Lord, teach me to understand the meaning of revival. I have often prayed for revival, hoping to be the revivalist and therefore the center. At other times I have longed for revival because it meant crowds, interest, and excitement. How wrong were those ideas! Revival is anything but pleasant; it is a searching, searing time when God’s holiness burns hotly against our sins. It is knowing that God is a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29); knowing God’s “terror” (2 Corinthians 5:11, KJV); and crying out, “Woe is me” (Isaiah 6:5). Revival has one chief aim—the removal of sin and the purifying of the believer. We read of revivals and wholesale conversions, but these are the results of revival. Revival itself concerns two parties, God and His people. The message of revival is: What are you doing about your piled-up sins?
Revival is a sign that, because of His thinning patience, God has moved His people to confession. But it also means something else: God loves us so much that He is anxious to put us back into a right relationship with Himself. In revival, God says, “I love you, so get rid of your sins.”
The seed of revival is the grief of the Holy Spirit; the confession of the people is the Spirit’s grief vented. Only when the Spirit is “ungrieved” can blessing come. It is at that point that God’s people can take a mighty leap forward. Unless I have a contented Holy Spirit within me, I need revival. Revival is God’s surgery for people who have grown dull of hearing.
The psalmist’s deep cry encourages us: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6, NIV). It is a welcome day when revival comes, for then we are restored and delivered (vv. 4, 7).
“Wilt Thou not Thyself revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation” (Psalm 85:6– 7).
Daily with the King 