakthrough!

 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

GOD IS STILL AT WORK

What the enemy has meant for evil…where he has used shame, slander, fear, blame-shifting, ungodly agendas, cultural bias…  But God! Where sin is no longer being called sin…  But God! Friends, we serve the God who is more than able (Eph 3:20), the God of the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps 50:10), the God who calls things that are not as though they be (Rom 8:17), the God who wastes nothing (Gen 50:20) and for whom all His promises are “yes” and “amen” in Christ Jesus – to the glory of God (2 Cor 1:20). THAT is the God we serve!

Read just a few of the encouraging headlines recently featured on IFA’s Headline Prayer:

• Answered Prayer: Homeschool Rate Surges
• Signs of a Cultural Shift in Process – This is Answered Prayer
• Another Answered Prayer! Desantis Signs New Law for Schools
• Answered Prayer – Gov. Signs New Bill That Christians Will Be Thankful About
• Answered Prayer! High Court Sides with Biblical Standards

Can you see it now? Can you see through the cloud of confusion, demise, destruction, the wilderness, the rubble that remains for what “truth” once was? Do not allow the reality of what is going on in our country today to become so consuming that you lose hope for breakthrough. While the enemy would love to use this season to settle us into inaction, apathy, acceptance, resignation or despair, remember WHO our God is!

Truth has not ceased being Truth – no matter what our world may say. The enemy has not won; the battle is not over. JESUS conquered death on the cross! His name is HIGHER than any other name!

Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father! (Phil 2:9-11, TPT) (emphasis mine)

Decide now to settle into hope again, into dreaming, into pressing forth for breakthrough, redemption, and recovery. The authority of heaven has been given into our hands (Mt 28:18-19) as Sons and Daughters of a King (2 Cor 6:18) and co-heirs with Jesus. (Rom 8:14-17)

Fill your spirit with words of worship as you listen to Breakthrough.

Do you feel hope coming alive again in your spirit? Share stories and scripture that remind you that we serve the God of breakthrough!