Over the next three days I want to look at steps in implementing God’s vision for you. These are not “magical” ingredients that when you do them God’s vision automatically appears. When you put these habits into practice, you will be ready for God to work in and through you.
Step One – Pray
The first habit that you need to practice is prayer. We get so busy that we overlook one of the most effective and joyous elements of God’s vision. I have taken prayer for granted in all areas of my life at one time or another and my spiritual life has suffered for it. Prayer has become my lifeline for existence in a world that offers no hope. When I am discouraged, when I falter, when I am excited, or when I am on top of the world, I rely upon prayer to strengthen my life. When it comes to vision, prayer is a must. It cannot be ignored. And you shouldn’t pray out of obligation. You are praying because you want to know God, you want to be like Christ, and you want to live in the power of His Spirit.
Prayer is critical to vision development. Why? Because we see what we are looking for and often miss what we don’t expect to see. Prayer keeps us looking. It keeps our eyes and our hearts in the expectant mode. When God begins to move, we are only going to see it we are ready and watching. Even as we pray about and plan for the vision, it seems overwhelming and impossible. When God puts something on our hearts, it always seems out of reach (because it is). God ordained visions are always too big for us to handle.
When we are not able to see what God is doing around us, it is pretty clear that we do not have God’s vision. You have experienced it before. It is cold, devoid of any form of life. It is a gray place that you avoid because it depletes the life out of you. You may or may not know how you got there; you just know that it is not comfortable, and God is not there. The place I am describing happens when you do not have a life-changing prayer relationship with God. It is in times like these, that we turn to prayer and seek God to spiritually open our eyes to His presence and work. When we call upon the name of the Lord and cry out for help, He lifts us from this place and set us on solid ground. When Jonah was in his predicament, he knew one thing and that was to seek God, “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.” That it is it! When you don’t know where else to turn, turn to Him.
Nehemiah did not pray for God to rebuild the wall. He prayed for an opportunity to go rebuild it himself. That is the difference between a dreamer and a visionary. Dreamers dream about things being different. Visionaries envision themselves making a difference. Dreamers think about how nice it would be for something to be done. Visionaries look for an opportunity to do something.