“Times and Seasons: 2 Keys for Gaining Prophetic Insights” is a glimpse into how God can work in the lives of His beloved people. For He does so in a progressive manner. This, therefore, means that there will always be processes involved.
When God wanted to build a nation, He took Jacob’s family from Canaan to Egypt. For He had already done the necessary preparations in advance.
He had sent Joseph in advance into Egypt. Thereafter, He engineered a famine in Canaan. This famine ended up pushing Jacob and his family to Egypt in a bid to escape the same. And in so doing, Jacob and his family ended up in Egypt, where they became a great nation.
Rest for God’s people
When God was taking His people out of Egypt, to rest them in Canaan, He did so with mighty signs and wonders. He also gave them favour before the Egyptians such that they left Egypt with great wealth.
Therefore, God’s work in our lives is aimed at bringing you and me to rest. Meaning that, if you are not at rest, then you are yet to get to God’s destination for you.
The Problem of Sin
However, while God is working in our lives, there is always the age-old problem of sin. And Isaiah, in chapter 66:3-4, defines/describes sin in 4 poignant statements. It is:
- choosing your own ways,
- delighting in abominations (what God hates),
- failing to listen to God, and
- outright rebellion against God.
Therefore, when God’s people commit sin, they suffer the consequences of the same. And the Babylonian captivity was one such consequence. God exiled His people the Israelites in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:1-14). The consequence of sin is bondage.
”1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel 9:1-3English Standard Version (ESV)
Times and Seasons: 2 Keys for Gaining Prophetic Insights
Perceive/Understand the Times and Seasons of Your Life
Understanding the times and seasons of your life is very important. This is the first key to gaining prophetic insight concerning the times and seasons of your life. It is the understanding of the times and seasons in your life that facilitates participation in the prophetic.
God ordained times and seasons (Ecclesiastes 3:1) through which He exercises His sovereignty over the lives of men. Therefore, knowing what to do at a particular time like the sons of Issachar is critical (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Advance knowledge gives you an added advantage in the future events of your life. And this is made possible through the consumption of Scriptures. Daniel 9:1 records that Daniel understood the times through Scriptures.
Through the study of Scriptures, God’s Spirit will enable you to understand the times and seasons of your life. For according to Joel in 2:28, he prophesied that “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy”.
Therefore, anyone is capable of participating in the prophetic. And this is well done through prayer with fasting.
Turn to God in Prayer
Turning to God in prayer enables you to participate in the prophetic. And when you do so, you get the specifics of what you are meant to do. You may also get the specifics of what is to come.
That’s why after understanding the times, Daniel got down to pray. And he added fasting to his prayer, as he appealed for God’s mercy. This is because only God’s mercy could restore them to the Land of Canaan.
He also confessed the sins of his people before God. He acknowledged that they had sinned against God.
Therefore, when you pray, praise God, confess your sins and plead for God’s mercy. And you will be equipped for the new season in your life.
