Position Your Heart to Receive Your 2026 Word of the Year

Every year, sometime around mid-October until January, there is a stirring in our home.

It begins quietly—a tiny hum in the atmosphere, a gentle shifting of the heart,

a sense that heaven has come down and is near.

My husband and I find ourselves reminiscing over the sweetness of God in seasons past, traversing the kindness of Christ in the current year, and pressing into the Spirit for a revelation of His imagination for our family in the year ahead.

During this time, I open my journals and revisit the words and verses the Lord has given us in previous years. I trace His providence, soaking in how He gently shepherded us into the fulfillment of our word and verse in the present season. I recollect the themes, lessons, breakthroughs, and even the battles where His Word held us steady.

It is a time when I intentionally seek Him—

to see God’s fingerprint in our lives over the past year: to notice where His Word carried us, comforted us, and often confronted and convicted us.

And through this process, gratitude rises.

This year, right in the middle of the posture of remembrance, something unexpected happened. We generally receive our word for the coming year toward the end of December.

But this year was different.

As we vacationed, the Lord whispered our 2026 word early. It came softly, unexpectedly, like breath—His breath: GLORY.

And in that early unveiling, there has been so much joy and a sense of holy anticipation. We truly believe we are standing on the precipice of the Lord unveiling something extraordinary— more than we could ask, dream, or imagine, radiant with His power.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

This early whisper reminded me of something powerful: The transition into a new year is not merely chronological; it is spiritual—divine.

As moments turn into days, days into months, and months into years, every changing season becomes an invitation to intentionally yield to God’s presence, allowing Him to establish the vision and rhythm for what lies ahead.

I began to ponder…  I know we aren't the only ones who walk this path.  Many of us long for a word from the Lord—a theme, a scripture, a divine thread that will anchor our steps in the coming season. And for many, receiving a word, a verse for the year is a journey: a process, a posture, a leaning-in.

And that is where we begin.

Before we receive, we remember.

Before we choose, we listen.

Before we declare, we yield.

Because the vision for the new year isn’t simply selected; it is revealed.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Therefore, as we prepare our hearts for 2026, I want to share five steps that might be helpful as you position your heart to receive the word and verse the Lord has for you in the coming season…

Pray — Ask the Lord to Lead You

Ask God to prepare your heart and quiet your mind. Invite Him into the seeking.

❀

Scripture:

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Wait — Don’t Rush Revelation

Give God room to speak. Revelation often grows quietly before it appears clearly.

❀

Scripture:

“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Psalm 62:5

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Read — Immerse Yourself in Scripture

Your annual word nearly always rises from the Word first.

❀

Scripture:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Listen — Pay Attention to the Holy Nudge

Discern the patterns, promptings, and repetitions the Spirit highlights—in sermons, scriptures, conversations, or inner impressions.

❀

Scripture:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Confirm — Let the Lord Establish It

Hold your word and verse before Him. Allow the Lord to affirm and solidify what He has spoken.

❀

Scripture:

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” Psalm 138:8.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Now, trust God with the next season. As you move through these steps, be expectant. Remember, God is not hiding; He is unveiling, so keep seeking and pressing into Him.

Sometimes your word arrives like sudden light. Other times it forms slowly, like dawn spreading across the horizon. Either way, you can trust Him. The Lord knows exactly what you need. He will prepare you: shape, steady, strengthen, and sanctify you.

Scripture:

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Proverbs 4:18.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Journal Prompts

✿ Journal:

What am I asking the Lord to reveal in this season?

Write out the desires, questions, or areas where you long for His direction.

What does it look like to invite Him fully into this process?

✿ Journal:

Where has waiting produced fruit in my life before?

How might God be shaping or strengthening me through waiting now?

✿ Journal:

Which Scriptures, themes, or words keep resurfacing in my reading or hearing?

What might the Lord be highlighting through repetition?

✿ Journal:

Where am I sensing the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

Record any moments of conviction, encouragement, or peace that felt like His whisper.

✿ Journal:

What confirmations has God already placed before me?

Are there conversations, Scriptures, or timely encouragements that align?

Where is He inviting me to trust Him deeper?

✿ Journal:

What would it look like for me to step into this next season with expectancy?

How do I sense God shaping, steadying, or preparing me for what is ahead?

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Let’s Pray—

Abba Father,

Thank You for loving me and covering me.

Give me a softened, teachable heart as You prepare me for the season ahead.

I desire to make room for all You long to do.

Incline my ears to Your voice,

my mind to Your ways,

and my heart to Your will.

I receive Your rest.

⁺. ✿ .⁺

Lord Jesus,

Your Presence is glorious.

Every moment belongs to You, and I am grateful to return my breath in praise.

As I behold You, reveal Your glory,

And transform me into Your likeness.

Speak to me, Lord.

I receive Your grace.

⁺. ✿ .⁺

Holy Spirit,

You are generous and kind.

You surround me with comforts beyond understanding.

Grant me wisdom and revelation of Him—

enlighten the eyes of my heart,

that I may know the hope to which I have been called.

Open my mind to see what the Father is doing,

fill my heart with the love of the Son,

and strengthen my spirit to walk in Your power.

I receive Your peace.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸

Final Scripture Meditation:

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-16.

𓆸𖧷 ⁺. ✿ .⁺ 𖧷𓆸