I always sense a stirring in my spirit at this time of year—it’s a period of activation and breakthrough, and often a time of great personal change. I have personally experienced major life shifts during this time. I was born in this month, I was ordained and elevated and I received a prophetic dream beckoning me to call the world to the harvest—all during the months of October.
It’s no coincidence that many of us experience the same shifting during this time. We have just entered into a biblically significant season, on October 2nd with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This past year (2021) was a year of many challenges- but we are in a time of celebration and freedom. This year (2023) is a year to step into change and receive new blessings from God.
Part of recognizing the times and seasons we are in is acknowledging the prophetic power of the season and what that means for your life. When you actively align yourself with what God is doing in this time, you will see a breakthrough! As an Apostle and Patriarch, I want to make five prophetic declarations of blessing over you to stir your faith and activate transformation in your life.
As you read these decrees, say them out loud and continue declaring them over yourself for the days and weeks to come. Words are extremely powerful! Proverbs 18:21 says:
“The tongue has the power of life and death..”
You have the choice to either bless or curse yourself with your words. Choose to bless yourself and be expectant for transformation to come.
1. THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I decree a blessing over you that you will be full of the power of the Holy Spirit, be activated in the gifts of the Spirit and shift the spiritual atmosphere by His holy presence wherever you go.
In Acts 1:8, before Jesus ascends back into heaven, He says:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”.
If you are a born-again believer, you have the Holy Spirit but do you know His power? When we have an encounter with His power, we are launched into a more fruitful and victorious walk with Jesus.
For many men and women of God, there is a distinct experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit during which they receive His power. I had such an experience in 1974 in a small congregation in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. During a time of worship, I began to weep, encountering His deep love and presence. I was then filled with an electrifying sensation throughout my body. As this continued, I began to sob tears of joy. I knew that at that moment, God was anointing me for a purpose and empowering me for service.
This kind of encounter with the Holy Spirit can look different for everyone, but regardless of how it manifests, it is certainly a promise for all those who believe in Jesus Christ. Declare that you will be full of the Holy Spirit, and you will be filled with His power and His presence to see transformation take place in your life and in the lives of others.
2. GOD’S KINGDOM
I decree a blessing over you that you will seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and will preach the Gospel of the Kingdom with signs and wonders following.
In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs us how to pray to our heavenly Father. A crucial part of that prayer is:
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
The Kingdom of God connotes the rule and reign of God and the realm of His glorious presence, with all the healing, manifestations and miracles that come with it. Our role as the Body of Christ is to see that Kingdom advance on earth: in our homes, our workplaces, in the church, in schools and in public spaces. He wants to manifest His glory everywhere!
It is my heart to see the Body of Christ raised up as culture reformers. As you seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33) you will see His kingdom come to your own sphere of influence, bringing holy, righteous change. Remember- were saved to go to heaven and to bring heaven to earth!
3. FAMILY
I decree a blessing over all your relationships, beginning with your family: that God would bless your marriage and the fruit of your womb; that He would bless your children, your grandchildren and your friendships in His Church and in the marketplace; and that your entire family would be saved.
For those of you who are contending for your family to be saved, be encouraged by the fact that God brings not just individuals to Christ, but entire households. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are literally released from prison in a great miracle of God. Moved by the miracle he witnesses, the jailer asks them how he can be saved.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16: 31-34)
I can testify that through coming into alignment with the promises of God, I have witnessed an entire generation of my family members come to Christ—what a blessing! Decree salvation over your family daily. It will stir your faith and you will see His promises come to pass!
4. PROSPERITY
I decree a blessing over your finances, that God will break the spirit of poverty off of you and your bloodline and that you will prosper financially; that God would bless you with the power to gain wealth; and that you would advance His Kingdom with your generosity.
The spirit of poverty keeps many in the Body of Christ mired in financial difficulty and debt. But God wants to prosper both our souls and our finances. Deuteronomy 28:11 says:
“The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity–in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground–in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.”
God wants to empower us to build businesses, creatively gain wealth and grow so that we can bless others. If you give generously to others, you will be blessed. If you are contending for financial provision and growth, decree over yourself that God would bring you breakthrough and grow your ability to prosper financially. Imagine what great wealth could look like in the hands of Spirit-filled believers in Christ and how they could use it to advance the Kingdom of God.
5. DESTINY
I decree a blessing over you to be led by His Spirit and His Word, that you will know and obey His will and that you will fulfil your prophetic destiny.
The Month of October is a season to look forward and consider where we are headed and how we are fulfilling the great and wonderful plans that our heavenly Father has for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
We need the Word and the Holy Spirit to fulfil our destiny. When you meditate on and declare the Word of God, and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will begin to experience the fulfilment of the wonderful purpose that God has for your life.
THE BEGINNING OF ALL BLESSING
God is intentional in blessing you—He wants you to bear fruit for the sake of others. The foundation of all blessings is the cross. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we exchange our problems, sickness and difficulty for His glorious salvation and blessings. His blessings are not earned—they are rooted in God’s great love for us and His infinite mercy. We have been delivered from curses through the cross. As you decree transformation in your life during this season, meditate on the fact that Jesus Christ paid it all for you to be saved from eternal death and to live abundantly in this life.
