PRAYING FOR REVIVAL

Last Wednesday evening during our the New Members class I mentioned the Saturday morning prayer meeting we have at Rocky, and said that in that gathering we often ask that God would favor our church with revival. A student asked what I mean when I talk about revival--a good question. In response I called attention to Isaiah 57:14-15, a wonderfully encouraging passage.

“And it shall be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.’ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

I love these verses because they are jam-packed, telling us a lot about God! We read:

• about who He is! The One “who is high and lifted up…whose name is Holy…”
• about where He lives; He “inhabits eternity” and “dwell(s) in the high and holy place…”
• that He also dwells “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit…” What love and grace!
• that one of His purposes is “to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

So God designs to revive His people and there is a condition placed on us, contrition and lowliness before Him. In a word, humility. It is very encouraging to me that God purposes to revive, revitalize and renew His people. He means to pour out His power on us, and grant us a keen awareness of His presence and power, and use us to bring others to Jesus Christ, and experience deliverance from love for sin and idols, and grant us great joy and bold faith, and glad desperation in prayer, and passion for His Word, and zeal for His glory in all things.

God is working these ways in His people individually all the time, renewing us in Him. Revival comes when He does it on a large scale—church wide, community wide or nation wide.

Please join me in asking the Lord to revive us at Rocky and in our community and nation. My friend John Piper called upon his church family to pray with him for awakening among them like this:

“Would you pray with me for a great awakening that results in hundreds coming to Christ, marriages being reconciled and renewed, wayward children coming home, long-standing slavery to sin being conquered, spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy, weak faith being replaced by bold witness, disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession, boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for God’s Word, and lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory?”

Will you pray for our church like that? And will you pray that God will grant what He requires of us—contrition and brokenness over sin, and humility before Him?

And you are invited to join us for our Saturday morning prayer gathering at 9:00 A.M. We usually meet in the worship center.