What is the mind of the Lord concerning the 49th week of the year and how should we pray?Let us, first, consider the Biblical patterns for the week-season.
BIBLICAL PATTERNS FOR THE SEASON
1. The seventh day of creation narrative (Genesis 2:1-3).
2. The 49th Book of the Bible.
3. The 49th chapters of the Bible
4. Judges 19-21 (the seventh 3 chapters of the 7th book of the Bible)
THOUGHTS AND PRAYER POINTS FOR THE SEASON
The Bible indicates three things about the 49th season. Please also take note of the prayer point(s) at the end of each section (A, B, C):
A. IT IS A SEASON FOR CRITICAL REVELATION AND INSTRUCTION.
This is a season when the Lord communicates deep things. There are ‘deep things’ in the 49th book and 49th chapters of the Bible. In them, the Lord draws attention to who you are, what you have, what He wants to do and how you should live. The demand of the season is that you listen carefully and pay attention to the Word because this is a season to operate with wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Notice how the 49th chapters of Genesis, Psalms and Isaiah begin:
Genesis 49:1-2: “And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: [2] “Gather together and HEAR, you sons of Jacob, And LISTEN to Israel your father”.
Psalm 49:1-4: “HEAR this, all peoples; GIVE EAR, all inhabitants of the world, [2] Both low and high, Rich and poor together. [3] My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. [4] I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp”.
Isaiah 49:1-3: “LISTEN, O Coastlands, to Me, And TAKE HEED, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. [2] And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” [3] “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’
Jeremiah 49:20: “Therefore HEAR the counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them”.
The 49th book of the Bible (Ephesians) is not left out:
Ephesians 1:17-19: “…That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, [18] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, [19] and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”
The 49th book of the Bible says deep things about our place in Christ, Christian living, marriage and family, work and spiritual warfare.
PRAYER: Pray that you will receive the critical instruction or word God intends for you this week. Pray against distractions. Pray for wisdom and understanding. Pray against situations and experiences that are a mockery of the identity and purpose of believers in the nations. Pray also against the Psalm 49 attitudes and lifestyles that misrepresent who and what we are.
B. IT IS FULLNESS OF TIME FOR RESULTS AND REST. IT IS A GENESIS 2:1-3 WEEK.
This is the week ending the seventh seven weeks of the year. This is the seventh of the seventh seven. This is a ‘seventh day of creation’ week. We know four things about this season from Genesis 2:1-3:
1. IT IS A WEEK TO END BURDENSOME YOKES
Genesis 2:1-2: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. [2] And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done…” This week, we are to declare “IT IS DONE” . We are to enter the finished work by faith. This is a week of freedom from burdens, yokes and afflictions.
2. IT IS A WEEK OF REST
Genesis 2:2: “…And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done”. God rested on the seventh day so all people and things may rest in seventh seasons. Jesus gave distressed bodies rest from their troubles on the Sabbath. The religious leaders of His day were upset by this.The 49th week is a Sabbath week. God wants it to be a blessed week of rest but the enemy wants it to be a week of unrest and distress. As spiritual gatekeepers, we must align with God to secure the gate of this week.
THIS IS A WEEK OF WARFARE
When God speaks rest, you must prepare for war. The 49th season is a core seventh season. It is a season of war for rest. In 1949, the Communist Party took control of China. In the same 1949, Apartheid became official in South Africa with the Mixed Marriages Prohibition Act. In the 49th year of Nigeria (2009), Book Haram became a distressing force in the country. Psalm 49 says a man in honour who does not KNOW it is like a perishing beast. The 49th book of the Bible (Ephesians) says we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. THIS 49TH WEEK of the year, I pray that the evil one will not gain the upper hand in your life and affairs. “Be strong in the Lord…Put on the whole armor of God”.
3. IT IS A BLESSED WEEK
Genesis 2: 3: “Then God blessed the seventh day…because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made”.Of the seven days of creation, God blessed only the seventh day. So, the seventh season is a blessed season. When people come into the seventh season, they are to be given the blessing that is on the season. The 49th season is blessed. So, we are to pronounce blessings on people this week. Jacob blessed his sons in Genesis 49. The 49th book of the Bible (Ephesians) opens (after salutations) with the word BLESSED and says God had blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. As we are blessed and we bless others this week, curses are broken. This week, release a blessing over someone, some people or some places
4. IT IS A HOLY SEASON
Genesis 2: 3: “Then God …sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made”.This is a week of God’s pleasure. Pray that it does not become a week of abomination and sacrilege in the nations.
Isaiah 58:13-14 says, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, [14] Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
PRAYER: Pray that the evil one does not hijack this week for evil purposes in the nations. Pray Genesis 2:1-3 over this week.
C. IT IS A WEEK TO CELEBRATE REDEMPTION FROM OPPRESSION AND DEATH
The 49th book and 49th chapters of the Bible reveal that the 49th season is a season of redemption. God is a Redeemer and Restorer in the 49th season. He redeems from bondage, death, and destruction in this season. When the 49th season is unmanned, death and destruction hold sway. The spirit of death was unleashed through Boko Haram in the 49th year of Nigeria’s independence. Jacob died in Genesis 49 after prophesying over his sons. Psalm 49 says that no man has the power to redeem his brother from death. Isaiah 49 reveals God as Redeemer of Israel. Isaiah 49:8 says, “Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages”. Jeremiah 49 is a prophecy of judgment against the enemies of Israel. Until enemies are subdued, redemption cannot be executed. Redemption often requires ‘binding the strong man’ before plundering his goods.The 49th book of the Bible (Ephesians) highlights our redemption in Christ.
PRAYER: Pray that the Lord will exert His Redeeming Power in the nations to plunder the plunderer and set their captives free.
BIBLE READING SUGGESTIONS
Read the 49th book of the Bible (Ephesians) and the 49th chapters of the Bible. You may read as follows or as led by the Spirit.
December 3: Genesis 49; Ephesians 1
December 4: Ephesians 2;; Judges 19
December 5: Ephesians 3; Judges 20
December 6: Ephesians 4; Psalm 49
December 7: Ephesians 5
December 8: Ephesians 6; Isaiah 49
December 9: Ezekiel 49; Judges 21
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Isaiah 49:26: “I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Have a blessed 49th week of the year!
