Revival

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT)

Though needed desperately, revival is something we hear very little about these days in most circles. We tend to think of emotional stirrings, enthusiastic worship, and powerful preaching, but revival begins in the heart of God and is whispered to those with ears to hear. The prerequisite of true, Spirt-led revival is hearts hungry to hear from the Lord.

The fire of the Holy Spirit burns most brightly in the heart of the saint who values prayer and listens carefully to the heart of God. When we have our ear to the heart of the Father, what burns in His heart becomes the fuel that motivates our spirit to want what He wants. We know that He wants the salvation of every lost soul, so our mission is to reach them.

How do I know that? Because Jesus said in Matthew 18:14: “It is not My heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.” We want to get balled up in predestination and election, but it makes a lot more sense to me to go after everyone we can and leave the results to God. The reality is the broad way is much more appealing to those who are lost, yet, as John reminds us in 1:12-13: “But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with physical birth resulting from human passion or plans, but a birth that comes from God.”

So, the issue becomes when the Spirit of God ignites our heart with desire to reach the lost, how do we respond? The short answer is – it all begins with believing prayer. What does that mean? It means we can say: “Lord, bless them all!” And He will and He does, but that takes no faith to believe a prayer like that. God blesses everyone with sunshine and air to breathe, that’s a given.

Our prayers must focus on individuals we know and who have names we can lift to the Lord. It’s much more powerful to say: “Holy Spirit ignite the heart of my friend Joe. He’s so lost, but I love him and I’m asking you to open His heart to you. Give me insight and understanding that I may speak to him in a way he would be willing to listen and not turn away from You.”

Dr. Eric Mason wrote: “We don’t need a revival of missionary techniques in evangelism, we need a revival of fervent prayer in our evangelism!” “But how can we possibly reach everyone?” The same way every person who has ever come to the Lord has been reached – one heart at a time! Allow the Lord to open your heart to list the people in your spheres of influence with whom you can have a Gospel conversation, then begin to pray what Ron Hutchcraft calls his three-open prayer: “Lord, open my mind to the ones with whom You want me to speak, then open their hearts to receive what You give me, then open my mouth and allow me to speak Your words of life to them in a manner they will understand and to which they will respond favorably.”

But what will I say? How should I approach them? And how will I know it’s the right time? I’ve learned if I devote myself to prayer and listening to the Lord, He will direct me, engineer favorable circumstances and even fill my mouth with the right words. It’s all the result of believing prayer when we ask in faith and know He hears and will answer. No one wants our loved ones and friends to come to the Lord more than He does.

Pray, trust, and leave the results to Him. You’ll be amazed how powerfully the Lord will use you when you ask Him, then courageously obey what He tells you, when He tells you to act. When the Spirit moves and we respond, that’s when revival comes.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊