Set Time

1 Chr.12:³² (NKJV) “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…”(emphasis added).

Ps.4:⁵ Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.” 1 kings 18:³³ “He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.” (emphasis added). The sacrifice you place on God’s altar belongs to God and He alone decides what will happen to it – whether to leave it whole or cut it into pieces. You cannot dictate to God what He should do with the sacrifice. It is not a sacrifice if you have control over it. A sacrifice is a sacrifice because you give up control. What have you placed on the altar and refused to let go of? It does not become a sacrifice until you give up control and until you let go!

1 Kings 18: ³⁶ “At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed…” (emphasis added). I have heard people say it was only in the Old Testament that God sets appointments. That is not true! God is God and He does not change. God does not change His character. God has not become born again in the New Testament. We are the ones that become born again. Know this; God still operates with set times. God chooses to do certain things only at set times. By God’s grace, this season is a set time and God wants to do the miraculous. Repeatedly in the Gospels, Jesus would say, “the hour has not yet come” or “the hour has come.” Even the disciples made references to God’s set time.

Acts 3:¹ (NKJV) “Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” The time of prayer is a set time; note that this is in the New Testament. There is a set time for prayer and when the time came, the disciples needed to stop what they were doing. Why did they not opt to pray later, if they could pray at any time? Do not get me wrong, you can pray at any time. However, you need to know that God has set times when He does certain things. You do not want to miss God’s set time for anything. I pray you would not miss God’s set time.

1 Kings 18:²⁵ “Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first…” Elijah was being very strategic, he was waiting for the set time, the time the fire would come. The Bible said at noon time, Elijah began to mock them. He encouraged them to try harder, shout louder. Noontime was not the set time. God has a usual time when He does certain things. If you are in a relationship with someone, you need to know the person’s usual time for certain things.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please give me an understanding of the times and seasons and help me discern God’s set time in every season, in Jesus Name. Amen!