Work with God in seeking revival-Part 1
Work with God in seeking revival-Part 1
2 Chronicles 7:14 “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Extra Reading: 2 Chronicles 7: 11-22 NIV Bible
In chapter 6 of 2 Chronicles, Solomon asked God to make provisions for the people when they sinned. God answered with four conditions for forgiveness:
- humble yourself by admitting your sins,
- pray to God, asking for forgiveness,
- seek God continually, and
- turn from sinful behaviour.
True repentance is more than talk-it is changed behaviour. Whether we sin individually, as a group, or as a nation, following these steps will lead to forgiveness. God will answer our earnest prayers. All through the Bible we see that God has chosen certain people to work with Him for spiritual well-being of His people. In the New Testament we find that every Christian as a member of the body of Christ is to contribute to the health and strength of the body. Without the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit it would be impossible for His followers to carry out the work He has commissioned them to do. More and more Christians in many different churches are recognizing that the power of the Holy Spirit-the power that came to the 120 on the Day of Pentecost-is available to us today; it is essential to the accomplishment of our mission. He has chosen you to work with Him in bringing revival to your church. He wants you to help direct that revival for the fulfillment of its purpose-the strengthening of the church to accomplish its mission in the world. Not often are members of the local church exhorted to pray for revival. The question is “Do we really need revival?” We can pray more effectively for revival when we understand better what revival is. Revival is an evangelical awakening bringing man into vital touch with the Spirit of God.
The history of revivals helps us to see how they come and how we can have a part in bringing revival to our churches today. Let me ask this question again, “Do we really need revival in our churches?” There is little use in praying for revival if we don’t really want it. We have good, consecrated Christians who love the Lord in our churches, but are afraid of revival because “the place will be shaken.” Yes, it is true, God shakes things up. The work of the Holy Spirit sometimes is divisive. Jesus’ ministry was. Some church members want a deeper experience with God and some don’t. However, many pastors who wanted revival can tell us how their whole church has been revived. We must pray for revival. Revival is given by God to those who earnestly pray for it. This earnestness leads to continued prayer, sometimes for a period of weeks or months. It must be a daily and united prayer. Those who wanted revival met together daily to pray.
Prayer: O God, please revive us again, we confess our unbelief and prayerlessness. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!
Rev. Samuel N. Modise
