Many people treat prayer as an ending.
We make our plans first. We put in the effort next. We rely on our own strategies, our own logic, and our own grind. Then, when the work is done—or perhaps when things start to go wrong—prayer arrives at the end as a hopeful add-on. We treat it like an insurance policy for our own ideas.
But Scripture does not support this pattern. In the bible, prayer is not the conclusion of the work. Our work begins with it. Prayer shapes life before action begins.
As we stand on the edge of a new year, I want to challenge you to invert your order of operations using what I call The Solomon Strategy.
Ordered desire
The story of King Solomon in 1 Kings 3 offers a clear example of this. When he became king, he was young, inexperienced, and facing a massive political burden. God invited him to ask for anything.
Notice the timing: The request came before the policy, before the power, and before the achievement. Solomon did not ask for success, wealth, or the death of his enemies. He asked for a discerning heart (i.e., wisdom).
This choice defined his reign. But psychologically, this moment reveals something even more important about human flourishing.
Flourishing does not begin with outcomes. It ought to begin with ordered desire.
What a person asks for discloses what governs their heart. If Solomon had asked for riches, it would have revealed that greed governed his heart. If he had asked for long life, it would have revealed that fear governed his heart. Because he asked for Wisdom, it meant that this virtue would govern his action long before success ever appeared.
The problem with our prayer today
Today’s prayers often focus almost exclusively on results. We ask for open doors, financial stability, health, relief from stress, and so on.
These desires are understandable. God cares about our needs. Yet, if we only pray for outcomes, we miss the formation of the soul. Scripture invites prayer that shapes our judgment before circumstances unfold.
Wisdom determines how opportunity gets used.
Wisdom determines how power gets handled.
Wisdom determines whether success builds the soul or corrodes it.
If you get the success without the wisdom, the success will destroy you.
Psalm 90 & a prayer for flourishing
This logic is captured beautifully in Psalm 90:17:
“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.”
This prayer does not rush toward productivity. It lingers on dependence. It asks for the “favor” (the relationship) before it asks for the “work” (the outcome). Flourishing follows this same pattern of humility and alignment.
A prayer for flourishing should not be in any way passive. It is active and formative. It trains your attention. It orders your priorities. It prepares your mind to act faithfully under pressure.
When you start your year by asking for wisdom, you are strengthening the inner core of life that sustains your outward work.
Here is my challenge to you for this week:
Do not treat prayer as a conclusion to your 2026 planning. Let prayer become the foundation. Stop asking God to merely bless your plans, and start asking Him to give you the wisdom to make them happen in the new year.
When our desires align with the purpose of God for our lives, life naturally grows in the right direction.
See you in 2026. A new you emerges!
