Now that Christmas is behind us, the thoughts of many of us are turning to the New Year.

• What lies ahead for us?
• What are God’s plans for our lives in the coming year?
• What promises does our Heavenly Father want us to lay hold of?

Many people are looking for prophecies for the coming year. They want to know what the prophets are saying.

Like them, you may be searching for that special word from God that your heart connects with; a prophecy that His personal message for your own situation.

Reading prophecies from others can be encouraging—but there is something even better available to you and me. We can hear God’s voice for ourselves [John 10:4-5].

I am going to share some keys on how to receive a word of encouragement for you directly from God for the coming year.

But first, here are some personal stories to let you know how powerful even a simple and straightforward word can be.

A Word From God can Change Your Life

One regular visitor to our church office this past year brought me a great deal of joy. It was Brian—a retired, single man whose life has been transformed by a word from God.

As 2009 drew to a close, Brian’s life was the same is it had been for a long time. He describes it now as a life characterised by sadness. Brian found himself unable to stop continually dwelling on hurts and pain from the past.

Reading the book ‘The Shack’ at around this time gave Brian hope that his life could be different. A word came to him: it was ‘Freedom.’

Then one of our prayer leaders gave Brian a printed copy of my blog post on how to receive a personal word from God for the year 2010. At the top of the page was a space that read, “2010: Year of ______ “

One Sunday at church, our pastor’s message brought life to Brian’s soul. He responded to God and heard the Father speak personally to him, ‘I will set you free.’ From that moment, Brian was powerfully delivered.

He then wrote on the blog article, ‘2010, Year of Freedom.’

During the following months, Brian would often bring in the printed blog post and show me the words ‘Year Of Freedom’ along with a growing list of scriptures he added to the page in his own handwriting.

God’s Word was building his faith, enabling Brian to continue in the victory Jesus purchased for him on the cross.

A Word From God Can Herald Breakthrough

Late in 2009, I was participating in a prophetic worship night at our church, when I had a vision.

I saw myself smashing down a massive plate of glass that had a nice, smiling, but superficial image of me on the front. Behind the glass, another, real, ‘me’ was waiting to break out: a warrior and leader, who would call people to serve Jesus and join His army.

At that moment, to my amazement, a team member took the microphone and sang a prophetic song of the Lord calling His people to war.

Realising that the act of smashing down was symbolic of repentance, I took time to repent of projecting an image of myself that I felt would make me acceptable to people and to God. This image was an idol, standing in the way of being all that my Father had created me to be. It was keeping me trapped in a lifestyle of performance. [1]

As 2010 approached, I was praying about God’s purposes for the coming year and the vision kept coming to mind, along with the words, ‘Break Out.’
I felt that God’s word for me was that 2010 would be a ‘Year of Breaking Out.’

The Hunk felt that God was saying something similar to him.

‘Breaking Out’ proved true for us on many fronts. We broke through some stuck places spiritually, as a couple, and in our finances. New ministry opportunities began to emerge for me personally.

A Word From God Can Sustain Us in Times of Trial

But the fulfilment of God’s word is not always comfortable.

In May 2010, ‘Breaking Out’ was to prove painful as I felt that God was leading me to lay down a ministry leadership role.

I shared this with mentors and leaders in my church, who confirmed this guidance was from the Lord. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was evident in the decision and in the handover to a new leader.

For a short time, I felt lost. I knew I had broken out into a new place, but had no way of defining what that was. Knowing that God ordained my ‘Breaking Out’ helped me to trust Him for my future.

It was not long before the Holy Spirit revealed the Father’s plan. As I enter 2011, an exciting new door of ministry is opening to me. [2]

How You Can Receive Your Own Word From God for the New Year

Here are some simple steps to waiting on God for a personal word for the coming year. Of course, you can receive a lot more than a single word—however, I have found that encapsulating God’s message for your year in one or two words can help you remember and focus on His purpose for you throughout the year.

1. Pray and ask your Father to give a word concerning His promise and plans for your coming year

There are many ways in which you might receive a revelation. He might speak through a through, scripture, a picture, an idea or some other way [3]

2. Pray and ask the Lord for any further insights about the word.

I like to look the word up in a dictionary or thesaurus to clarify the meaning, as well as pray and seek out scriptures that reinforce what God is saying

3. If the word goes beyond simple encouragement and compels you towards action or change, remember that principles of interpretation and accountability apply to the word [4]

What you can do with your word

1. Write down or journal about how you received the word and what it means to you.

2. Share it with those around your life who can rejoice with you when it is fulfilled and encourage you on when times get tough

3. Keep it in front of you throughout the year.

4. Review the word and its outcome at the year’s end. As I have done, you can reflect upon what God has done in your life throughout the year and how the prophetic word has been fulfilled.

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Would you like to share your own experiences or word from God? Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Notes:

For further prophetic inspiration for 2011 see my post, 2011 Can Be A Year Of Visitation From God

[1] If my thoughts about performance resonated with you, the following post may be helpful:

No Longer An Orphan: How I Discovered The Father’s Love

[2] I will be announcing this in a few weeks time. It’s very exciting… Stay tuned!

[3] For more about this topic, check the following post:

How To Receive A Revelation From God

[4] As I did in the above story, I advise submitting what appears to be a directive word, or guidance, to your church oversight. For more about how to determine whether a word is of God, the following posts may help:

4 Things You Can Do With Your Personal Prophecy

How Can You Tell If A Personal Prophecy Or A Dream Interpretation Is From God?

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© Helen Calder 2010    Enliven Publishing

http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

I sat in the office of a counsellor, head down in prayer. The visit was precipitated by difficulties in a ministry situation that had left me discouraged and heartsick.

At this point in the session, the counsellor was inviting me to look into my heart—to visualise, with God’s help, what was happening on the inside of me.

To my complete surprise, instead of the darkness she was verbally preparing me to face, I found myself in a vision:

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I was under water, looking up towards the surface, where a current was flowing swiftly. A thin layer of scum was being carried along and away by the fast-moving water, skimming across its surface. 

As I wondered what I was seeing, the vision changed. I saw myself at the bottom of a river, and Jesus was with me. Together we were pulling up weeds from the riverbed, laughing, enjoying the moment. The weeds came away from the river’s floor easily. As we raised our hands and released them, the current of the river caught them away.

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My problems were not difficult for the Lord to handle. In fact, I saw that He delighted in sharing this process—of identifying and removing what was not of Him in my life.
That day, I looked for pain and encountered my Saviour. The prophetic vision He shared with me changed my perspective and helped bring me healing.

Revelation Brings Heaven’s Perspective.

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless?”  (Gen 15:1-2)

Abram had a perspective problem. He was wealthy, but without an heir and without lands he could not comprehend how God could bless him.

The Lord responded by assuring him that He would give Abram a son and that his descendants would possess the land around him. Then:

‘He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”’ Gen 15:5

When God gives us prophetic revelation—whether in vision or otherwise—He enables us to see from heaven’s perspective.

• A vision from God changed Peter’s perspective about the Gentiles and facilitated the spread of the Gospel throughout the Gentile world (Acts 10:9-20)

• A vision of the Risen Christ overturned Saul’s perspective, transforming him from a persecutor of the church to a founder of many churches (Acts 9)

How can we tell whether a personal revelation is from God?

A revelation from God does not come cloaking own ideas; neither does it reinforce our opinions, suspicions or prejudices.

Instead, like a contact lens placed on a natural eye, a vision from God brings adjustment and focus.

The Holy Spirit enables us to see circumstances, others and ourselves as the Father sees them.

He transforms our viewpoint so we can see like Him—and ultimately become like Him.

• When we are discouraged, He brings hope
• When we are fearful, He speaks a word of faith
• When we are hungry to know Him, He reveals more of Himself to us
• When we are confused, He brings clarity
• When we are critical, He shares His love for another

Here are some more ways we can check whether a vision or revelation is from God:

1. Is it Biblical?

2. Does it reflect God’s character and wisdom?

3. Is it redemptive—speaking of God’s heart to save and restore?

4. Do you have an inner witness that it is of God?

5. If it concerns direction—does it have the confirmation of circumstances, your gifts and wiring, and other believers—including your leaders?

The Power of a Vision to Restore

If you could see what heaven sees for your situation right now, how would it change your viewpoint?

Years ago, we experienced division in our church. I was deeply hurt, and shared the opinions and grievances of my friends who had left the church. My heart was urging me to leave.

Standing in a service one day, I received a prophetic vision that brought heaven’s perspective to my situation. I stayed, repented, and was restored. And the rest, as they say, is history.

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Related Posts:

How Your Perspective Can Impact Your Destiny

Counterfeit Prophetic Vision: Don’t Settle For Less Than God’s Best

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 3: How Can You Tell Your Revelation Is From God?

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 2: How To Receive A Revelation From God

Need a Breakthrough? Uncover the Mysteries of Heaven

© Helen Calder    Enliven Publishing

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries