Revive Us!
In the United States there is a phenomenon within some Christian traditions to hold “revivals.” These revivals are usually nothing more than a speaker who comes into town and preaches for a weekend. It’s like a local conference. Churches spend lots of money and time trying to get people to come to their revival.
The thing is, this is not what revival really is.
Revival is not something that can be planned. It’s not something that you can make happen. True biblical revival is something that the Holy Spirit does in his own time and in his own ways.
Even though we can’t make revival happen we can prepare for a move by the Holy Spirit.
In Psalm 85 the psalmist writes,
“Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put way your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.”
God revives us in his sovereignty, but we have a responsibility to cry out to him and ask him to revive us. As we cry out to him we must ready ourselves to hear what he has to say.
This simple request, “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,” is central to preparing for his restoration and revival . There is a surety in this prayer, “for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints.”
We can help one another in this process by asking a simple question, “What is the Father saying to you?” This question demands that we are listening and asking the Father to help us hear.
It is in this context that we can experience revival and restoration. It is a movement of the Holy Spirit. It is not something planned but it is prepared for.
Revive Us! was originally published in The Subversive Journey on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
from The Subversive Journey https://danielmrose.com/revive-us-36e761b86763?source=rss—-bbc765b79ec5—4
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