PRAYING INTO THE WEEK OF JULY 23-29 (THE 30TH WEEK OF THE YEAR AND THE 43RD WEEK OF NIGERIA’S YEAR)

Every week of the year is a gate of time for different heavenly purposes. The kingdom of darkness also seeks access to this gate of time with her evil agenda. Watchmen and Gate-keepers should therefore watch over gates of time diligently. The 30th week of the year is the second week in the 5th seven weeks of the year. It is also the second week of ‘Bein ha-Metzarim’ (‘The Three Weeks’ of the ‘Straits of Tammuz’ in 2022 – ” a period of mourning commemorating the destruction of first and second Jewish temples”.

What does the Bible reveal concerning the 30th?

1. The 30th is a season of making or finding a way where there is no way through wisdom. Proverbs 30:18-19, 24-28 shows that wisdom will find a way where there is no way. It says, “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: [19] The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin. [24] There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: [25] The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; [26] The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; [27] The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; [28] The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces”.
3. The 30th is a season of making or finding a way where there is no way through desperate search for answers. It is a time to contend for desires. In Genesis 30, there was crisis in Jacob’s family. Rachael wanted a child desperately. She gave her maid, Bilhah, to her husband and she gave birth to Dan and Naphtali. Leah also gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob; and she gave birth to Gad and Asher. Leah eventually gave birth to her last two sons – Issachar and Zebulun. She also gave birth to her only daughter, Dinah. At last, Rachael gave birth to Joseph. Jacob had seven sons and one daughter in this chapter. Jacob also made a deal with Laban that made him wealthy; after he had thought of leaving his father in-law with his family. In Genesis 30, Jacob’s family went from desperation to celebration.
5. The 30th week is a season of battling barriers with God’s power; not a season of striving with men in fleshly pride. The 30th season is a time of struggles and battles to find a way where there is no way. It is a time of finding answers by engaging the wisdom and power of God. The enemy wants the 30th week to be a week of dysfunctional contentions and disasters. God wants it to be a week of overcoming barriers. 

In Genesis 30, God opened the womb of Rachel and she gave birth to Joseph. The contentions did not open her womb but seeking God did. Jacob also found a way to prosper under Laban without contention. Thanks to dialogue. In First Samuel 30, David’s men contended with him over the raid of their Ziklagl camp and the abduction of their families. David sought God and found a way to recover all the enemy took from them. India sought independence from Britain in 1930 through non-violent civil disobedience. They averted disasters. Negotiations began. It is not a season to seek independence from God. It is a time to agree with God. The 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge signed, into law, the Native American Citizenship Act – thus granting citizenship rights to native Americans born within the United States territory. In the opening months of the 30th seven years of United States, under President Jimmy Carter administration, Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David Accord in 1978. The 1983 Beirut bombing that cost America the lives of 241 officers was reaction to America’s role in Lebanese Civil War. The 1983 invasion of Grenada cost America so much too. The misguided Gideon Orka coup to overthrow Ibrahim Babangida government on April 22 was a disaster. It happened in the 30th year of Nigeria. The coup plotters were executed July 27, 1990; the 30th week of the year that was also Nigeria’s 30th year.

The 30th season does not support contentions and revolutions. It is a season of accords and treaties. It is a season to make peace with God. In the fifth chapter of the 30th book of the Bible, Prophet Amos said, “Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel” (Amos 5:6)

4. The 30th week is a season of going from pain to joy. Psalms 30 reveals that the 30th season is a turnaround season when morning takes the place of night, when joy takes the place of weeping, when dancing takes the place of mourning, and gladness takes the place of sackcloth. In First Samuel 30, Amalekites raided David’s camp at Ziklag and abducted the families of David and his men. They wept until they had no more strength to weep. David sought God and received grace to recover all. He went from pain to joy.
6. The 30th season is a season of recovery from losses. Second Chronicles 30 is about Hezekiah’s landmark celebration of the Passover. There had been nothing like that sinckzcmqQQAe the days of Solomon. The 30th season is a season of recovery and restoration. Jeremiah 30 is the promise of the restoration of Judah. Jeremiah 30:18-22 says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. [19] Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. [20] Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. [21] Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD. [22] ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’” Jeremiah 30 shows that the 30th season is a season of restoration.
8. The 30th season is a time of judgment. The book of Amos is the 30th book of the Bible; and in that book, the prophet declares the judgment of God against nations for their transgressions. Deuteronomy 30 is about curses following rebellion against God and blessings following repentance and obedience. It about choosing between death and life or blessing and cursing. The 30th week is for making decision to stay up or down; to go up or come down. Isaiah 30 is the hopelessness of rebellion against God; as in Israel trusting in Egypt against the counsel of God. It is also about the graciousness of God promising restoration to Zion, and about the judgment of Assyria. In the 30th season, the pain of those who trust in God is turned to joy. Ezekiel 30 is the word of the Lord against Egypt and Ethiopia in the days of the captivity.

This week may begin with frustration and discomfort, but the Lord will make, and show, a way where there is no way; and the week will end with joy. This week, stay glued to God. Turn away from things that are offensive to Him. Cry out to Him for a way where there is no way. Then, follow His leading. Follow peace with all men.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Give thanks to God for taking us through the 29th week of the year.
3. Pray against envy and strife in nations, organizations, the churches, and families – as was seen in Jacob’s family in Genesis 30 or with David and his men in First Samuel 30.
5. Pray that this week is marked by holy desperation that will yield positive results in the church and in the nations. Let this be a week of breakthroughs; a week of finding a way where there is no way – as it happened for Rachel in the birth of Joseph; and as Jacob found the way and deal to wealth in Genesis 30.
7. Pray that our world will experience mercy rather judgments in this week; and that we shall not be visited with the woes of the book of Amos (the 30th book of the Bible). Pray for an outpour of the spirit of repentance in nations.
9. Pray that our families, homes, businesses and churches are shielded from abductions and fire disasters in this 30th week. Pray against the kind of mishap that came against David and his men in First Samuel 30. Pray that this is not a week of tears of sorrow in families, churches, businesses and nations.
11. Pray that this is a week of recovery from losses as David and His men recovered all in First Samuel 30. Let this week be that morning when weeping ceases and joy begins as in Psalm 30.
13. Pray that this will be a week of revival in the lives of individuals, families, churches, businesses and nations as Hezekiah led Judah to a revival of the Passover in Second Chronicles 30.
15. This 30th week, pray for the release of the wisdom and force that will make a way where there is none (as in Proverbs 30) and move us from desperation to celebration. Let this be a week when joy overtakes weeping; and mourning turns into dancing.

FURTHER PRAYERS

“”O Lord, keep us, this week, from blaming the wrong people for our problems as Rachel blamed Leah and Jacob. Deliver us from looking for help and answers in the wrong places as Rachel sought the answer to her barrenness in her maid. Keep us from celebrating half-measures as full answers; and from seeing fruits of compromise as fulfillment of the promise. May we never see Dan and Naphthali that came from Bilhah as the ALL, or the Joseph, that should come from Rachel. Deliver us, this week, from the kind of strife and unnecessary contention that existed between Rachel and Leah in Genesis 30. Guide us to pursue cooperation instead of competition. Give us wisdom and patience for growth and triumph as you gave to Jacob to multiply his livestock..

SCRIPTURES FOR THE WEEK

Isaiah 43:1-2: “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. [2] When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”.

Jeremiah 30:18-22: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. [19] Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. [20] Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. [21] Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD. [22] ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’”

THE 43RD WEEK IN NIGERIA’S YEAR

This 43rd week is the beginning of the seventh seven weeks of the current year. So, we are not just entering the 43rd week; we are also entering the 7th week of weeks in Nigeria’s current year.

What does the Bible show concerning a 7th season? The creation narrative of the seventh day in Genesis 2 reveals that the seventh season is a blessed season of rest from struggles. However, the seventh book and 7th chapters of the Bible indicate that an unmanned seventh season tends to be a season of disasters and unrest. The world of Noah’s day was destroyed by flood in Genesis 7. Israel had no peace in the seventh book of the Bible, i.e. Judges, unless when a Judge led to them defeat their enemies. The first plague against Egypt began Exodus 7. Israel lost a battle in Joshua 7 because of Achan, whose family all perished there with him. A widow was going to bury her only son in Luke 7. Stephen was stoned to death in Acts 7. Thee was tribulation in Revelation 7. Within the first 30 years of our independence, *the seventh seven weeks periods of Nigeria were remarkable for abrupt leadership changes.

This week is associated with military coups in Nigeria.

1. July 29, 1966: the July counter-coup in which northern military officers seized power from Aguiyi Ironsi in revenge for the January 1966 coup.
2. July 30, 1975: Yakubu Gowon administration was overthrown by Murtala Mohammed

July 27, 1990: Gideon Orka and company were executed by firing squad for attempted coup.

So, the seventh 7 weeks cycle is not a season to take lightly. Intervention and results come in this season. Remember Jericho walls collapsed when encircled 7 days and 7 times on the 7th day; Naaman after 7 dips in the Jordan, the four lepers had breakthrough in Second Kings 7, Mordecai in Esther 7, and Jesus’ healings on the Sabbath.

Continuing our focus on the 43rd week, what light do we have from the Bible concerning this week-season?

1. The 43rd week is about the materialization of the spiritual into physical reality. In the 43rd book of the Bible ie John, God became man (the Word became flesh) and lived among men. Jesus became the Tabernacle of God in the midst of men. This is a week of materialization of the invisible and intangible .
3. The 43rd week is about seeing and believing. In the 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe”. When Thomas heard that Jesus had risen from the dead he said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” He saw and believed. In John 10, Jesus said, “If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me”. This week is for doubters who want to see before they believe to see.
5. The 43rd week is for intervention in families, homes, and marriages. The 43rd week is a family-week. The first miracle in the 43rd book of the Bible happened at a wedding ceremony; and various healing miracles touched families (the Nobleman’s son, the helpless man at the Pool of Bethesda, Lazarus and his sisters, the blind man and his parents). In the 43rd book, Jesus was also preoccupied with the Father and His status as the Son. The Son could not do a thing without the Father and the Father also handed over all things to the Son. This is a week to work together as family. You see the same thing in the first 43rd chapter of the Bible. In Genesis 43 Jacob gave his sons the backing they needed to go to Egypt and buy food. He sent the son of his right hand, Benjamin, to go with them, by which they found favor in Egypt. In same chapter, Jacob’s 12 sons sat and ate together in the house of their brother. They had not experienced such togetherness in many years. Genesis 43 is about ‘father’, ‘mother’, ‘brother’, ‘house’, and ‘home’. It’s about family. May the Lord help families in Nigeria to rejoice and not sorrow this week.
7. The 43rd season is about making claims and proving your claims. The 43rd week is a week of verification, validation and vindication; not a week of words and stories. The 43rd book of the Bible, John, has no record of the story of the birth of Jesus or of the voice speaking from heaven that He is the son of God. Jesus performed miraculous signs that proved He is the Son of God so that men can believe Him. He said, “If I do not do the works…don’t believe”. Jesus proved His Sonship by the works He did. The 43rd book is about telling who you are by what you do. This is a week to declare your identity by your works. It is a week of confirming words – God’s word, your words, and the words of others.
9. The 43rd season is a season of signs and wonders. There are 14 signs and proofs in the 43rd book of the Bible. Even what might be termed the ultimate miracle of Jesus, the resurrection of a man dead and buried for 4 days, is recorded in only the 43rd book of the Bible. Jesus did them to demonstrate that He is the Son of God. We live in a country where people on one side are disputing that Jesus is the Son of God. It is a season to shut the mouths of doubters. It is a season to shift people from doubting to believing. We shall win the Nathaniels and Samaritans of Nigeria this week.

Week 43 is a 43rd chapters of the Bible week. In Genesis 43, Joseph’s brothers took their kid brother, Benjamin, to Egypt to confirm to Joseph that they were not spies but sons of one man. Psalm 43 opens with “Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; To be vindicated is to proven right. In Isaiah 43, God proves He is Supreme and Superior. He said His people are His witnesses. God said, “You are my witnesses that I am God”. Witnesses confirm and validate claims. In Jeremiah 43, those who heard the word from Jeremiah did not believe he heard God. Unbelief is a great sin in the 43rd season. Losers n the 43rd season are ‘the unbelievers’. Ezekiel 43 is the Prophet’s vision of the temple, the dwelling place of God. The 43rd season is the season of the temple. It is the season of the manifestation of the temple of God. In the 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus is the temple of God. The Lord will draw attention to His house in Nigeria and His children who are living temples.

PRAYER-POINTS

1. Give thanks to God for leading us through the 42nd week; for peace, protection, and for interventions.
3. Pray that in this 43rd week of Nigeria’s year, there will be materialization of spiritual realities in Nigeria, just as the word became flesh in the 43rd book of the Bible. Let this be a week of seeing and touching longstanding prophecies and promises we have been hearing about in Nigeria.
5. Pray that God will visit marriages, homes, and families in Nigeria including yours, as He reunited a long-divided family in Genesis 43 and as He impacted various families in the 43rd book of the Bible.
7. Pray that hopeless cases in families and in Nigeria be reversed, like the reversal of the burial of the only son of the widow of Nain and resurrection of Lazarus after 4 days in the grave. This is a week of love to families in this country.
9. Pray that this will be a week of convincing proofs to those who have lost faith concerning Nigeria’s destiny; to those who do not know God or His Son, Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to grant signs of His presence in Nigeria because this is a week of signs in our country.
11. Pray for the vindication of the just and oppressed, the persecuted, the marginalized, and the voiceless in Nigeria (Psalm 43:1-2).
13. Pray that the Light will shine forth and triumph over darkness in Nigeria this week. Jesus is revealed as the Light of the World in the 43rd book of the Bible and He is shining through believers in Nigeria. Pray that agents of darkness in Nigeria will suffer great defeat this week with light sweeping away darkness as Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, arises over Nigeria with healing in His wings.
15. Pray that faith will be revived in Nigeria this week. Those who sought to hear the word of God in Jeremiah 43 did not believe what the prophet told them. The disciples of Jesus doubted His resurrection at first. Pray that believers in Nigeria will not become un-believing this week. The 43rd book of the Bible is about BELIEVING; and God is looking out for BELIEVERS in this 43rd week.
17. Pray that this will be a week of receiving positive new things that wipe old memories of negative experiences in Nigeria. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. [19] Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert”.

Happy 30th week of the year! Happy 43rd week of Nigeria’s year.