Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

T HE S EASONS OF G OD It is important to first understand the seasons of God and the Jewish calendar . Let me establish the fact that God hears and answers prayer every second of every day, every day of the year. However, there appears to be special seasons when major events are assigned to occur. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son during a twenty-four-year period. Sarah was in her late eighties when the Lord said, “But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year” (Gen. 17:21). Notice this was a “set time.” We see a similar term used when God was warning of a coming Egyptian plague: “Then the L ORD appointed a set time, saying, ‘Tomorrow the L ORD will do this thing in the land” (Exod. 9:5). When Job was at the peak of his suffering, these words were spoken: “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14:13). A fourth example is when God promised to restore Zion in a future generation. The writer penned: “You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come” (Ps. 102:13). These events are “set times.” It is a special season when God moves for a specific purpose. In Hebrew, the phrase “set time” is moed , which is used of the appointed seasons or feasts of the Lord. In Job 14:13, “set time” is a different Hebrew word, choq , which means to make an appointment to bring him out of his captivity—again a