In the time of loss there is also the promise of renewal, reformation and revival
Isaiah 63:15 - Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now? This was part of the prayer Isaiah penned more than 50 years before the Babylonian Captivity. I believe that it also stands for us as a template for how we should be praying for revival. We are in a time of pressing in to lay hold of the Lord, like Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord, we cannot let go until the Lord blesses as He promises he will (blessing is, after all at the core of 2 Chronicles passage 7:14).
I believe that every single one of us at Lamb have a role and a part in this season. You don’t have to be a preacher, or a prophet or a leader. This is a time of drawing near to God, of seeking His face, of pursuing the Lord and calling Him to come and rescue His people. At the beginning of Isaiah 64 the prophet describes what we desperately desire: (1) Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! (2) As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! (3) When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!
It is important to remember that Isaiah penned this prayer many decades before the Babylonian Captivity. He prayed a prayer that wasn’t going to be answered for many, many years. God was faithful to His people and brought a measure of restoration under Nehemiah. It is significant to me that God sets forth certain principals relative to his nature that he faithfully waits for us to respond to in faith. What I mean is that even though Israel had placed themselves in a situation which precipitated God’s judgment in the form of the Babylonian Captivity, He still holds open the door to Israel - Call on Me, Come back to Me, and I will restore and renew you.
That is our anchor in revival praying. We know that our God is a God who loves to respond to His people when they call upon Him. While I believe that it is possible to hinder revival through disobedience and unrepentant hard heartedness, I also believe that God overlooks much of our weakness and immaturity if we are sincere in seeking Him. Let’s face it - If He didn’t we wouldn’t have a chance to ever mature. But the story of the Prodigal Son, the story of the woman who wept at Jesus feet, the story of the Women with the Issue of Blood, the story of the Woman at the Well and many more remind us that God is passionately interested in touching the heart of anyone who makes even the slightest move toward Him.
And that is what I am talking about. Each of us finding our place on the wall as forerunners who are doing what we can for the sake of the people of God in this region, and in the nation. We are not setting ourselves up as something special, we are not setting ourselves apart from our brothers and sisters. It really is as simple as this - we see that this is a time of loss. We recognize that this time of the church’s spiritual weakness is caused by sin, and we recognize that God is willing to come and help us. We aren’t about putting anyone down, or pointing our finger at anyone… We are about seeing God come and heal the land.
You can partner in prayer exactly where you are at. If you are able to come to a prayer meeting, then come. If you are able to gather a few to pray, then gather them. Whatever you are able to do, please do it. Begin asking God every single day to send his Holy Spirit. Begin meditating on 2 Chronicles 7:14. Read over Isaiah 63:15 - 64:12. Take the time to read carefully those passages and to allow the Holy Spirit to draw you into praying them. I can tell you that God is a heart tenderizer. He loves to to melt us. When Evan Roberts heard the preacher pray “Bend us” it touched his heart, he went outside the meeting that night and prayed fervently “bend me.” God answered. And set all of Wales on fire with His presence. God answered Evan, and He will answer us.
November 25th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
When I first recognized I needed Christianity in my life to survive, I was at the deepest despair ever. I had hit bottom and didn’t want to even continue living on this earth. It was just too damn hard and I couldn’t keep up the good fight anymore, not even for my children. But friends and family urged me to get back to church. God loved me and it would be a drastic mistake that could never be fixed if I took my own life without God’s permission. So I went to church and friends witnessed to me and saved my soul (again) but this time I received the Holy Spirit. I had never felt that spirit within my soul before even though as a kid I considered myself fairly religious. (I went to church every Sunday and special Holidays).
Receiving the Holy Spirit is the ultimate as a Christian as far as I’m concerned. Without feeling and knowing the Lord’s spirit within you, You just don’t have what’s needed to be a true follower of Jesus. (This is how it was for me anyway). All those years of being a church goer, led me to fall off the wagon and stray from my spiritual beliefs and fall into the social pitfalls ie money, possessions, partying.
God had led me to LOG for a reason. I think it is this Revival that LOG has been praying for since I started attending LOG. I have been attended the “Cry for Awakening” services and have met some wonderful people at the other churches participating.
I agree most of us must experience an extreme loss in our lives before we get the importance of dedication to our Savior that is required to be a true believer.
I hope our world doesn’t have to experience a severe loss before the general population realizes God’s importance in our individual lives.
I will pray as a people that we are smarter than the Jews that were rescued from Egypt and were left in the desert for 40 yrs complaining. I pray our generation learned from the past and we don’t make the same mistakes as previous generations did.
Thank you again for letting me part of the LOG family. I am truly blessed.
Vicki
November 26th, 2007 at 12:40 am
I think Vicki is the most awesome woman ever.