Should We Pray For Revival? By Jay West

Should we pray for revival, look for revival, anticipate revival, live for revival, journal for revival, read about revival or just plain let it happen - can we step out in faith and go for revival in our churches and see what might happen - if God might show up -or do we have to take a passive stance and wait - is it faith to wait or faith to step out and begin having revival services and see what the Lord might do? I have often thought that if a pastor would just step out and say - we are going three nights or five nights and then see what God might think or how He might respond - would God honor that and demonstrate himself strong and would those who are there experience a fresh touch and His manifested presence - I believe He would and that they could -

I so long and hunger for revival and transformation - something that brings people to Jesus - and demonstrates the power of the Kingdom, and also is not centered on one individual, but has a pluralistic aspect of leadership to it, in other words something that is not personality driven and also something that intentionally reaches out and touches lives outside of the church building where the revival may be happening - where ministry happens in the street - and at the marketplace, in schools and government - steadier than even what we hear from Bill Johnson's church, and something that is much more frequent - where people experience the supernatural power and presence of God in public places -

But also where the ministry of helps is extended so that food, clothing, supplies, are provided for along with houses being painted, cars repaired, yards spruced up, and people's lives are repaired and strangers are genuinely helped- much like in the book of Acts where they sold their possessions and shared with those who had a need -where marriages are restored, and children come home, and adults get off drugs and other addictions, multitudes of folks get right with God, and abuse drops significantly because Jesus has walked into their lives - through the personal touch of folks like you and me.

And as a result the Kingdom is advanced, the enemy is pushed way back, crime goes down, poverty goes down, education improves, social problems decline, unwed mothers is a foreign term, abortions won't be performed, primarily because there isn't a demand, many clubs and bars close but those who owned them are now gainfully employed elsewhere with business activity that assists, promotes and helps others for the common good,...

And a city and an area begin to change and the real deal of the Gospel comes out and not only does the city change, but people in political realms take notice, and begin to search out what is happening, and local leadership challenges state leadership, and state leadership challenges national leadership - and people begin to link arms instead of packing a side arm wondering who they might hurt next - and they actually begin to minister without even knowing what they are doing...

so much so that what they previously thought was normal is now outdated and reorganized by an anointed move of God - and the church in that town or city which was once barely tolerated is now so appreciated that the public sector would gainfully use the church in many major decisions and the media which previously gave the church perhaps 30 seconds of news, would now spend the majority of it's broadcasts dealing with issues that God was influencing through the lives of His people who are on fire and experiencing personal revival.

Prayer moves to the forefront, and arguments are dropped, the complainers and whiners begin to change their confession to one of positive reinforcement as they encounter Jesus and the Kingdom of God no longer takes a back seat, but like Rosa Parks, the Kingdom moves to the front of the bus - and the Holy Spirit is now the driver and all who are on the bus go where the Holy Spirit takes us - not caring anymore about personal belongings, or having our name on a plaque or seeing our name in the newspaper, but now denying themselves and taking up their cross and daily following Jesus while recognizing and working towards a unified goal of simply lifting up the name of Jesus so that He can and will draw all people to himself.

That's what I am looking for - Please don't tell me it can't be done - my bible says that all things are possible with God and that we can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens us - and that those who know their God will do great exploits and take great action -

and so I am counting on Jesus to influence a pastoral leader who will say - lets go a few nights and see what God might do.

Jay W. West
Anointed 2 GO MdM
Seek first the Kingdom of God
I don't want to miss out - how about you?

"And so after he had patiently endured,
he obtained the promise"
Hebrews 6:15

A Quote from Tersteegen

Who? Gerhard Tersteegen

He said...

"The love ofChrist is my prayer-book"

All Glory to God!

That is what life is all about!

Let us pray that we followers of Jesus love and worship Him day in and day out!

Bryan

Great Francis Schaeffer Quote on Prayer

If I woke up tomorrow morning and found that all that the Bible teaches concerning prayer and the Holy Spirit were removed (not as a liberal would remove it, by misinterpretation, but really removed) what difference would it make in practice from the way we are functioning today? The simple tragic fact is that in much of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ–the evangelical church–there would be no difference whatsoever. We function as though the supernatural were not there. -

Francis A. Schaeffer (True Spirituality).

Beth Moore on the Privilege of Prayer

Beth Moore offers this on the "Privilege of Prayer"

The privilege of prayer is the flagship proof that God created man to participate in His kingdom agenda and not just dangle from His fingers like a puppet. That a sovereign God welcomes mere human beings to touch His heart and affect His work is nothing less than stunning. A fresh read of Abraham’s intercession for Sodom in Genesis 18 ought to leave us reeling with the privilege and responsibility of divine access.

“What if there are 50 righteous people, Lord? Would You spare the city of the judgment it has earned?” “Or five less than 50?” “What about 40 people, Lord?” 30? 20? 10?

Scripture calls Abraham by one of the most intimate titles in Holy Writ—“the friend of God.” The freedom such closeness had granted him is illustrated nowhere more remarkably than in Abraham’s intercession. He drew near to God the way God esteems most.

Figuratively speaking, Abraham approached the Maker of heaven and earth balanced on two knees: one of humility (“I who am but dust and ashes,” v. 27, NKJV) and one of boldness (“I will speak but once more,” v. 32). Without both knees pressed firmly to the ground, the intercessor tumbles in the dust with the first harsh wind of worldly resistance.

“The Judge of all the earth” will indeed do right. He cannot do otherwise. But He honors nothing more highly in all creation than a people who willingly align themselves with His agenda through the wonder of prayer.

John 1:12 tells us that “as many as received Him ... He gave the right to become children of God.” By His sovereign authority, every child of God has been assigned certain inalienable rights and responsibilities. Chief among them is prayer.
Over and over God invites us on the pages of Scripture to “Ask!” Humbly. Believingly. Persistently.

To feel caught in the psychological trap of powerlessness is the furthest cry from the position we’ve been given as children of God. No matter what befalls us as a nation, at no time are we victims of a system. We are no further from change than the space of our knees to the ground.

Prayer penetrates doors we will never be privy to enter. Prayer breaks hearts that have been hardened by even the most ruthless pursuit of position. Prayer bridges the gap between the modest den of the meek and the highest places of government, where laws are made and bills are signed and officials wrestle against impossible odds.

Make no mistake. We are not powerless. We are not too remote and removed to make a difference. And we are not a few. If we would but get over our own quarrels and come together on our knees, seeking forgiveness for ourselves first and our country second, dust would fly. Change would come. And to us first.

God is enlisting people like Abraham today. People He can call friends of God. People who are willing to adopt His interests and put their reputations—even their lives—on the line for what is right.

God is enlisting men and women willing to take courage when they’re mocked, willing to love when they are hated and willing to bless when they are cursed. God is calling individuals who grasp the fact that He is more concerned about a change of heart than a change of circumstance.

Indeed, sometimes He appoints circumstances to remain unchanged until hearts move. The veil is still open to the holy of holies through the wonder of prayer. There is still grace and mercy to be found in our desperate time of need. Let the thunder of a million knees quake the earth for good.

Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries, is the author of numerous well-known books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God and The Patriarchs, which have been read and studied by women around the world. She appears weekly on Life Today with James and Betty Robison.

Blind Us To All But Christ

This is taken from Kingdom People

Blind us to all but Christ

O Father, make known to us the glory of your Son!
O Spirit, shine the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ Jesus into our hearts!
Blind us to all but him.
Captivate us with his splendor,
that we, like Moses, might say not to the passing pleasures of sin.
Help us to rest in Christ alone
as the treasure greater than all earthly rewards.

- Sam Storms, The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians

There is Nothing Better Than Conversing With God

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God."

Brother Lawrence

A Quote Taken from a Friend's Blog!

DashHouse.com
A Theologian's Job

Posted: 05 Feb 2009 08:30 AM PST

J.I. Packer in A Quest for Godliness:

"Theologians are called to be the church's water engineers and sewage officers; it is their job to see that God's pure truth flows abundantly where it is needed, and to filter out any intrusive pollution that might damage health."

I am back!

Good morning.

I have been working hard the past year or so on my Doctor of Ministry thesis. Much of the work has focused on a blog site (see post below) about the impact of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on twenty-first century preaching and preachers.

I will be defending my thesis on March 28, 2009. Praise the Lord!

I will try to work on two blog sites now. So to get us started, here is a simple quote on pray by John Wesley...

“Prayer is where the action is."

I am working on my Bonhoeffer blog

Good Morning

I will be putting less time into this blog because I have developed a blog on the impact that Dietrich Bonhoeffer can have on twenty-first century preachers and pastors. It is a blog that will hopefully help me complete my thesis-project for my Doctor of Ministry Degree through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Please visit the blog at...

http://bonhoefferblog.wordpress.com/

Bryan

The Impact of Revival

When revival hits America, the impact will be profound. Marc Dupont said it well..

"Revival in its fullness will see neighborhoods, schools, work places and cultures changed and healed."

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

Are You Praying for Revival?

It is a simple question.

ARE YOU PRAYING FOR REVIVAL?

TAKE INVENTORY

We have said the only hope for America and the world is revival. Our churches have so little life. Why is there no real conviction of sin? What are we doing about it?

.Revival will not come by wishing, sighing, or whining?

.Are you willing to respond in prayer? Are you willing to personally seek God for revival? It is time to pray!

."Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. (Hosea 10:12)

.If you mean to break up the fallow ground of your heart, you must begin by looking closely at your own life. Examine and note the state of your walk with God. Don't play games.

.Do not be in a hurry. Begin to take inventory. Write down on a sheet of paper those sins that so easily beset you from running the race.

.Then seek God in prayer and believe for a cleansing. Let the Holy Spirit begin to do a work in your heart. Remember, God's voice is a "still small voice," and is not the nagging, scolding, badgering, and accusations which one receives from the devil.

rest of article...

Do We See the Impossible When We Pray?

For revival to come, we must dream big and then pray big prayers. Dick Eastwood put it this way:

"Only those who see the invisible can attempt the impossible."


Praying for that "impossible" revival to come!

Bryan

Revival is the Last Hope of the Church

Reflecting on the Welsh Revival of 1904-05, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, has said publicly, and has written in his books, that "the last hope of the church in our day is revival"

The Church Must Get Back to Normal!

Perhaps the best quote of revival is by Vance Havner

He said, "Revival is the saints getting back to normal."

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus, we need to get back to normal. Perhaps, we have never been there!

Bryan

Revival: What is it and Who Needs it?

Derek Gentle has written a wonderful article on the revival. Revival: What it is and Who Needs it


Revival is certainly a word in the Baptist vocabulary. In Baptist life, it is usually used to describe a series of worship services in which a visiting preacher, and sometimes a visiting choir director, come to a church to lead special worship services. These services have a special emphasis placed on leading people, who do not yet have a relationship with Him, to Christ. The church members often help out by doing such things as singing in the "revival choir," bringing their friends to "pack a pew night," or serving pizza to teenagers before the service on "youth night." Sometimes the services are preceded by "cottage prayer meetings," where the members go to a member's home to pray together for the services. This is pretty much what the word meant as as we heard it growing up. Because of this tradition, there remains a "terminological inexactitude" (to borrow a phrase from Churchill) among many Baptists concerning the meaning of the term, revival.

Evangelism is not that to which the word revival refers. Revival is what God sends, not to the lost, but to His own people, the church. The dead can not be revived; they require resurrection. In revival, God does a fresh work in those who have life, yet who have grown weak through sin or neglect. It is true that evangelism will inevitably flow out of revival. Evangelism is important! But in terms of methodology, more and more, we are having to learn how to do that work outside the walls of the church. Unbelievers are not going to come and hear as often as they did in earlier generations. We are having to learn to share the faith in natural ways with those with whom we have relationships.

Here are some better definitions of revival; these will be found to be more consistent with biblical teaching:

"Revival is that sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing." - Robert Coleman

"Revival is a return to spiritual health after a period of decline into sin and broken fellowship with God... Revival is for God's people when they need to be forgiven and restored to life, spiritual health, and vitality" -Blackaby & King (Fresh Encounter, Lifeway, 1993)

"Revival is an extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results." - Richard Owen Roberts

Look in the Bible. Notice how many times it says, "me" or "us" when speaking of revival. Here are some examples:

Psalm 119:156: "Great are Thy mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Thine ordinances"

Psalm 119:37: "Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Thy ways."

Psalm 119:88: "Revive me according to Thy lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Thy mouth"

Psalm 85:6: "Wilt Thou not Thyself revive us again, That Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"

Habbakuk 3:2: "Lord, I have heard the report about Thee and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy"

Like the old song says, "It's me, it's me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer."

When is revival needed among God's people? When they have their left first love. God's people need to be revived when they find themselves going through the motions, having "a form of godliness but denying its power" (2nd Timothy 3:5). God's people need revival when they are wallowing in sin, perhaps regretting their sins, but unwilling to thoroughly repent of them. God's people need revival when they are neglecting their relationship with Christ. Revival is needed when we are low on zeal and have grown lukewarm.

J. I. Packer lists five Marks of Revival:
(1) Awareness of God's Presence
(2) Responsiveness to God's Word
(3) Sensitiveness to sin
(4) Liveliness in Community - A revived church is full of life, joy, and power of the Holy Spirit
(5) Faithfulness in testimony - an evangelistic and ethical overspill into the world.

We can all agree with Spurgeon as he described the kind of revival he wanted to see:

"We need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless, so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit. We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people in this day of declension and vanity?"

Is there a "formula for revival"? Sometimes, you hear 2nd Chronicles 7:14 used as a recipe for revival:

"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, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

But that's the whole deal, isn't it? Getting God's people to humble themselves, to pray, to seek God's face, and repent? It would seem that if all that is happening, you have revival! The condition being met in this passage leads to forgiveness and restoration; at least that's what it says after the word, "then".

So, should we pray for revival? Of course! That's what we see the Psalmist doing in the verses above. But can we reduce the work of a sovereign God to a man-dependent formula? No. Revival is the work of God. We pray for it because we are dependent upon Him to send it.

Limiting God in our Prayers

Will God send revival? Millions of people are praying that he will. Maybe it is our prayers that are the problem. Andrew Murray (1828-1917)offers the following wisdom...

"Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do."

Prayer is a Scourge for Satan

John Bunyan said that prayer is beneficial for many reasons...

"Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan"

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Do we labour in prayer?

D.M. M'Intyre wrote a classic little book on prayer called "The Hidden Life of Prayer"

In it he wrote: "Do we know what it is to 'labour,' to 'wrestle.' to 'agonize' in prayer?"

Good question!

Praying for revival

Bryan

Focus and Prayer

Let's kick off the month with a prayer quote by Oswald Chambers...

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties."

Short and to the point.

Bryan