How to Activate Your Priorities
We are in a time of rebirth: a time to move from spectating on the bench to being active in God’s Kingdom. When we step away from the bench and onto the field, we have a powerful testimony.
God wants you to overcome…
- By moving away from waiting into walking
- By moving away from an orphan spirit into a spirit of sonship
- By moving away from bondage into freedom
Set Priorities. Commit to Change. Repent.
In order to move from spectator to active on the field, you need to set your priorities for God’s Kingdom. You will have to change certain thoughts and behaviors in your life so that you can move forward in this new era.
In our flesh, change can be scary. But with God, all things are possible. Resist the temptation of fear and put your trust in God.
It is Time to ACT: Apply. Change. Transfer.
- Pick Three Priorities: Decide to APPLY Something New. Write down three areas in your life where you want to see the Holy Spirit work. Perhaps these priorities focus on strengthening your family, marriage, finances, or health. These priorities help you focus on where God is taking you in the next season.
- Commit to Two Changes. Decide to Make a CHANGE to Your Behavior. Perhaps it is committing to more time in the Word or sowing a monthly seed to align your finances. Whatever these changes are, they are opportunities for the Holy Spirit’s manifestation to be visible in your life and bring you into the presence of God. Choose two changes you want to make.
- Confession and Repentance. Decide to TRANSFER Your Sin under the Blood of Jesus. After you have decided to set priorities and make changes to your behavior, it is time to repent of the sin that has been holding you back. When you do this, it transfers the sin from you and places it under the blood. Repent of the sin that is influencing, endangering, and causing you trouble.
Important Note:
You cannot make these changes without the Holy Spirit. If you attempt to make these changes in your own strength, you will fail. If this is you, spend time repenting of this mindset and ask the Holy Spirit to take over your soul—your mind, will, and emotions.
Start on Your Knees in Prayer
The entire process of setting priorities and activating them always starts in prayer. As you pray, situations and circumstances begin to shift in the atmosphere. Things in your life begin to fall in line because you are bringing your soul into alignment with God’s will.
In other words, through prayer, your mind shifts to the mind of Christ.
Understanding How to Pray:
The disciples asked Jesus how they should pray (see Luke 11). Jesus’ instruction on prayer started with a declaration. He said, “When you pray, say…” (Luke 11:2).
Prayers activate your priorities.
In Luke 11:2-4, Jesus gives words to this action step. For us, as sinners who want to see the Holy Spirit change us from spectator to active player, we often enter into prayer with a carnal mind.
Use Jesus’ model of prayer…
- Proclaim the identity of the One you are talking with, your Father in Heaven.
- Ask the Lord to align your soul with the Spirit so that you can access and understand what is written in Heaven and make it manifested on earth.
- Be specific about your need. “Lord, I have set three priorities for your Kingdom purposes and need to see them manifested in my life.”
- Confess sin that stands in your way and tell Him you are committed to change. This demonstrates humility and trust.
- Remind Him that it is only by the blood of the Lamb and by His Word that transformation can be made, thus giving you a testimony and victory.
- Agree with His Word. When you agree with His Word you are telling Him that you have a humble and teachable heart.
Understanding How to Walk:
We are to walk empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, not in constant conflict and offense. Ephesians 5 gives us a picture of what it looks like to be an imitator of Him.
- Walk in Love
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”—Ephesians 5:2
- Walk in Light
“…Walk as children of light… finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”—Ephesians 5:8, 10-11
- Walk in Wisdom
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. …be filled with the Spirit,”—Ephesians 5:15-16, 18
- Walk in Unity
“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.”—Ephesians 5:29-30
Key Point:
In short, love your neighbor as yourself. The more you are in the Word, the more the Spirit will reveal what to pray for. Then He will give you the wisdom to accomplish it.
Be Stronger in the Lord
Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in Lord and in the power of His might.”
If you want to activate your priorities and see them manifested in your life, you must be stronger in the Lord.
How?
- Be stronger in the Word. Spend time every day in the Word. Put it to memory so that you can use it as the sword God intended to cut the enemy’s schemes out of your life. These schemes are designed to hinder your priorities.
God’s Word is a two-edged sword that can destroy any stronghold. When you use it, no weapon formed against you will prosper (see Isaiah 54:17).
- Be stronger in the Holy Spirit. This means to commit to taking every thought captive and surrendering it to the Spirit. Let the Spirit, not your emotions, order your steps. Pray, worship, and walk according to the Spirit and His influence in your life will grow.
When you do these two things, it creates a balance in the atmosphere for your priorities to prosper.
Steps to Activate Your Priorities
Go from being a spectator to having a testimony.
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
Activate:
To activate your priorities, believe Jesus’ words!
- Ask. Write down the three priorities you want to see manifested.
- Seek. Seek to hear how the Holy Spirit wants to manifest the changes necessary to prosper your priorities. Pour truth into your life and eliminate things that hinder your manifestation.
- Knock. When you ask by faith and expect God’s promises to be manifested, you are knocking. Jesus said that door will be opened to you.
- Pray. Pray God’s promises, which give your priorities alignment, by faith.
Example: Job 22:27-28
- “You will make your prayer to Him…” You can boldly approach God’s throne as His son or daughter.
- “He will hear you…” When you turn to the Lord, He hears you.
- “And you will pay your vows...” The enemy cannot use financial curses against you when you sow a seed with a cheerful heart.
- “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” When you declare the priorities God has written for you in Heaven, they will be established.
Seal:
Seal the activation with scripture and prayer. For example, use a psalm, such as Psalm 66:1-20, and turn it into a prayer to activate your priorities.
Example:
“Father God, I thank you, in Jesus name. You are my heavenly Father and I honor your name. Lord, I declare that your Kingdom will come, and your will be in my three priorities [state your priorities].
“Father, I trust you to empower me to change [state your two changes]. And Lord, I ask that your blood expunge any sin and transgressions within me, whether committed by me or my family line.
“Thank you, Lord, that you have freed me from all iniquitous structures and sin that comes to kill, steal or destroy my priorities. Lord, thank you that I am not overwhelmed.
“Thank you for empowering me with the necessary changes to prosper my priorities. Great and powerful is your faithfulness. I take your Word and Spirit and I receive your love. Christ in me is my hope and glory.
“You have called me friend, and I seal the successes of these priorities with Psalm 66:1-20… [pray Psalm 66:1-20].”
If you want to receive a more in-depth look at these steps, click HERE and watch Curt Landry’s teaching entitled, “Activating Your Three Priorities.”