Most churches today has fallen on desperate times, but not because of attendance, money or lack of involvement. We are in desperate times because we desperately need a movement of God almighty, and no one seems to realize it. The key to survival is for people to be revived by God: “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land,” II Chronicles 7:14.
It is clear that God is issuing a conditional promise to His people, i.e., do these things and I will respond. The work of revival begins with God’s own people but never ends there. For revival to be lasting and to truly make an impact on the world, we must reach out. God calls us out from among the world. Christians are meant to stand out from the rest of the world. We must live differently than the world because we value different things. We look to an eternal promise and a different life style. We are known by a new name, a new creation and given the opportunity to live a transform life. God desires his people to be humble, to be in submission, and to live in a state of surrender.
When we humble ourselves, we are literally saying to God: “You are in control of my life.” Prayer is the foundation of a growing relationship with God. Without prayer, that relationship will truly never grow. We must go deeper with God if we ever want to experience revival in our lives. Each day we make a decision to either build up that relationship with God, or to settle for where we are in our relationship with God. Revival is something more than God stepping into His relationship with you and filling it with His presence and power in a fresh way. If you are not developing that relationship with God, you will never experience personal revival.
The Hebrew word for ‘seek’ means to ‘intend to find or to deeply desire.’ In essence, to seek something from God means to first have the deep desire to see it happen and then to actively and persistently pursue it. I firmly believe that God has the desire to bring revival to your church. The only question that really remains is do you have the desire to be revived? If you want to experience personal revival, today is the day to seek God. If you want to see a corporate revival, today is the day to seek the Holy Spirit. If you want your community to see a mighty outpouring of power, today is the day to seek Jesus. If God is tugging at your heart today, seek power from on high.
My weekly prayer is that the reader of this commentary becomes spiritually inspired of God. Contact Expressions of Faith at P.O. Box 330127, Nashville, Tenn. 37203; or e-mail <w310watson@aol.com>. God bless!
