What to Do When You Need a Breakthrough from God

There comes a point in every person’s life when we realize we need a change that only God can give us. Whether we’re facing financial ruin, mental and emotional distress, strain in our relationship, or declining health, at some point we all find ourselves in situations that are too big for us to handle on our own. We need God to come through for us!

What do you do when you need a breakthrough?

Jehovah Baal-perazim – The LORD of the Breakthrough

The Bible is full of stories of God coming through for His people. One of my favorites is found in II Samuel chapter 5. In this story, David, the king of Israel, is about to do battle with an enemy army – the Philistines. He has been at war with them since his youth at this point, and they had been a constant threat to the people of Israel. As David is hiding in a stronghold, he asks the Lord if He will give him victory over this army, to which God replies that He will without a doubt cause David to triumph.

So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. “The Lord did it!” David exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means “the Lord who bursts through”).
~ 2 Samuel 5:20

If you belong to God, victory and breakthrough are your birthrights. He has promised you overwhelming victory over anything that the enemy – that is Satan – would try to throw your way. This includes depression, poverty, sickness, mental anguish, and any other evil thing the enemy could launch at you.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. ~ Romans 8:37

God has promised you victory. In Isaiah 49:8, the Lord says that “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You.” This means that God hears you as soon as you cry out for help, but that doesn’t mean that breakthrough will necessarily come immediately. He hears you when you cry out, and He helps you at the time He has decided is best.

So how do you carry yourself in the meantime? Do you just wait and do nothing? Absolutely not! Although it is God who ultimately must come through for you, there are things you can do while you wait to help usher in your breakthrough and keep your faith strong in the meantime.

What do you do when you need a breakthrough?

1 | Pray

This is probably the most powerful tool at your disposal. Prayer is not just a passive last-ditch attempt to get God on your side. When we pray we do two things.

One, we remind God of His promises to us. Isaiah 62:6-7 is easily one of my favorite verses on prayer.

“O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until He completes his work,
until He makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.” ~ Isaiah 62:6-7

In this passage of scripture, we see the attitude we should take about prayer when we need God to come through for us. We are to be aggressive in prayer. We are to be persistent in prayer. We are to remind God of what He promised us – not because He’s forgetful, but because He does nothing outside of His word. In Jeremiah 1:12 the Lord says that He “watches over His word to perform it.” He’s looking for the person who has enough faith to believe what He has said, and enough persistence and grit to remind Him of it. “God, I remember what you told me and I’m believing you can and will do it!” That’s the kind of prayer and faith that gets God’s attention!

The second thing that happens when we pray God’s word back to Him, is that we release His word into the atmosphere. The word of God is so powerful, my friend. The whole world was shaped by His word (Hebrews 11:3). The Bible tells us that the word is living, powerful, and active! When we pray God’s word over our situation, it ushers in the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. God’s word will never fail; it always completes the assignment.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ~ Isaiah 55:11

2 | Fast

When coupled with prayer, fasting is a powerful tool to use when you need a breakthrough. Fasting disciplines your body, crucifying your flesh so that you can be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit. This is key in times of spiritual warfare when you are fighting alongside God for a breakthrough. You want to be sensitive to His voice so you can hear what He’s instructing you to do.

In Matthew 17:14-21, a man brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus’ disciples, but they are unable to cast the demon out. With seemingly no effort, Jesus casts the demon out and the boy is completely healed in an instant. Later on, the disciples are perplexed and ask Jesus why they had not been able to cast the spirit out of the boy. Jesus answered them: “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:20-21, emphasis added).

Some things don’t break with just prayer alone. When you need a breakthrough, fasting is crucial to seeing it come to pass.

3 | Build Your Faith

I’m just going to be straight up with you: You ain’t breaking through NOTHING without faith! And yes, I know that was horrible grammar but I need you to hear it how I said it for real.

All of God’s promises are received by faith.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
~ Hebrews 11:30 – 35

All of these breakthroughs, and not a single one received without faith. We need faith just to live our everyday lives (see Habakkuk 2:4), so we most certainly need it in times of trials. Thankfully, God is so gracious that He has not left us to figure out how to grow in our faith on our own. His word gives us two strategies to increase our faith.

The first way is to listen to the word of God. Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When we listen to God’s word it builds up our faith. For example, when I was struggling in my finances and homeless, I would listen to sermons about God’s provision. I needed my faith that He could provide for me abundantly strengthened so I listened to messages on that topic. If you’re going through depression or anxiety, for example, listening to sermons about the peace of God and the joy of the Lord will build your faith in that area.

The second way to build your faith is by praying in the Holy Spirit (also known as speaking in tongues). The ability to speak in tongues is available to every believer who has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a heavenly prayer language in which the Holy Spirit prays through you, the perfect will of God. Jude 1:20 says that we build up our most holy faith when we pray in the Holy Spirit.

When we devote ourselves to hearing God’s word and praying in the Holy Spirit, we build our faith like never before, the faith that we so desperately need if we want to see breakthrough manifest in our situation.

***For more insight on the ministry of the Holy Spirit: check out this message on YouTube from Pastor Ken Claytor of Alive Church “Living a Spirit-led Life”.

4 | Be patient and consistent

Of everything I’ve said today, I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you that sometimes breakthrough takes time. The breakthrough you need may not come the first time you pray – or the hundredth. It may take weeks, or months, or even years. We can’t control the time, but we know the One who does. We know that He is faithful. We know that He cannot lie. If He has made you a promise, He will surely bring it to pass.

Your part is to stay consistent. Keep praying. Keep fasting. Keep listening to the word. Keep believing God! Your day of help will come but will God find you still faithful when it does? My friend, if you’re waiting for a breakthrough the best thing you can do is remember that you won’t be waiting forever. Press in to God and be patient. Do the last thing He instructed you to do and keep at it until you see everything He promised you come to pass. You got this and God’s got you!