Do you need a breakthrough in your life right now? Whether it’s in the realm of your faith, family, health, finance or elsewhere, I believe that the breakthrough God has in store for you is closer than you realize. It’s possible to see God bring the supernatural change you desire in life by partnering with Him, taking hold of His promises and pressing into His plans and purposes.
Paul Daugherty
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 92:12-13, Matthew 19:26, Philippians 3:12-13
Are you needing a breakthrough in your life right now? Whether it’s in the realm of your faith, family, health, finance or elsewhere, I believe that the breakthrough God has in store for you is closer than you realize. When I think of breakthrough, I picture plants that grow through concrete. It seems impossible, but things that are alive always breakthrough things that are dead. With God on our side, even if things look dead all around us, we can breakthrough in victory.
It reminds me of the time I had the chance to sit down with a well-known worship leader and we talked about how he got started in ministry. He said that for years he led worship at a dead and dry church and it felt like, weekend after weekend, he was just a hammer hitting concrete. After seven slow years of believing for a breakthrough, God brought revival to their church and city.
He went on to tell me that breakthroughs in life happen through faithfulness and persistence. It’s not always shiny, but it’s solid. Sometimes we simply have to have the audacity to believe God long enough, not lose hope and hold onto His promises no matter what comes.
There’s a well-known worship song called “God Bless the Grass” about how grass can grow through concrete—it’s a great song that inspired me to write a poem called “God Bless the Concrete.” When the enemy tries to hold you back and keep you discouraged, sometimes you have to get proactive in your faith instead of reactive and declare breakthrough over your life.
God bless the concrete that was laid over me,
for it caused me to see I was born to break free.
Yes, the concrete brought me to God on my knees,
for power to rise above that which tried to bury me.
See when they rolled the stone over Jesus that day,
Satan thought he had won the battle in the grave.
But there’s nothing strong enough to bring our God to defeat,
and he proved once and for all He was the Lord over concrete.
So, if you feel like you’re buried and the concrete has been laid,
remember Jesus’s power when he rose from the grave.
And when you see grass growing through the concrete,
maybe God placed it as a reminder: you’ve got the victory!
If you feel like you’ve been buried under concrete, if you’re desperately needing a breakthrough in your life, if you’re hungry for God to do a new thing in and through you, then it’s time to persist in prayer, persist in a proclamation, persist in praise, persist in purpose and persist in power.
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, thank you for your constant love and grace toward me. In the areas of my life that feel like they have been buried under concrete, I ask for you to bring fresh life and breakthrough in ways that only you can. Holy Spirit, do a new thing in me and make the seemingly impossible situation that I’m facing possible by your power. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Day 2
Scriptures: James 5:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalms 116:1-2
Persist in Prayer
How do you see God bring a breakthrough in your life? By persisting in prayer. Prayer is powerful—it’s not just a tradition or a guideline of words to read out loud, it’s engaging with the Almighty God and believing what Jesus said: that when we ask for anything in His Name, our Father in Heaven will give it to us.
The prophet Elijah was a human just like you and me, yet his heartfelt and effective prayer brought rain to a nation that had been in a drought for just over three and a half years. When Elijah first prayed for rain, it looked like nothing happened. He told his servant to go out and look toward the sea, and he returned to tell him that he didn’t see any signs of rain.
We’ve all been there before; maybe you prayed for God to move but didn’t see Him do it in your initial timeline. Can I encourage you to keep on praying? Elijah told his servant seven more times to go and look for rain. Finally, the seventh time, his servant came back with good news: there was a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.
Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers. He loves it when you come to Him with shameless audacity and ask Him to intervene on your behalf. So, let’s persist in prayer—if we don’t see something happen right away, it’s not time to give up, it’s time to keep praying. I’m sure Elijah’s servant thought he was crazy when he kept asking him to check for rain after six trips to the sea, but on the seventh time, he saw a rain cloud. Not everyone will understand why you keep believing God to be faithful to His promise, but what matters is that you keep praying.
When was the last time you asked God for something crazy? God’s will for us is to rejoice always, pray continuously, and give thanks no matter what comes our way. Never stop praying! Never stop believing God to do the impossible! Never stop asking Him to come and breakthrough in your life! It’s time to persist in prayer.
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, teach me how to persist in prayer. Show me what it means to commune with you, be in fellowship with you and never stop praying. Thank you for stirring bold prayers within my spirit and empowering me to step out in faith and believe you to do the impossible in my life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Day 3
Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:4-7, Proverbs 18:21, Psalms 27:13
Persist in Proclamation
The breakthrough you’re believing for will require you to persist in a proclamation. There is power in proclaiming the promises of God! Faith believes something in the heart and speaks with the mouth. It’s vital that you align what you see on the inside with what you say on the outside.
The power of our words is a theme throughout scripture. The power of life and death is in the tongue—we’re called to speak life into dry and dead bones like Ezekiel, prophesy through the leading of the Holy Spirit like the disciples and create the world around us by calling things into existence that are yet to exist like God!
Our words frame our world, for better or worse. It’s time to start speaking the promises of God and the breath of God over your life. Get persistent with your proclamation! When Elijah was believing for a breakthrough of rain in their land, he spoke words of faith into their situation.
Elijah told his servant to go eat and drink because there is a sound of heavy rain. After his servant left, Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and knelt on the ground with his face between his knees and started to pray. He heard the rain in the spirit before he saw it in the natural. There was no rain—yet. But he had eyes of faith and spoke out the promise of God even when it looked ridiculous, crazy or impossible.
What breakthrough are you believing God for? Whether it’s healing, reconciliation, restoration, provision, or the salvation of a family member, persist in prayer and persist in a proclamation. Don’t give up and don’t back down, keep standing in faith and declaring the promise and power of God over your situation and watch as He shows up and shows off on your behalf!
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, show me the power of my words and help me to persist in the proclamation with what I’m believing for you to do! I want to see what you see with supernatural vision, not just my natural eyes, and speak with words of faith. I believe that your goodness and love follow me all of the days of my life and that there is power in the incredible name of Jesus! I speak the name of Jesus over situations in my life that need your breakthrough, and it’s in His name that I pray, amen.”
Day 4
Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9, Habakkuk 3:17-18, Psalms 145:1-3
Persist in Praise
Do you worship Jesus only when your life is going well, or do you push through and worship him even in the pain? Our circumstances should never dictate our praise. We worship God because He is worthy of our worship—forever and ever, all of our days, no matter what we’re walking through! We have to learn how to persist in praise before we see the breakthrough we’re believing for. While we wait, we worship. While we wait, we sing. While we wait, we praise.
When we praise through, God will come through. There’s a story recorded in Acts 16 where Paul and Silas were flogged and thrown in prison. It was about midnight and they decided to sing and worship God with all of the other prisoners listening. All of a sudden, a violent earthquake came and the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. The Spirit of the Lord broke them free!
While Paul and Silas were persisting in praise, the Holy Spirit was on the move. Not only were they freed from prison, but the jailer who was working to contain them actually came to believe in Jesus through their testimony and he and his whole household were saved! When God breaks through, it’s for you but it’s also for others. Your story of God’s miraculous power at work in your life will bring healing, salvation, hope, and encouragement to the people around you.
It reminds me of when the Lord told Joshua to march around the city of Jericho for seven days with the priest carrying trumpets and rams’ horns in the front of the ark. He instructed them that when the horns were blown, the entire army was to give a loud shout and then the wall would collapse and they would take the land. God told them to put the worshippers, the people who would persist in praise, at the front lines! Praise is actually a powerful weapon against the enemy.
While you’re waiting for the Lord to bring the breakthrough, partner with Him by persisting in prayer, persisting in proclamation and persisting in praise! Sing about the goodness and greatness of God. Remember His kindness and faithfulness to you throughout your life. Thank Him for His never-ending and unconditional love. Persist in praise because He is worthy!
Pray with Me: “Heavenly Father, you are worthy of my praise! There is no one like you in Heaven or on earth. You are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Creator who knows the stars in the sky by name and yet you love me personally and unconditionally. While I wait for you to move miraculously in my life, I will press on and praise your holy Name. Invade my heart and change me in the process to become more like your Son. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Day 5
Scriptures: Acts 13:36, Philippians 3:10, Philippians 2:12-13
Persist in Purpose
The breakthrough you’re waiting on in life will require you to persist in purpose. When I think about persisting in purpose throughout the highs and lows of life, I immediately think about the Apostle Paul. When Paul was a prisoner sailing to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, the ship he was on got shipwrecked and they ended up crashing to the shores of the island of Malta.
In between the ship breaking down and God bringing the breakthrough to move forward, Paul persisted in his purpose. Though he was in chains as a prisoner, he never stopped leading for the cause of Christ. Paul prayed for the sick on Malta and shared the gospel with the people living on the island. What started out as a detour quickly became a divine appointment.
Setbacks in life often set you up for a breakthrough. Paul wasn’t expecting to be a prisoner, experience a shipwreck or find himself on the island of Malta, yet he walked through everything with one purpose: to magnify the name of Jesus Christ and see His name lifted high throughout the earth. He had determined his purpose long before his plans went astray—in Philippians 3:10 he wrote to the church in Philippi and said that his determined purpose was to know Jesus, both in the power of his resurrection and his suffering.
When we know our ultimate purpose, to know Jesus and identify with Him in all things, then we can persist in the plans and purposes of God for our lives no matter what we face! Paul knew that no matter what he found himself facing in life, he would persist in the purpose of knowing Jesus deeply and rejoicing in Christ no matter what situation he found himself in.
What about you? Will you persist in purpose in both the hard times and the good times? Will you walk with God no matter what comes your way? He leads us from strength to strength and empowers us to walk as victors, not victims, even through challenges! You are a child of God. He is with you. He is moving behind the scenes on your behalf. He is working all things together for your good. So, as you trust Him while you wait for your breakthrough, persist in purpose!
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, work in me the power and desire to do what pleases you. May I live with the determined purpose to know Jesus intimately and deeply while I walk the path you’ve put before me. I want to persist in purpose when things get challenging and fulfill everything you have before me to serve You in this generation. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Day 6
Scriptures: John 11:38-44, 1 Corinthians 4:20, Luke 9:1-2
Persist in Power
As followers of Christ, we’re called to persist in His power as we walk with Jesus into every situation. Jesus empowered us with His Holy Spirit to bring His Kingdom to earth—in fact, in 1 Corinthians 4:20 Paul wrote that the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. The life of faith was never meant to be safe and comfortable, but miraculous and life-transforming!
When Jesus was commissioning his twelve disciples to go proclaim the good news, he gave them power and authority to drive out demons and cure all diseases. Jesus doesn’t send us out to reach the world without help or hope, no—He gives us His very own authority, power, and mission—to preach the gospel and extend His Kingdom throughout the earth!
Jesus is our example of how to walk in the supernatural power of God. He was always in step with the Father, doing what he saw his Father do and saying what he saw his Father say. After Lazarus died, his sisters Martha and Mary told Jesus that if he would have been there, their brother wouldn’t have died. Jesus showed up four days after Lazarus had passed and then miraculously rose his dear friend from the grave.
Sometimes we can relate with Mary and Martha when we’re waiting for a breakthrough—since Jesus didn’t show up the first, second, or third day, we can give up hope. But if we can just hold on until the figurative fourth day, the day where it looks impossible and almost ridiculous to stay standing in faith, I believe that God will show up in His perfect timing. While we wait, we must wait with faith for God to do the miraculous.
We can’t make our theology match our experiences in life, but rather we must take it from the Word of God and the life of Christ! Jesus walked in the power of the Holy Spirit and gave that same Spirit to us. We are called to live a supernatural life and see the miraculous ability of God at work in our lives. When things don’t make sense, when we wrestle with pain and doubt, and when things don’t turn out how we thought they would, we still press on and persist in the power of God. Don’t give up, keep on believing for God to do the impossible in your life!
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, show me what it means to walk in your power, strength, and authority. I desire to see you do the impossible! I want to know your miraculous breakthrough ability in my life as well as in the lives around me. You are the God of the impossible, so help me to live a supernatural life through Your Spirit! In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Day 7
Scriptures: Romans 8:31-32, Proverbs 16:3, 2 Corinthians 2:14
I believe that God is bringing the breakthrough to your life that you’ve been waiting for. He is our great deliverer, our faithful rescuer and the hope of the world. His love for you is powerful and unconditional—He has not overlooked you; He sees you exactly where you’re at and promises to walk with you through it all.
If you find yourself in a space of waiting for God to bring healing, provision, reconciliation or salvation to a loved one, perhaps it’s time to partner with Him in the process by persisting in prayer, proclamation, praise, purpose, and power. Get on the offensive spiritually and put on the armor of God so you can stand strong through the battle!
As we wrap up this plan together, I want to pray and declare over you the same prayer that the apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:16-21:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (Emphasis added)
Our God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine! He is good and He does good. His love is toward you and for you. His power is at work within you. You never walk alone because He is with you. The personal love of Christ for you is wider, longer, higher and deeper than you could ever know.
I’m confident that the breakthrough you’re believing God for is on the way because we serve a Savior who is passionate about His people and alive and active on the earth today! Jesus broke through on the cross and broke free from death for you and for me so that we could go from death to life, from the grave to His goodness and from failure to freedom. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and He will breakthrough for you.
Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, I know that you are able and willing to do immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine, so I choose to live my life praying bold prayers and seeing big breakthrough! Not just for myself, but also for those around me. Let our lives be testimonies to your goodness and power that point people to Jesus! In His Name, amen.”