What Really is Revival?
What really is a revival? I hear the term used often to refer to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people of God where the people experience God in a deep and profound way. According to the Wikipedia, the key factor in revival is “the restoration of the Church to a vital and fervent relationship with God after a period of decline.”
The International House of Prayer has experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a fairly large measure consistently for the past seven years. People come from all over the world to experience God in a deeper way. When I went for a seminar at IHOP, thirteen other countries were represented. People flew in from all over the world just to go through their training program.
When I was a pretty new Christian, the previous church I attended had 40 days of revival meetings starting on January 1st. I remember that the pastor announced to us all that she would like us to fast, pray for revival in our church and the churches of Minnesota, and attend as many of the meetings as we could for the next 40 days.
Those 40 days were days I still look back on and remember. I had such a wonderful experience of God. My heart was filled with poetry and I would wake up to a song in my heart from the Holy Spirit every morning. I remember having to stay home from one church meeting because I just couldn’t bear to leave God’s presence. His presence was overwhelming and I just stood in my prayer room and cried.
Habakkuk, prayed for revival in Habakkuk 3:1-3, “O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.”
Isaiah prophesied of revival in Is. 32:9-15, “Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. In a year and some days you will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, the gathering will not come…. People shall mourn upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.”
Asa brought revival to the people during his service as king to the people of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 14:2 it says that Asa “did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and commandment.” As a result of Asa and the people seeking the Lord, they had rest on every side and all they did prospered (2 Chron. 14:7b). Asa was courageous in his leadership and zealous for God. He led all of Judah out of their sin and idolatry into a covenant with the Lord, to seek Him with all their heart and soul (2 Chron. 15:12).
In most cases, in biblical examples of revival there is a greater awareness of the presence of God in their midst (including peace and rest from their enemies), a unity of spirit within the people (brotherhood), a turning from sin and complacency (repentance), a renewed zealousness to seek the Lord with one’s whole heart (tenderness of heart towards God), greater experience of miracles, signs and wonders (outpouring of the Spirit), and prosperity (fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God).
So what brings revival? Biblical examples vary widely. Is it prayer and fasting by intercessors and prophets, crying out before God? Is it obedience and faithfulness by leadership who are zealous for God and courageously willing to tear down the sacred pillars of the people? Is it repentance by the people, turning from their sin and complacency to follow God wholeheartedly? Is it people coming together in unity of heart and mind, turning as one towards God?
Maybe it is some of all these things. I don’t think that anyone can give a formula for revival. If we go through the motions just to get what we want from God, we are being manipulative and controlling. We are trying to force our will.
I have seen people try to force revival. There are churches who will post signs for “revival meetings” not because they are having a revival by the power of God but because they want a revival. What they are really looking for is to get bigger attendance at their church and are trying to manipulate God and the people to make it happen. They try to force prayer meetings and hyped up nightly sermons. When it is not God, what happens is that everyone is exhausted at the end rather than seeing any true fruitfulness for the Kingdom from it.
The truth is that if God desires to bring revival, He will orchestrate the circumstances in a way that revival will come. On the other hand, we should not absolve ourselves of our responsibilities if He is asking us to play a part in bringing revival thinking He should do it all Himself. In every example of revival, God has used people who were seeking Him wholeheartedly to bring it about.
Lord, you know that my heart deeply longs for your Kingdom to come in greater measure – to see your glory displayed on earth. You are the answer to everything. You are all we need. Too often we are too blind to see how naked, poor, and wretched we are.
The International House of Prayer has experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a fairly large measure consistently for the past seven years. People come from all over the world to experience God in a deeper way. When I went for a seminar at IHOP, thirteen other countries were represented. People flew in from all over the world just to go through their training program.
When I was a pretty new Christian, the previous church I attended had 40 days of revival meetings starting on January 1st. I remember that the pastor announced to us all that she would like us to fast, pray for revival in our church and the churches of Minnesota, and attend as many of the meetings as we could for the next 40 days.
Those 40 days were days I still look back on and remember. I had such a wonderful experience of God. My heart was filled with poetry and I would wake up to a song in my heart from the Holy Spirit every morning. I remember having to stay home from one church meeting because I just couldn’t bear to leave God’s presence. His presence was overwhelming and I just stood in my prayer room and cried.
Habakkuk, prayed for revival in Habakkuk 3:1-3, “O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.”
Isaiah prophesied of revival in Is. 32:9-15, “Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. In a year and some days you will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, the gathering will not come…. People shall mourn upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.”
Asa brought revival to the people during his service as king to the people of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 14:2 it says that Asa “did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and commandment.” As a result of Asa and the people seeking the Lord, they had rest on every side and all they did prospered (2 Chron. 14:7b). Asa was courageous in his leadership and zealous for God. He led all of Judah out of their sin and idolatry into a covenant with the Lord, to seek Him with all their heart and soul (2 Chron. 15:12).
In most cases, in biblical examples of revival there is a greater awareness of the presence of God in their midst (including peace and rest from their enemies), a unity of spirit within the people (brotherhood), a turning from sin and complacency (repentance), a renewed zealousness to seek the Lord with one’s whole heart (tenderness of heart towards God), greater experience of miracles, signs and wonders (outpouring of the Spirit), and prosperity (fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God).
So what brings revival? Biblical examples vary widely. Is it prayer and fasting by intercessors and prophets, crying out before God? Is it obedience and faithfulness by leadership who are zealous for God and courageously willing to tear down the sacred pillars of the people? Is it repentance by the people, turning from their sin and complacency to follow God wholeheartedly? Is it people coming together in unity of heart and mind, turning as one towards God?
Maybe it is some of all these things. I don’t think that anyone can give a formula for revival. If we go through the motions just to get what we want from God, we are being manipulative and controlling. We are trying to force our will.
I have seen people try to force revival. There are churches who will post signs for “revival meetings” not because they are having a revival by the power of God but because they want a revival. What they are really looking for is to get bigger attendance at their church and are trying to manipulate God and the people to make it happen. They try to force prayer meetings and hyped up nightly sermons. When it is not God, what happens is that everyone is exhausted at the end rather than seeing any true fruitfulness for the Kingdom from it.
The truth is that if God desires to bring revival, He will orchestrate the circumstances in a way that revival will come. On the other hand, we should not absolve ourselves of our responsibilities if He is asking us to play a part in bringing revival thinking He should do it all Himself. In every example of revival, God has used people who were seeking Him wholeheartedly to bring it about.
Lord, you know that my heart deeply longs for your Kingdom to come in greater measure – to see your glory displayed on earth. You are the answer to everything. You are all we need. Too often we are too blind to see how naked, poor, and wretched we are.
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