Praying the Future:
A Lesson from a Singapore Visitation
When I read my travel itinerary for January, something just didn’t seem right. It said that I would leave Thursday afternoon and arrive in Singapore on Saturday. “I must have a long layover in Hong Kong,” I thought. I was so convinced of a mistake that I almost booked a room in Hong Kong. As I examined the itinerary closely, I realized the two-day allotment was because it was already tomorrow where I was going. “That is amazing!” I said to myself. “I am traveling to tomorrow.”
What happened in Singapore proved to be a prophetic experience indeed. The forward jump in time, the forward-thinking people of this great nation, and the progressiveness of this thriving church, gave me the means to focus my mind beyond the past and the present. For these few days, I was literally living in the future and so I began to pray that way.
Praying the future is a powerful tool for breaking the power of the past. Satan knows the past and lives in the present, but only God lives in the future. When we get in the Spirit and pray about the future, the strength of God’s promises begins to pull us out of our present cycle and transforms our mind.
Thanks to jet lag, I woke up early Sunday morning. Though there was some warfare in the Spirit as I started praying, I had an unforgettable visitation from Jesus. It was as if He was physically sitting by me. I wept in His presence as we sat and talked. I shared my struggles and my past frustrations with Him. Then we talked about the future. I told Him my passion for Him and His kingdom. I rehearsed in His ears the promises He had given me that had yet to come to pass. I realigned myself to His purpose for my life. My future was secure in Him as long as I was secure in Him. What I longed for most was being with Him. It was pure joy in His presence.
Each time I have a visitation from God I receive what I call a breakthrough revelation. A breakthrough revelation is an unveiled truth that produces an immediate positive change in the practical application of our faith. Breakthrough revelations help us define faulty mentalities that hold us back, and they help us replace them with mentalities that belong to the place we are about to enter. With the gentle light of tomorrow coming over the horizon, God did such a work in my mind, soul, and spirit.
As the conversation shifted from me talking to me listening, I went and got a notepad and began to write. The Lord talked to me about the importance of focus. If the key word to define our struggle in 2007 was frustration, then the key word of caution for 2008 is distraction. The year 2008 will be filled with so many things happening that it will be hard to stay on task. To remain focused we must deal with the issue of distraction.
The Lord gave me two steps to stay focused: (1) write down everything you have been distracted by; (2) write down everything you have been distracted from.
Here is where the breakthrough happened. When I saw what I was being distracted from, I got a fresh perspective concerning my priorities. If distraction was not an issue, what would I be able to do and where could I put my focus?
Following is a breakthrough action plan for regaining your focus:
Step 1. Identify your priorities and state them as clearly defined objectives. God told the prophet to, “Write the vision and make it plain...” (Habakuk 2:2 KJV)
Step 2. Write the things that are distracting you from your priorities and ask yourself why. Choose to make your kingdom objectives more important.
Step 3. Share these priorities with the people closest to you. Create an environment of synergy and accountability to make it easier and more enjoyable to stay committed to the plan.
Step 4. Execute your objectives. Priorities mean nothing if you do not follow through. If you start to get off track again, don’t give up. Keep at it. It takes time to cultivate the discipline of execution.
You don’t have to go to Singapore to touch the future. Using these simple steps you can bring the future into the present. Make this your action plan for 2008—to daily walk in a new anointing, the anointing for your future.
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