Revival is when God awakens believers to their lukewarmness and sin, and powerfully calls them to repentance. In revival God presses upon His people the seriousness of sin and the urgency of repentance. Believers begin to think deeply about God and their relationship to Him. God has revealed Himself—His holiness, His sovereignty, His power. God’s people are driven to confess their sins and refocus their affections. Their indifference is shaken and they begin to have emotions about spiritual matters proportionate to those eternal realities. God reinvigorates His church in revival. There is new life and power in the church. Christians serve the Lord with great effectiveness and a fresh joy.

While revival always begins in the household of God, it will powerfully impact those who are lost. As God restores His church to its proper level of holiness and power, the Lord’s people gain a concern for their lost family members and neighbors. Christians begin to pray earnest prayers for the conversion of the lost and God moves in powerful ways to bring people to Christ. In the 1857-58 Prayer Revival crews onboard ships are recorded as falling under mighty conviction of sin as their ship entered the harbor at New York City.

Revival impacts a community in positive ways. In the Welsh Revival, they had to take the work horses out of the mines and retrain them because the workers had stopped using the profanity they had used in the past to command them. One police station formed a singing group and sang at churches because so much of their time was freed up. Judges were given white gloves, the custom when there were no cases to be heard.
True revival cannot be scheduled. It cannot be worked up or promoted into existence. Churches have “revival services” because they wish to make themselves available to this dynamic work of God. We can pray that God will send revival, but it’s a brave prayer. If God is pleased to send revival, it will mean conviction of sin, the work of repentance, and moving outside our comfort zone.

Today’s Scripture Reading: Acts 2



Today’s Prayer Guidance: Lord, Plant in your peoples heart a desire for true revival. Give us a glimpse of You that will bring the rest of our lives into focus. Awaken desires for holiness within us. Give us the courage to seek You with our whole heart.