“God however you want to use me today, I’m open.” Ten words that can change your life. I breathed those ten words to God this past Sunday morning, in preparation for speaking at a Metro Detroit Church. Not only did those words change the course of my day… they changed the trajectory of many of those attending the service that morning.

After you’ve been leading, teaching, and speaking for 40+ years, it’s easy to get into a routine. You’re confident the content is good, you’re well-prepared, you deliver the message, people respond, and you call it a day. Nothing wrong with that routine… in fact, there’s a lot right with it. But I wonder how many times we’ve missed opportunities for God to interrupt our routine? For Him to divinely deal with pressing issues our messages aren’t prepared to address?

“God, however you want to use me today, I’m open.”  During the worship time at the Metro Detroit church mentioned above, the Lord impressed two key thoughts on my mind—one thought had nothing to do with my prepared notes—the other did. But I felt convinced He wanted both thoughts shared at different times during the teaching session—and I obeyed. The response to those two God-given thoughts was spectacular. God accomplished things I hadn’t prepared for because of these ten words, “God, however you want to use me today, I’m open.”

This ten-word approach isn’t reserved to teaching sessions. It can be expanded to how you lead your staff or organization. It can impact how you’re visioning and strategizing for the future. It even works at the restaurant, your neighborhood, or at home. Praying “God, however you want to use me today, I’m open” gets us outside of the box and opens us up to miraculous possibilities.

You’ll be amazed how often God uses you when you pray those ten words. Often the results will be way beyond what you could do on your own. Sometimes amazing things will happen, sometimes they won’t. Our job is to be open… it’s God’s job to deliver the goods.

“God however you want to use me today, I’m open.” Can I challenge you to pray those ten words every day for the next week? And if you feel so inclined, share with me what happens. I’m confident those ten words will move you outside of your box… and in the process…change your life.