YAYY!!!! It is July already! Wow! The first half of the year slipped by so fast! I am thankful to God for taking care of my loved ones and myself throughout the year and I know He will do the same and even more for the rest of the year. Amen.
I was doing a bit of research for my church's prayerline and I was so excited with what I found that I just had to share. July as the 7th month of year is very symbolic and I believe we can access the blessings and promises associated with it throughout the month.
Some churches deem it such an important month that their annual calendars stipulate a fast for the whole month.
You might be asking, why? Well, I believe it is a preparatory initiative to carry everyone through the second half of the year. We are, afterall, being taken care of by God. As the Bible explains aptly in Romans 14:7, 'For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die.'
The second reason which I believe is the most significant, is the spiritual implications of the numerical representation of the month. July is the 7th month in the year. Biblically, the number 7 represents Completion, Fulfillment and Perfection. God has given special grace to his stewards to be able to discern times and seasons and so I do not take activities scheduled on our church calendar lightly, especially spiritual activities (Yes, I did say spiritual activities because there are some, for example, cookouts and barbeques, that are not necessarily spiritual. I know we all appreciate good food but the truth is the truth..lol).
Delving into the number 7 and its Biblical roots I found some very interesting facts which cannot be ignored and further highlight the compelling truth about the number 7.
- The first use of the number 7 is in Genesis, right at the beginning of creation it is used to signify completion as God finished creating the world and rested on the 7th or Sabbath day.
“By the Seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing so on the 7th day He rested from all His work” ”
- Genesis 7:2 records God's instructions to Noah to take every animal in pairs of 7
- God commands the Israelites to only sacrifice animals that are at least 7 days old (Exodus 22:30)
- Joshua led the Israelites around the wall of Jericho 7 times before the Lord sent the wall crashing down (Joshua 6:3-4)
- The Messiah's 7 qualities are listed out in Isaiah 11:2
- Proverbs 6:16 lists out the vices that the Lord Himself detests and guess how many they are? 7,of course!
“Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Write promptly what you see (your vision) in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
12 Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 And in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast...
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last...
20 As to the hidden meaning (the mystery) of the seven stars which you saw on My right hand and the seven lampstands of gold: the seven stars are the seven angels (messengers) of the seven assemblies (churches) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
let us play a little game of spot the number 7 in Christ's conversation with His disciple John.
- 7 churches
- 7 golden lampstands
- 7 stars
- 7 seals of God's judgment (Rev 5:1)
- 7 angels with 7 trumpets (Rev 8:2)
I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that God in His wisdom which cannot be fathomed, measured or compared decided to throw into His own manual (the Bible) the number 7 a couple of times just to make it more intriguing. I highly, highly doubt that.
God has a purpose for every single thing that He does, even the ones we do not understand. Now I know a lot of pragmatics will come up with all sorts of reasoning to reduce these findings to nothing more than coincidence or maybe even logic as God is a God of order, and I can respect that. I will still firmly hold on to my belief and discovery that in the month of July, which signifies divine perfection and completion, I can tap into the storehouse of God's blessings by praying some specific prayers in that angle. You know what, let us start now :)
“Dearest Father,
Thank you for being who you are. You are Mighty, the Wisest of the wise and the Only One who knows all things. Blessed be Your Holy Name. We thank You for Your revelation about the number 7. May the month of July be exactly as You have ordered it to be. May the completion and perfection of everything that pertains to my life start now in this month of Perfection. May the evidence of Your perfect word which never fails and accomplishes everything it has been sent to do, be seen in my life perfectly from today onwards. May I have the spirit of perfection and completion instilled within me. May all my endeavours be perfected and completed from this month onwards. May all my skills, habits, attitudes be perfected from this month onwards to be just like You. May all virtues and the fruits of the Spirit be perfected in me.
Thank You for being a Perfect God, the One that does not make mistakes and the One that always honours His word. I know that You have said in Your word that you will not withold any good gift from me and I believe that every good and perfect gift comes from You. I thank you Daddy, that You have heard my cry. I love you and I bless your Holy Name. In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.”