Revive Us, O God!

I have never written a blog before. I have never written a devotion of any kind. I am neither a writer nor a biblical scholar, but I have been a diligent student of God’s Word for the past 20 years, and I have the Holy Spirit, my resident teacher (as every true believer does), who leads me into all truth as I desire to know my God through His Word.

When my friend approached me regarding the need for unified prayer for revival in the church, I was in absolute agreement and never hesitated to say, “YES, the church needs to be revived! I will pray with you.” For several weeks prior to the launch of Awaken His Church on September 4, 2017, a small group of us would gather for prayer on Mondays at her house. We originally planned to meet from 11:00 to 1:00 but would find ourselves gathered for much longer than those two hours, literally on our knees on the floor of her dining room, around and even under the table, crying out to God, pleading for His Holy Spirit to fall fresh on His church, to breathe new life into dry bones, and to light a fire of spiritual awakening throughout His body, who seems to have fallen asleep.

Most Americans would consider our country to be a “Christian Nation,” founded on Christian principles and by Christian leaders. After all, didn’t most of us learn in elementary school that our founding fathers left England in the name of religious freedom to establish a nation in which we could worship our God freely, without the government imposing political restrictions on how we worshipped? “One nation, under God”….right? But the sad truth is we are now ranked 3rd behind only China and India in the number of people who are not professing Christians; in other words, the U.S. is becoming an ever increasing "un-reached people group.” (Statistics and Reasons for Church Decline By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir). Church attendance has dropped by startling numbers; churches are closing at a rate of 4-1 over the number of new church starts; instead of the historical increase in the number of those who claim to be Christ-followers, our nation has seen a steady decline in these figures for almost two generations. Not only that, but it is my belief that those who still call themselves Christians, and even attend services regularly or still warm a seat in a church on Sunday, for the most part, do just that…sit and soak. We, the church, have become complacent, apathetic, and flat-out lazy in our pursuit of Holiness. Are we really making disciples? Are we truly spreading the Gospel? Are we diligently studying the Word of God? Some would argue with me and say, but this is the day of mega-churches, where memberships are in the thousands, and video streaming of sermons reaches multitudes gathered at multiple campuses. But I ask you, how many of those thousands truly have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? How would we know? Jesus tells us we will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16.) Not only can we see the statistics declining, but look at the state of our nation, our world? Does it seem to you that God is still in our homes? In our communities? Even in our Churches? His church needs awakening. His church needs reviving.

“Behold now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2b

Biblical history shows us the results of Israel’s disobedience; a nation who was set apart for God, and yet who continually and repeatedly fell away from His commands, rejected His statutes, and pursued the pagan practices of worldly influences that were in direct opposition to God’s will. This nation was judged by God for its transgressions over and over again, suffering calamity and bloodshed brought on themselves because of their sin. Yet God in His sovereignty would use this judgement to discipline His people, and in His great mercy, to call them back to Himself. Each time, extending forgiveness and restoration if they would only repent of their sin, turn from their evil practices, and cry out to God. Time and time again in the Old Testament accounts, we see our Heavenly Father’s desire to restore His people back to Himself, back into a right relationship with Him, so that He can pour out His blessings on them, and “I will be their God, and they will be My people.” (Ezekiel 11:20)

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Does this pattern sound familiar? Could you replace the nation of Israel in this story with the United States and see the similarities? We are a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles, blessed by God more than any other nation in the post-modern world. Or let’s take it one step further, could this be a picture of the Church, God’s own children who call Him Father and yet have become like the frog in the pot of boiling water? We no longer look any different than the world. We have fallen away from His commands. We have rejected His statutes, and gone the way of the world, calling what is wrong, right, and what is truth, a lie. We have replaced Jesus Christ as Lord in our lives and the throne of our hearts with SELF, self-promotion, self-importance, self-gratification, self-determined morality, and just plain selfishness. And we are suffering the consequences of our own choices and sin.

Division and disharmony are the signs of the times. Heinous crimes are perpetrated on innocent victims. Human life is not valued, but instead it is trafficked for profit or put to an end before a single breath is taken. We see suffering in our own lives, in our homes, in our churches, in our nation and in our world, and we blame others; we blame laws and lawmakers, politicians and government; we blame each other, especially those different from us in background, culture, or skin color, and we even blame God Himself; we are appalled that He would allow such calamity and suffering, shouting, “Where is your blessing, God? Show us Your favor,” all the while refusing to repent of the sin in our own hearts, homes, churches, communities, and nation. Following hurricane Harvey and the terrible devastation it caused, I overheard someone say, “Somebody sure has ticked off Mother Nature!” Her friend answered, “Well whoever it was, I wish they’d apologize.” I wanted to scream, “It’s US, it’s all of us! And Yes, we need to all apologize!”

Does your heart mourn over your sin? Do you grieve over the lost in the world or do you just sit in judgement of them? Does your heart break because you have been silent when you should have spoken up? Do you regret moments when you acted like the world because it was the easier thing to do? Do they know you by your fruits? Or have you gotten so far into the world, that you don’t even recognize the child of God you once called yourself? I’ve been there. I’m not condemning anyone, but I am calling you to action.

It’s not too late! We are not doomed! We do have a choice; we do have HOPE! Just like God dealt with the Nation of Israel over and over again, extending forgiveness and mercy, He deals with us, offering us hope, redemption, forgiveness and restoration! He longs to hear us cry out to Him. He wants our hearts to be broken over our transgressions and to return to Him in repentance.

God spoke through His prophet Joel over 800 years before Jesus Christ died for your sins and mine. And in His mercy and lovingkindness the Holy Spirit took both me and my friend to these very passages separately and independently while in prayer for revival. His message is very relevant for us today. In mourning and weeping and grieving, we are to gather together, repent, fast, and pray in unity for His Spirit to be poured out on His church!

“Consecrate a fast,

Proclaim a solemn assembly,

Gather the elders

And all the inhabitants of the land

To the house of the Lord your God,

And cry out to the Lord.” Joel 1:14

“’Yet even now,’ declares the Lord,

‘Return to Me with all your heart,

and with fasting, weeping, and mourning;

and rend your heart and not your garments.’

Now return to the Lord your God,

For He is gracious and compassionate,

Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,

And relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:12-13)

And His promises belong to us as well.

“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land,

and will have pity on His people.” (Joel 2:18)

“And it will come about after this

that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; (Joel 2:28a)

“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord

will be delivered;” (Joel 2:32a)

Will you join us?

Revive us, O God! Awaken your church!