One of the things the Lord wants to teach us all--and it's one of the most valuable things we can learn--is to look to Him in all of our decision-making. He wants us to personally hear from Him and then enact what He shows us to do, and not only in big matters, but also in little everyday matters. He wants us to involve Him in our daily lives and daily decisions as much as possible.

The Lord wants to speak to us in prophecy and answer our questions--even our everyday questions. He wants us to bring specific questions to Him so He can give us specific answers.

It's not enough to pray at the beginning of a project, "Lord, help me with this," and then just go and do it. We need to not only hear from Him directly in prophecy at the beginning, but also regularly check back with Him as the work progresses. Unless you stop from time to time and ask Him if there is anything else He wants to tell you, you can miss so much.

I have learned that even after the Lord has initially shown me the way to go on something, He wants me to continue to ask Him continually if I'm still proceeding in the right direction. He wants me to keep the channel open so He can speak to me in case He has some new information or new direction.

You need to keep checking back with Him, because sometimes He may want to adjust the course. It's like you're the helmsman of a ship, and Jesus is the captain. You head out to sea, and you know you're supposed to go west, so you start going west. But then after a while the ship may have been carried off course by currents or a storm, so the captain, Jesus, who knows exactly where you are at all times, may tell you that you need to adjust your course to head a little northwest or a little southwest. But if you don't go back to the Lord, if you don't open the channel for Him to speak to you and tell you the course modifications, you might not end up exactly where He wants you to go.

The Lord wants to speak to us in prophecy and answer our questions. He wants us to involve Him in our daily lives and decisions as much as possible.

The point is that if you want to do something right, you need to not only pray and listen to the Lord, but to listen to Him on the subject more than once. The Lord wants you to come back to Him again and again for His answers. That is the kind of prayerfulness He's looking for.

Hearing from the Lord and including Him intimately in our daily lives is something we desperately need to learn. You see, if we can truly learn to stop, bring our questions to the Lord, and listen to His instructions, that will solve so many problems because we will find all the answers we need every time problems come up.

If you don't have the gift of prophecy, you should ask the Lord to give it to you, and then give Him the opportunity to use it to help you. You can start by asking Him to give you a simple yes or no regarding what you feel you should do.

You can apply this lesson to your life by praying over all of your decisions, making sure they are Word-based, and by keeping yourself open to the Lord's nudges in the spirit.

To receive the Lord's words in prophecy, you have to be open and really want to hear what He has for you. The most important requirements for hearing from the Lord are (1) believing His already recorded Word and putting it into practice, (2) asking the Lord to not let your own thoughts interfere, (3) sincerely wanting to find and follow what the Lord knows will be best for everyone concerned, (4) being yielded to the Lord, (5) believing that the message you receive is from Him, (6) having the faith to act on it.

The Lord wants to be involved in your daily decisions. When you hear from Him step by step as you go along, you will save time, things will go smoother and faster, more will get done, and you'll make fewer mistakes. The Lord will help you as you take time to hear from Him as often as you need to.

God bless you and keep you in touch with the Lord's wonderful help from Heaven!