PROLOGUE:
God did not intend that man would be a slave of time or be controlled by it. God made time for man and designed it for the execution of His purposes on earth. Joshua understood this when he called the sun and the moon to stand still until he had done the will of God. From our exalted place in Christ, we shall be speaking into this 35th week of the year to cooperate and align with God’s purposes in the nations.
AUGUST 27 IN NIGERIA
This week is very significant in Nigeria. It occupies a unique place in our history; especially from the days of the Babangida administration. This is like the IBB week in Nigeria. Babangida was Nigeria’s 8th National Leader and he made three critical decisions in the 8th month about the same time. 1. This week in 1985 (August 27), Ibrahim Babangida toppled the regime of Muhammad Buhari and ended the 20-month regime abruptly. 2. This week in 1991 (August 27), the Ibrahim Babangida administration created 9 new states in Nigeria and gave new names to two: Abia from Imo, Enugu from Anambra, Delta from Bendel (with Edo), Jigawa from Kano, Kebbi from Sokoto, Osun from Oyo, Kogi from Kwara and Benue, Taraba from Gongola (with Adamawa) Yobe from Borno. This increased the number of states in Nigeria from 21 to 30. This week, those 9 states will be marking their 31st anniversary and stepping into their 32nd year. In the next 12 months, we need to pray for the States using the 32nd book and 32nd chapters of the Bible.3. This week in 1993 (August 27) Ibrahim Babangida yielded to pressure, stepped down as Head of State, and handed over to an Interim National Government.
THE 35TH WEEK OF THE YEAR FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE 35TH SEASON:
1. This is a week of rest. The 35th week is the seventh and last week in the fifth 7 weeks of the year. It is a Sabbath week. A seventh week should be a season of rest from toil, labor, trouble, and struggles. The Lord Jesus used to Sabbath to call the distressed into rest from their struggles and pains. When God speaks rest, the evil one speaks distress.P
RAYER: Pray that this week would be a time of ending yokes and burdens rather a week of unrest and troubles. Lean on the finished work and command rest for God’s people.
2. This is a week of sudden and unexpected ends and new beginnings. The 35th season is a season of abrupt ends. Genesis 35 bears witness to this. Isaac died there. Deborah (Rebekah’s nurse) died there. Rachel died there after giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35: 8, 19, 29). Jacob’s active life ended in this chapter also. Genesis 36 is about Esau. The rest of the book is about the sons of Jacob especially Joseph. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated within the 35th seven years from 1620. King George VI died at the close of the 35th seven years of the United Kingdom. The 35th President of the United States, John F, Kennedy, was assassinated. In the 35th seven years of America (from 1776), Donald Trump escaped two impeachment attempts. Within the same 35th seven years spirit of death working through COVID-19 also swept through the land and ended many lives.
PRAYER: Pray against abrupt endings for God’s people this 35th week of the year. Pray against operations of the spirit of death in this week. Decree abrupt ends for things that should not be – in families. In the church and in the nations.
3. This is a week of judgment against wickedness. Psalm 35:1-3 says, “Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. [2] Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. [3] Also draw out the spear, And stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” The 35th season is a season when the wicked do wickedly. It is a book of Habakkuk week. In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet complained to the Lord about His seeming indifference to his cry against violence and breakdown of justice n the land. God promised He would tame the land with a wicked nation. The prophet protested; wondering how God would use a wicked and ungodly nation to punish His people. In a 35th week, God may seem silent or absent but He is in His temple and will act in due time. Reuben defiled his father’s bed in Genesis 35. The Abacha government accused, arrested, and jailed Obasanjo in 1995 (Nigeria’s 35th year). The Ogoni 8 (including Ken Saro-Wiwa were executed the same year. It was a year impunity and great human rights abuse in Nigeria leading to tough UN sanctions.
PRAYER: Pray that God will rise against wickedness, violence, and injustice in the nations this week. Pray in line with Psalm 35 that God will deliver His people from wicked hands and hearts in this week.
4. This is a week of revival. This is a time to return to Bethel. The 35th season is a time to go back to Bethel – the place of encounter with God. In Genesis 35, God told Jacob to return to Bethel. He got his family and household to do away with all idols in their possession. In Second Chronicles 35, Josiah led Israel to keep a landmark Passover as part of his reforms. Josiah and all Judah returned to the Lord and observed a ground-shaking Passover; such as had never happened since the days of Samuel. That was the last revival before captivity. The 35th season is a time for revival of faith. Josiah’s celebration of the Passover was like a return to the beginning. The Passover was the beginning of Israel’s independence and separation from Egypt. In Jeremiah 35, God commended the sons of Rechab for refusing to depart from their roots and instructions of their father.PRAYER: Pray for revival in the nations. The Spirit of God is calling us this week to go back to Bethel. Pray that the God’s people will hear this call. Pray against temptations to shun the path to Bethel in this week.5. The 35th season is a season of blessings for the godly. In Genesis 35, God spoke comfort and blessing to Jacob. He announced his change of name for the last time in this chapter. In Jeremiah 35, God also blessed the sons of Rechab.
PRAYER: Pray that this is a week of divine encounters for God’s people in the nations. Let it be a week of removing the garment of old identity. Let it be a week of walking in the blessings of our new identity in Christ.
NIGERIA’S 48TH WEEK
1. The 48th week is a season of the Sovereignty and Lordship of God. The 48th chapters of Psalm, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, bear witness to this. The 48th book the Bible opens with God’s sovereign decision to make Paul an apostle.
PRAYER: Pray that the Hand of the Sovereign God will move in Nigeria this week and put down the power of man in this country.
2. The 48th season is a season of grace. In Genesis 48, Jacob adopted the two sons of Jacob and made them equal to their uncles by inheritance. He also gave the blessing of the firstborn to the second child. The 48th book of the Bible is Galatians. The book is about our gracious redemption in Christ that made us sons of God like Jesus Christ and sons of Abraham like Isaac. God knows how to qualify the unqualified.
PRAYER: Pray that GRACE will locate the ‘unqualified’ in Nigeria this week.
3. This is a week of focus on the City of God. Psalm 48 is about the city and dwelling place of the Great God. Psalm 48:1-3 says, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. [2] Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. [3] God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge” Ezekiel 48 is also about the City of God. Ezekiel 48:35 says, “…and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
PRAYER: Pray that the Lord will be seen and felt in Nigeria this week.
SCRIPTURES FOR THE WEEK:
Isaiah 35:5-6: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 48:9-11: “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. [10] Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. [11] For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.Have a happy 35th week of the year and a greatly blessed 48th week of Nigeria’s year.
Prepared for *COALITION OF INTERCESSORS IN NIGERIA (COIN)* by Revd Nkem Okemiri
