How to Develop a Life Plan

[How to Develop a Life Plan]( Current Teaching Series [Building a Better Future]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [How to Develop a Life Plan]( By Rick Warren — 11/11/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) When you make your life plan, God’s contribution toward its success is far greater than your own—but your contribution is still vital. In the Old Testament, Nehemiah offers a good example of someone who knew that his plan depended on God. When Nehemiah was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, he heard his hometown of Jerusalem had been destroyed and lay defenseless. This troubled Nehemiah, so he decided to go home to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. But he knew he wouldn’t get very far without a plan. The Bible says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9 (NLT). Nehemiah’s plan for how he would get to Jerusalem gives you sevens steps in developing a life plan. Here are the first two: Step 1: Ask God for favor on your life. Nehemiah knew he couldn’t just impulsively suggest that the king let him go home to rebuild. So he prayed, asking for God’s favor: “O Lord, please hear my prayer! . . . Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me” (Nehemiah 1:11 NLT). God’s favor is God’s grace, and you need it to make and fulfill your plans. Notice Nehemiah also prayed, “Please grant me success.” Sometimes you might think you shouldn’t ask God for success. But there’s nothing wrong with praying for success when you’re trusting God to do the work. Step 2: Prepare for an opportunity, and then wait. Nehemiah had to wait before he was given an opportunity to present his plan to the king. Then one day, “four months later, when Emperor Artaxerxes was dining, [Nehemiah] took the wine to him” (Nehemiah 2:1 GNT). Because Nehemiah had plenty of time to prepare, he knew exactly what he wanted to say to the king. When you begin praying about a plan, vision, or dream God has given you, he usually doesn’t answer right away. God often waits to see how serious you are about it. Are you going to keep praying and planning while you wait? If so, you’ll be prepared to open the door when opportunity knocks. Tomorrow we’ll look at three more steps Nehemiah took in developing his plan, all steps that you can use as you make a life plan. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Think of a time you made plans without asking for God’s wisdom and grace. What was the result? - What step of faith can you take today as you wait for doors of opportunity to open? - What needs to be rebuilt in your family, your job, your community, your city, or your nation? Pray and ask for God's wisdom, direction, and favor as you develop a plan. The post [How to Develop a Life Plan]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get The Power of Gratitude Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( If you’ve ever noticed that the more grateful someone is, the happier they are, it’s not a coincidence. Experts have discovered that gratitude reduces stress and leads to greater life satisfaction and overall happiness. It makes you healthier than any other emotion! The Bible agrees—and God has a lot to say about developing an attitude of gratitude in your life. That’s why Pastor Rick developed a brand-new Bible study called The Power of Gratitude. Through this innovative new study, you’ll discover how to defeat discouragement, conquer complaining, stay in God’s will, and experience his blessings—as you develop a lifelong habit of expressing your gratitude to God. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Building a Better Future. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Making a Plan to Improve Your Life Message 2: Enlisting Support for Your Dream Message 3: Getting People to Work Together Message 4: How to Handle Insults and Ridicule Message 5: When You Feel Like Giving Up Message 6: How to Earn the Respect of Others [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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