I hear people praying all
the time for revival. It is “buzz” word for less sin and more spirituality and
commitment in the church. We hold three day, week-long and even several week
revivals with singing and preaching every night in an attempt to touch the
hearts of the unsaved and saved alike. Our hope is that they will meet with God
and He will change their lives and give them more spiritual passion. However,
the most common comment after a revival service is, “We had great singing and preaching.”
Very few, if any, lives are
noticeably changed by these extravagant services. Revival means change, and
very few people want to change. We like the status quo and we are so tired from
our busy lives that we do not want to add one more item to our to-do list. We
like the easy road and we enjoy dabbling in sinful activities now and then,
nothing addicting or deadly, just compromising with the world in a few areas.
Holiness takes effort and we are too tired to put any effort in seeking more of
God.
Revival is not a result of
human effort. We can pray, fast and demand revival from God forever, and
nothing will happen. Revival means recovery, restoration, renewal and
resurgence. We need revival to change our self-centeredness and rebellion. True
revival happens one life at a time. It starts with the revelation of our sinful
state and the conviction that we need a change in our thoughts, words and
deeds. We see the King, the Lord God Almighty, and we realize that we are
imperfect with unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).
Revival comes when the
Spirit of God moves on our life, convicting, enlightening and changing us from
the inside out. Revival occurs regularly as we daily wash in the water of God’s
Word (Ephesians 5:26). We do not
wait for emotion, but we act on Biblical truths. Yearly, organized meetings are
not necessary for this to happen. Revival occurs within each human soul as we
seek a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. We forsake our sinful
lifestyle and rearrange our priorities.
Those who experience
revival follow hard after God, early in the morning they rise up and seek Him,
their soul – their mind, will and emotions – thirsts for Him and they see His
power and glory in their life (Psalm
63:1-2, 8). Then, as God uses these individuals, they are instrumental in
witnessing and inspiring others to join them, and the fire spreads. They have a
renewed desire to obey God’s precepts, to grow in spiritual fervor and to
please God in every way. They love the Lord with their whole heart (Matthew 22:37).
Prayer:
Father God, forget Your
displeasure with us and restore us. Revive us by Your Spirit; so our hearts
delight in You. Shower us with your unfailing love and refresh our devotion to
You. Give us your good and perfect gifts and help us to share with others the
immense love You have for us (Psalm 85:4-7, 11).
Thought for the Day:
Get serious with God today,
and ask Him for revival in your life right now.