Getting ready for revival
‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.’ – Habakkuk 3:1-2
Do it again Lord!
I love to read revival history and the revivals in Scripture.
Habakkuk captures that longing, ‘I have heard of your fame’, ‘I have heard about what you have done’, ‘I am in awe of the miracles, the signs and the wonders,’… Lord, repeat them again!
Do it again Lord!
A billion souls?
There have been many prophecies about a coming revival. Prophecies about a billion or more souls coming to the Lord in the next few decades. Prophecies from the likes of Jean Darnell about fires burning across the United Kingdom and there being an awakening.
We need to pay attention to the prophetic words and as Paul taught the Thessalonians, ‘Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 CSB).
Don’t despise prophetic words!
Don’t despise prophetic words! Test them and hold on to what is good, and as the writer of 2 Chronicles 20:20 said ‘believe in His (the Lord’) prophets and you will succeed.’ Revival and awakening are coming.
A ‘birthing’
But it doesn’t stop there. We need to act on the prophetic words that we are given.
Sometimes prophetic words need ‘birthing’. What does that look like?
Birthing in prayer what is seen in the Spirit
Elijah, after defeating the prophets of Baal and Asherah, ‘heard the sound of a heavy rain’, (1 Kings 18:41). There was no rain at the time, but in the Spirit, he could hear it. Elijah then went and prayed. He put his face between his knees and cried out to God. Seven times he sent his servant to look and see if the rain was coming. On the seventh time, Elijah’s servant reported that he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand and, ‘In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour.’ (1 Kings 18:45 CSB). Elijah birthed in prayer what he saw in the Spirit.
A cry to the Lord to revive the people
Or take Daniel (Daniel 9:1-19). Daniel paid attention to the prophetic words of Jeremiah, the prophet, and cried out to the Lord. He repented on behalf of the nation and cried out for mercy, forgiveness and for the Lord to move, and in essence revive the people.
Do we cry out to Him?
We can take courage from Daniel, Elijah and Habakkuk in the petitions to the Lord. The Lord is not reluctant in moving, but He is looking for His people to cry out to Him.
And here we have a mystery; I do believe revival is a sovereign move of God, yet the Lord is also looking throughout the earth for those who are devoted to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9), for those on whom He can rest His presence.
Stories of revival
Read the stories about John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards in the Great Awakening, or Evan Robert’s in the Welsh revival, or Asuza Street or the Hebridean revival. You will be inspired. Mighty miracles, and thousands of people turning to the Lord and the nations they were in, changed.
Are we lukewarm?
As I think about these revivals I realise how poor we have become, how lukewarm we are and how much we need the Lord to move. This is not a condemnation but an encouragement to pray, to remember what the Lord has done, but cry out to Him again. Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:1-2)
Join us to pray – 24 Hours of Prayer
Pick a slot on 1st July to pray! You sign up HERE.
We will also be running an hour long time of prayer on Zoom at 8am Tuesday 1st July to kick off the time of prayer, as well as one at 7am Wednesday 2nd July to close. Please email Lisa for zoom details.
Join our next Equip & Empower: Getting Ready for Revival
Find out more HERE.
By Simon Baddeley, Filling Station Regional Consultant for South West England, co-leader of our online training sessions (Equip & Empower) and also our Prophetic Mentoring Course, All Shall Prophesy.
