As I prayed about this year, the word the Lord gave me personally for 2026 is RESTORE.
I know not everyone receives a word for the year, but this is something I've done with the Lord for the past eight years. It's become a grounding anchor for me—a way of listening, discerning, and allowing God to set the theme for the season ahead.
When the Lord began to speak to me about "restore," I sensed He wanted us to understand something very clearly:
To restore is not to replace. It is not to erase. And it is not to pretend that nothing painful ever happened.
To restore means to bring something back to its original, intended, healthy state after it has been damaged, lost, diminished, or disrupted.
Restoration and Its Three Movements
At its core, restoration carries three intertwined movements:
1. Return: Bringing something back to where it belonged or how it once was. Lost ground reclaimed, not reinvented.
2. Repair: Fixing what's broken so it functions as it should. Restoration isn't a cosmetic touch-up; it's structural faithfulness, repairing at the deepest level so the structure can stand the test of time.
3. Renewal: Reestablishing strength, vitality, and purpose. Not just "back," but back in working order.
The Latin root restaurare literally means to "rebuild," "repair," or "renew."
That matters. Restoration assumes continuity. Something true was there before. In plain language, to restore is to revere what was always meant to be there, without pretending the damage never happened. (Photo via StockCake)
That tension—honoring the original while passing honestly through loss—is why this word carries so much theological, psychological, and poetic weight for me.
Restoration isn't regression. You don't ignore what hurt you, but you are not required to live there forever either. Restoration is redemption with memory intact.
Return
I want to encourage you today. Before pain and disruption entered your story, there was an original dream the Lord had for your life, and He has not forgotten it.
To restore assumes that something true existed before the damage. The promise was not erased.
This year, I sense, is not about reinvention. It is about return.
Scripture holds this promise gently and firmly:
"He restores my soul." (Psalm 23:3)
"For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 30:17 ESV)
God does not restore by pretending pain didn't happen, but He will restore by redeeming you through it.
Friend, your life is worth recovering. You are not going backwards. You are being rebuilt to your original design!
I believe this is your year of restoration. I prophesy that over you today.
Let's walk with confidence together into all the good things the Lord has for us.
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Roma Waterman
HeartSong Prophetic Alliance
Email:Â click here
Websites:Â www.romawaterman.com
|Â training.romawaterman.com
Roma Waterman has been one of Australia's foremost Christian artists for over twenty years and has traveled the globe leading worship and teaching on the prophetic, worship leading and songwriting. Her passion is not just to release Heaven's song over the nations, but to teach others to do the same.
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