Right off the bat, it should be understood that there is not a magical formula or mechanical way to experience breakthroughs. The Bible teaches that God answers prayers and responds to our needs in His timing, and in ways that are best for us, which may not always come in the time or manner we’d prefer. This short essay isn’t about how to get what we want from God. Not at all! Remember, we pray to align ourselves with God’s will. In other words, we pray to change our mind, not to change God’s.
Sometimes a breakthrough is what’s needed. By breakthrough, I mean to ask God for help in a big way; perhaps breaking away from bad habits or extreme circumstances. This might mean a whole new direction in life, or something less extreme. There will be times when we need a breakthrough and when this happens, more should be done beyond our normal daily devotions and worship. Here are some pointers to consider when a breakthrough may be needed.
First, go to the Word for specific direction and clarity. Hear what God has already spoken. Before asking Him to move or act, consider that He’s possibly already addressed this concern in the Scriptures. Next, seek the face of the Lord. When the Bible says we should seek His face, it’s different from seeking His hand. Seeking the hand of someone is to want the blessing or accommodation that the person can provide. This isn’t always bad. But, seeking the face of the Lord means that it is intimate communion with God that I’m seeking. It’s a desire to know Him more; desiring more of Him in my life. It’s the relationship that matters! God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” The Psalmist writes in Psalm 27:8, “When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.” For more on the difference between seeking the hand and face of God, see my essay titled The Hand and Face of God.
Next, get raw and transparent with the Lord; expressing yourself with emotion. You can come to God with your anger, frustration, fear, passion, etc. Don’t come with a mask on. Psalm 62:8, “Pour out your heart before Him.” If your heart isn’t into it, you probably don’t care that much about it. Coupled with all of this ought to be a heart that is humble and that confesses sin. God doesn’t listen to prideful complaining, but He exalts those that admit their guilt and swallow their pride (James 4:6).
Next, bring others into your circumstances. The Bible says that there is great wisdom in seeking the counsel of others (Proverbs 15:22). Often times, when we let others into the deeper more challenging parts of our lives, they can see things that we have become oblivious to. Other perspectives matter and often times new solutions are revealed. In short, we ought to never keep our challenges isolated, but instead, there’s great value in bearing with one another (Colossians 3:13), encouraging one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and praying with one another (James 5:16).
Another appropriate step is to fast about it. Fasting demonstrate a greater depth of seriousness. More will be said about fasting below, but for greater detail about fasting, see my essay titled Fasting. In all of our seeking the Lord, remember to give Him thanks for His love and promises. Couple your requests with gratitude and thanksgiving! Despite what crisis we might be seeking a breakthrough for, there’s always endless reasons to be appreciative.
Regarding seeking a breakthrough, a great example comes from the book of Daniel, chapter nine. Daniel had read Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Israel’s captivity in Babylon. Daniel sought a breakthrough for his people and the angel Gabriel revealed to him God’s answer. This chapter reveals the heart of a man who prays for his people and who cries out to the Lord with a serious degree of humility and confession.
Notice the variety of approaches that Daniel involves when seeking a breakthrough. “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes,” Daniel 9:3. That word “attention” means to face, or to put in front of. Praying for breakthroughs starts by deciding that this encounter takes priority. With Daniel’s full attention, he set his heart to “seek Him.” Offering prayers is one thing, but seeking the Lord is another. Seeking involves desire. Next, we see that he offered prayer and supplication. These two words are often joined together, as seen in Philippians 4:6, “but in everything by prayer and supplication…” and Ephesians 6:18, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication…” Prayer is communicating with God, while supplication seems to be a type of prayer that entails wanting, seeking, or earnestness.
We see that Daniel joined his petitioning with fasting. Fasting is essentially giving up something, usually food, and replacing it with the pursuit of the Lord. Fasting shows God that you’re serious. Fasting shows that you’re in this for the long-haul and that this petition isn’t a trivial or fleeting whim. Lastly here, Daniel adorned himself with “sackcloth and ashes.” Sackcloth was a mesh fibrous material customarily worn in times of mourning and humility. Putting ashes on oneself often accompanied the sackcloth, as the ashes denoted a sense of worthlessness and added humility. All in all, Daniel is not making a show of himself before men, but is demonstrating a broken and contrite heart before the Lord (Psalm 51:17). Daniel is serious.
Going further into the chapter we can highlight the importance of confession when praying for a breakthrough. Confession means to speak in agreement with (“con” = with, and “fess” = speak), i.e. to align with what the Judge says about you. Observe the following confessions in verses 4-15, “I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed…we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances…we have not listened to Your servants the prophets. Open shame belongs to us…because we have sinned against You…we have rebelled…nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD…all Israel has transgressed…for we have sinned against Him…we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth…we have not obeyed His voice…we have sinned, we have been wicked.” Reading this, we can surely sense the depth of Daniel’s grief and the understanding of what the Hebrews had done. He agreed with the Lord.
After Daniel confesses, he dives into a series of heartfelt pleas and petitions. We see these in verses 16-19. “Let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away…listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications…let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary…incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see…O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! O my God, do not delay…” When praying for a breakthrough, we need to be this specific. Notice that Daniel isn’t barking commands at God, but he is rather speaking with a confidence in the kind of response that He knows God is capable of giving him.
Looking ahead at verses 20-23, while Daniel is deep into his seeking the Lord, the angel Gabriel visits him and brings an encouraging response from God. Notice an interesting statement that Gabriel makes, “At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you…” (vs. 23). Daniel was settled in for as much time as would be necessary in order to hear from the Lord. The Lord, who knows all things, and understood the sincerity of Daniel’s heart, had decided to respond to Daniel, “At the beginning” of Daniel’s supplications. Meaning, as soon as Daniel had set his heart to cry out to the Lord, the Lord was ready to hear and receive what Daniel had to offer, and God delighted in a quick response. This doesn’t mean that in all cases, when we seek a breakthrough, that God will act/reply in a quick manner. In fact, Jesus teaches His disciples the value of perseverance in prayer (Luke 18:1-8). Ultimately, we can trust God and His timing. So, in chapter nine, we don’t see the amount of days that Daniel prayed and fasted until Gabriel’s message had reached him. And at a later date, on a different occasion, we see that Daniel prayed/fasted for three weeks (Daniel 10:2) before his prayer was answered. The point in all this is to say that if you’re praying for a breakthrough, don’t give up! Breakthroughs are usually preceded by intense seeking, and opposition comes before the breakthrough, so, commit to being stronger than the opposition!