The Next Revival
It has been a cry of my heart to see all nations in the world today reached with the gospel. It is still a cry of my heart to see my King receiving worship from all people groups. And I know for sure that all Christians are called to participate so that it can happen. But when I look around, it’s not happening, we still have billions of souls waiting to be reached with the saving gospel. That is why I keep wondering, what if somehow the labourer crisis was addressed in an instant? That something somehow, an unstoppable gospel movement is birthed and overruns the whole world. That millions of disciples took take the gospel to the ends of the earth. I try to imagine the outcomes of a prayer revolution when the church executes its full mandate of passionately interceding for souls. Concentrating the prayers on the unreached. The Church being at the centre of a revolution. People running to the church to be told which nations remain unconquered. The church being the training ground for missionaries. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it has happened in the past. Revivals of the past accomplished all that. Though they didn’t spread globally, past revivals had accomplished much. If a mega revival happened today, most souls would then be reached in a very short time.
Some Christians have studied the revivals of the past, how impactful they were and what followed. Some ministers of the gospel and missionaries have attributed their call to service to the rich history of past revivals. Me too I have been there, the exploits of other missionaries did help me to see that I can do this, that as a young man, I’m not the first one, that others have done what I’m doing. Revivals actually happened, and they resulted in gospel movements that swept communities and nations. Souls were added to the kingdom in huge numbers. Disciples willingly gave themselves up for missions and went to ends of the earth to preach and display the glory of God to the nations. There were radical transformations of individuals, the Church, and communities where the revivals eventually spilled over to.
Today, some believers have continued to glorify the past and bask in its fading glory. They adore the heroes of the rivals. They have built monuments out those key people and places. They got content with reading notes instead of experiencing first-hand the taste of a revival. For me, I have always been puzzled why I have to study past revivals, yet I should be part of a revival. I should be witnessing one in my generation. From my evaluation, there are more than enough reasons why I should be witnessing a revival. And I choose to believe that I will be part of one in my lifetime.
I believe there are things the people of the past did that we are not doing today. And because we are not doing those things God has not sent a revival. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God that was in the past is the same One today. His patterns and ways have not changed. He is ready and willing to open the door to those who knock. To answer those who will call on Him. He is ready to pour out a revival is our days. Disciples of the past took this to heart and without relenting, they pulled down an unstoppable revival. They asked for and prepared the ground so that it happened. They sustained it with unbroken intersession, careful study of the word, obedience, evangelism, and discipleship.
One thing that is true and clear is that the revivals of the past had visionary leaders who paid the ultimate price. They gave themselves to the cause. They were responsible of pulling down revivals from heaven and sustaining them. Revivals are not cheap, they have a high price tag on them and anyone willing to witness one, must pay the full price. The price is in the preparations. We must learn from the history as we focus on the next outpouring. Elijah took time to prepare by digging the trenches and arranging the stones before God poured out a fire. This step was crucial. The problem is not God, but people who are not available and ready for it. Genesis 2:5 tells us God had not sent rain on the earth because “there was no man to work on the ground”. Could this be true today? Do we have people that God can count on? Can God trust you with a revival? Will there be rain because you’re available?
The next thing we must all do is pray. I know that when some people are asked if they pray most may confirm that they do so. But how many are praying kingdom prayers? Prayers that connect with God’s desire to see the whole earth covered with the knowledge of His glory. Prayers of absolute surrender. Prayers of intercession, interceding for the lost and the unreached. Souls and disciples were the key contents of revivals of the old. They laboured in prayer. They initiated unbroken prayer chains, some lasted decades. They people were stirred to pray with persistence. Such prayers attracted an outpouring of a revival. We learn from Elijah that the passionate prayers he offered after the preparations, God answered with a fire. Also, as disciples tarried in the upper room, they prayed earnestly in one accord. And the results were that they were set ablaze with God’s fire that sustained them all as they took Jesus to the ends of the earth. A mega revival happened!
I’m hopeful that God will give an unprecedented revival to my generation. But also strongly believe that we must be ready. Let’s be those who will pay the price. Those that God will count on. Being available vessels so that God will say “I will send rain” because they are there. We must shift to praying kingdom prayers. Prayers that will outlast us. Global prayers that are missional and consistent. Above these key issues, we must mobilize and recruit others to join in. We are the reason why we are not witnessing a revival. May Jesus help us all.