Prepare to Prosper: Making Room for God’s Success in Your Life

Have you ever felt like you’re waiting for something more in your life but don’t know how to prepare for it? The year 2026 represents a unique opportunity – a year of preparation for the breakthrough God has planned for your future. This isn’t about quick fixes or instant success, but about positioning yourself for the complete life God intends for you.

What Does It Mean to “Prepare to Prosper”?

The word “prosper” means to break through to success, to advance in the direction of fulfillment. This year serves as a “hook” or “peg” that connects where you are now to where God wants to take you next year. The Hebrew concept of shalom – meaning complete, nothing broken, nothing missing – represents the fullness of life Jesus promised in John 10:10.

God has a purpose for every season, and recognizing the signs of the times helps us align with His plans rather than conforming to worldly patterns. Just as the sons of Issachar in ancient Israel were tasked with discerning what God was doing so the nation would know how to respond, we too must learn to recognize God’s timing and prepare accordingly.

Why Does God Ask Us to Wait and Prepare?

Waiting is difficult, especially when you’re eager for breakthrough. But preparation time isn’t wasted time – it’s essential for sustaining what God wants to give you. When God shows you a vision, it doesn’t mean He’s ready to give it to you immediately. He’s letting you in on His thoughts and plans, but there’s often preparation required first.

Abraham experienced this when God showed him the Promised Land, then immediately a famine came and he had to go to Egypt. What looked like a setback was actually a setup for increase. God used that time to multiply Abraham’s resources and prepare him for what was coming.

The Four Keys to Preparation

Isaiah 54:1-5 provides a powerful word picture of a barren widow whom God tells to expand her tent because He’s about to bless her with children. Through this illustration, God gives four specific instructions for preparation:

1. Spread Out – Expand Your Vision

The first step is enlarging your tent – expanding your thinking and vision. Many people have downsized their dreams due to past disappointments, tragedies, or limitations. Problems and setbacks try to rob us of the possibilities of what God can do.

You must expand beyond small thinking, narrow vision, limited expectations, and scarcity mindset. This means getting rid of words that keep you small and embracing the bigger picture God has for your life. Don’t let past experiences shrink your faith in God’s possibilities.

2. Stretch Forth – Create Healthy Tension

Stretching means extending yourself toward the vision God has given you. This creates necessary tension between your comfort zone and your vision zone. You must turn uncomfortable things in your life into unacceptable things.

Change doesn’t happen because you feel uncomfortable – it happens when you decide certain things are no longer acceptable for who God made you to be. Instead of trying to fit your dreams into your current circumstances, you need to expand your circumstances to accommodate your dreams.

This stretching applies to key areas of your life:

• Your faith walk – Deepening your relationship with God and ability to trust Him
• Your family – Taking relationships to the next level
• Your finances – Getting serious about money as a tool for God’s purposes
• Your future – Planning for legacy and long-term impact

3. Spare Not – Don’t Hold Back

“Spare not” means don’t hold back, don’t withhold, don’t restrain yourself. Often we hold back because we’re holding onto old things, old people, or old ways of thinking that prevent us from moving forward.

This is where you move from just having faith to taking faith moves – concrete actions that demonstrate your belief in God’s promises. Sometimes you need to buy the laptop case before you have the laptop, showing God you’re serious about preparing for what He’s promised.

Don’t hold back because of fear or scarcity thinking. Stop saying “when this happens, then I’ll…” and start saying “I will do this, and therefore I’m getting ready.” Take action with what you have right now instead of waiting for perfect conditions.

4. Strengthen Your Stakes – Build Strong Foundations

The stakes hold the entire tent structure together. No matter how big and strong your tent or ropes are, if the stakes aren’t strong enough, everything will collapse. Bigger tents require stronger stakes driven deeper into the ground.

You need to strengthen your spiritual foundations, your knowledge of God’s Word, your faith, and your hope. Surround yourself with people who speak life and truth into your situation. Don’t get weary in doing good – there’s an appointed time for your harvest if you don’t give up.

This requires both inner strength (what happens in your heart and mind) and outer courage (the bold actions you take). You need the strength to stand up for your faith, negotiate for better outcomes, and make necessary changes even when others don’t understand or support your vision.

How Do You Know If You’re Really Preparing?

True preparation involves creating more room for your future than you’re creating for temporary pleasures. It means making choices that align with your vision rather than your immediate comfort. You’re preparing when you’re willing to invest in your growth, stretch beyond your current capacity, and take concrete steps toward your goals.

Preparation also means developing the courage to be authentic about who God made you to be, even when it’s uncomfortable or others don’t understand. It’s about having the strength to ask hard questions, make difficult decisions, and stand firm in your convictions.

Life Application

This week, identify one specific area where you need to “make room” for what God wants to do in your life. Choose something concrete you can do right now – a faith move that demonstrates you’re serious about preparing for God’s success in your life.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What dreams have I downsized to fit my current circumstances instead of expanding my circumstances to fit God’s dreams for me?
• Where am I holding back due to fear or scarcity thinking, and what faith move can I take this week?
• What foundations in my life need strengthening – my spiritual walk, relationships, finances, or future planning?
• Am I willing to create healthy tension by making some things in my life unacceptable rather than just uncomfortable?

Remember: God will make the way, but you have to make the room. This year of preparation is your opportunity to position yourself for the complete, abundant life God has planned for you.