If you’ve been asking God why your breakthrough still hasn’t arrived, Pastor Troy Brewer says there may be more happening in the waiting than you realize.
In a recent message on breakthrough, Brewer revealed that an unexpected encounter with the Lord radically shifted his perspective on delay.
While away in Wyoming, Brewer woke up just as the clock moved from 11:59 p.m. to midnight. In that moment, he says the Lord called him to spend the night seeking Him about a breakthrough.
“I want to talk to you about breakthrough,” Brewer recalled sensing from the Lord.
Brewer obeyed. He prayed throughout the night and contacted other ministry leaders to join him in prayer and prophetic declarations. By the end of the next day, Brewer says he had filled two pages with breakthroughs, including 13 children rescued through his ministry and a green card breakthrough for a woman working at his church.
But Brewer’s larger message wasn’t simply about what happened after he prayed.
It was about what happens before the breakthrough.
“What precedes every breakthrough is the devil of delay,” Brewer said.
For Brewer, this isn’t theoretical.
He recalled how OpenDoor Church remained below 100 people for 18 years, despite prophetic words that people would someday come from across the country and even around the world to attend the church. The explosive growth didn’t happen overnight.
There were years—even decades—of waiting.
And that waiting, Brewer says, exposes something inside us.
“Delay will reveal your loyalty,” he said. “Delay will reveal if you trust in the character of God or not.”
This is where the battle can become dangerous. When God’s timing doesn’t align with ours, discouragement can quickly become doubt. Did God really speak? Did we misunderstand Him? Has He forgotten us?
Brewer warns Christians against allowing delayed circumstances to rewrite what they believe about God’s character.
“Delay is the proving ground where you prove your loyalty to what God Almighty has said,” Brewer said.
Brewer experienced this principle dramatically with his book Numbers That Preach. He says the manuscript existed for almost 19 years and sold fewer than 300 copies during that period. Then everything changed.
“And then all of a sudden, a suddenly happened,” Brewer said.
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The book eventually sold hundreds of thousands of copies as its reach dramatically expanded.
The lesson is simple but difficult: delay is not necessarily denial.
Brewer points believers toward Daniel 10, Galatians 6:9 and Isaiah 40:31 as reminders that waiting and spiritual resistance do not automatically mean God’s promise has disappeared. Instead, patience requires remaining faithful when there is no visible evidence that circumstances are changing.
And sometimes the pressure itself precedes the breakthrough.
In 2 Samuel 5:20, David called the place where God broke through his enemies Baal-perazim. Brewer describes this as encountering the “God of the breakthrough.”
So, if you’ve been standing, praying and believing without seeing movement, don’t automatically assume nothing is happening.
The delay may not be the end of the story.
Your responsibility in the waiting is faithfulness.
And, as Brewer told his congregation, “Your breakthrough is coming.”
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
