Clarity of Focus Will Carry You Through
We can look at Nehemiah in the Bible as a groundbreaker. In his time, he was a person whom the Lord placed strategically to bring reformation and restoration as well as to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. What Nehemiah carried should be an eye-opener to us prophetic ones, as we are entering into a season of rebuilding, reassignment and swift change. Our prophetic ears and eyes should shift towards Nehemiah as an example and illustration of how we can navigate this season in which we live. We are: contending and begging the Lord for the rebuilding, asking for favor to carry out our assignment and overcoming immense discouragement. Nehemiah kept a clear focus on the goal of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, even in the face of great adversity.
Your Prophetic Promises Have an Adversary
Once Nehemiah and his cohort had successfully rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, the enemies of the Israelites rose up. It’s a prophetic picture of opposition that we cannot overlook. As we cross the threshold of the prophetic promises God has placed over our lives in this season, often that advancement will irritate the enemy and cause him to try and strike back. How do we push through the enemy’s traps and assaults, to walk fully into our promise from God?
Clarity of Focus
Setting a perfect trap to entice Nehemiah and pull him away from finishing the reconstruction, the Israelites’ enemies rose up intending to harm him. “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono,” they said to Nehemiah. (Neh. 6:2, NASB). Receiving prophetic revelation from the Lord–”they are planning to harm me” (Neh. 6:2)—Nehemiah sends a message back to them. “I am doing a great work and cannot come down” (Neh. 6:3). I believe this is a key mindset for us in this hour! Nehemiah tuned into what God was saying, and tuned out the adversarial voices.
Clear Focus Will Carry You Through the Testing
Just recently, Holy Spirit woke me up at 4:30 in the morning to speak to me. I love Holy Spirit wake up calls! Through a profound encounter with the Lord, I heard the phrase, “Clarity of focus will carry you in this season.”
The following questions were then presented to me by the Lord. “Who are you listening to right now? Is My voice the loudest?” I heard Him ask.
Let us not forget that as Jesus was just baptized and received the blessing and public honor from His Father, He was then led into the desert for a season of testing. Before He would begin to minister, deliver His first sermon and perform His first miracle, there was a time of testing from the enemy.
The devil met Him there in the desert and tempted Him when Jesus was weak from fasting. In our weakened state, the enemy tries to hit us and get us off course from reaching the promises of God for our lives.
What sustained Jesus and helped Him fight off the enemy was the Word of God! “It is written …” Jesus quotes Scripture back at the enemy’s attacks, and the enemy loses his grip and has to try something else. We cannot overlook this. The power of the written Word of God breaks the enemy’s grip and causes him to back away from us.
So when the Lord said to me, “Who are you listening to right now?” and “Is My voice the loudest?” I felt pressed to get more of the Word of God in me during this season. It’s a key to unlocking the promises over our lives.
Refocus, Find Direction and Step Into Your Assignment
“Where are you going right now? What is the assignment I gave you for this season? Refocus and find your direction,” I heard the Lord say next.
“Refocus and finish well” was the challenge presented to me that day. What has the Lord assigned to you? Often, as we wait for a promise to come, discouragement steps in and tries to get us distracted and off course. When Nehemiah was so close to finishing the construction of the wall, distraction tried to pull him away. His response is awesome: “I can’t come meet you right now. I have to finish what God has given me to do!”
Nehemiah recognized that it was the plan of the enemy to set him off course and also do him harm. When you are close to finishing or walking into the promises of God of your life, do not get distracted by the small assaults of the enemy. Claim this same tenacious spirit that Nehemiah carried, and keep your focus clear.
Lastly, I heard the Lord say “Declare it and declare it again.”
Even when we can’t see the answers to our prayers, let us pick up our faith and believe that God is a God of the impossible. He is moving, whether we can see it or not. Our prayers move the heart of God.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).
Ana Werner is the author of The Seer’s Path, and also the associate director of the Heartland Healing Rooms in Lees Summit, Missouri. Ana travels and equips people internationally on seeing in the Spirit, moving in the prophetic, and healing ministry. Her transparency as she shares on the realities and experiences she has in heaven, bring Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and the power of God into the room when she speaks. Ana is passionate about leading people into encountering Jesus’ heart. Learn more about Ana’s ministry at anawerner.org.