Author: Patricia King
A DEVOTIONAL ON REVIVAL
By Patricia King
Do you need a personal revival to touch your life? If so, what does that look like? Revival Historian and author of the God’s General’s Books, Roberts Lairdon and I hosted a conference called The Spirit of Revival. The event was filled with expectation, by both the participants and by the Holy Spirit. I loved the conference and it made me personally hunger for more of God…much more! On the CD set, The Spirit of Revival, Roberts shares amazing insights and testimonies into the strengths and weaknesses of past revivalists. We share profound teaching and valuable insights that build faith but the following is a brief devotional on the subject of personal revival that will encourage you for sure.
The Lord wants you to live in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. He deeply desires to refresh every area of your life that is dry, desolate, or destroyed. This is the nature of revival. You can be revived into greater degrees of kingdom empowerment day by day.
What is Revival?
To Revive means "to bring back to life; to refresh and to replenish". The following is a definition from the Mirriam Webster Online Dictionary:
1 : to restore to consciousness or life
2 : to restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state : bring back
3 : to renew in the mind or memory
A Revival is therefore an event and an atmosphere where life-giving refreshment from the Spirit of God touches lives.
Mirriam Webster Online Dictionary Definition of "revival":
1: an act or instance of reviving : the state of being revived: as a: renewed attention to or interest in something b: a new
presentation or publication of something old c (1): a period of renewed religious interest (2): an often highly emotional
evangelistic meeting or series of meetings
2: restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract)
Compared with Rain
There are various degrees of revival in the same way as there are degrees of rainfall. Here is an example: If you went for a walk in your shorts, flip flops, and tank top and felt a raindrop fall on your face... and then another single drop a moment later... and then a few more, you would say, "I better get home, it is raining." It is rain if it is one drop and it is still rain if it is a torrential downpour. It is all rain.
It is the same with revival. Like rain, there are varying degrees. There are moments of personal revival experienced in prayer and devotion times or through attending a Spirit filled meeting. There are seasons of personal revival where you find yourself coming out of a dry place and into a full season of refreshment in the Spirit. We have all experienced these degrees from time to time.
There are also corporate times of refreshing where entire local assemblies experience refreshment and revitalization. And then
there are revivals that influence the Body of Christ in cities and nations like the Welsh Revival, the Azusa Street Revival, the Healing Revivals in the 40's and 50's and the Toronto and Pensacola outpourings in the 90's.
It is all revival but varying degrees.
How to Posture Yourself for Revival
Identify spiritual hunger and thirst
Are you hungry? Are you thirsty for more of God? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) How hungry are you? How thirsty are you? Cry out to Him from your place of desperation. Cry out to Him day and night and He will answer speedily (see Luke 18:7). Desperately long for more of God – only God. Spend time in His presence waiting on Him and meditating on His Word. Cry out for more of Him.
Repentance from sin
God clearly outlines His purposes and commandments in the scripture. I like to call the Bible our handbook for life. When we violate God’s commandments or disobey His Word there are adverse consequences that spread beyond our own lives and affect many. It is like a pebble thrown into a pool of water. The rippling spreads much further than the original place where the pebble entered the water. When we humble ourselves before God and repent from sin, His blood cleanses us from the sin and the influence is dissipated. John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Following repentance, a new alignment to the purposes of God is established and this brings forth times of refreshing, or revival. Go always honors a humble and contrite heart.
Honor Holy Spirit
Jesus left us with an amazing gift: Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Holy Spirit is the One who revives. He is with you to prepare you for revival. Get to know Him. In my CD series entitled Encountering the Sevenfold Spirit of God, I instruct our students to know Holy Spirit and to manifest His nature and gifts. God wants you to experience His Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Revival.
Do you “see it?
If you see it, you can have it. Take time to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His vision for your personal revival. Don’t be afraid to dream big. See yourself in revival. What does this look like to you? In Genesis 13:14,15 the Lord invited Abraham to look as far as he could to the north, south, east and west. He told him that he could have what he saw. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to God but the things revealed belong to us and to our children.” In 1 Kings 18:41-45 we understand that Elijah must have seen the cloud of rain in his spiritual vision before it ever appeared in the natural. There was not a cloud in natural sight but he saw it in his spirit.
Pray and Believe
Jesus taught us to pray in faith. “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them and they shall be granted you.” (Mark 11:24). Sometimes we have not because we ask not. Ask for personal revival. Elijah put his head between his knees on Mount Carmel. This was a prayer posture. He continued in prayer until the rain manifest. “Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain.” (Zechariah 10:1). Press in and believe. Remain focused in prayer until you see revival.
Praise
Praise can open the atmosphere of heaven over your life. A great example of breakthrough in praise is the story of Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:22-34). Praise not only released a miracle deliverance for Paul and Silas but it also initiated the jailer’s salvation – and his whole house.
Guard your thoughts
Phil 4:8, teaches us to think on positive things. Proverbs 4:23, instructs us to watch over our hearts with diligence for the issues of life spring forth from what fills the heart. Matthew 12:34, states that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. James 3:2-6 alerts us to the fact that the words we speak direct the course of our lives.
Extravagant giving. An atmosphere of generosity moves the hand of God. Historically, a spirit of generosity accompanied revivals. Acts 4:32-35 is a great example. Sow into revival.
Outrageous love
Love is the Kingdom language. God is love and therefore when we sow love we will see the earth come alive. 1 Corinthians 14:1 says in the Living Bible, “Let love be your greatest aim.” Commit yourself each day to making love your greatest aim. Firstly, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and then look for ways to extravagantly share the love of God with others.
More Grace
Grace is undeserved, unmerited favor. We do not deserve revival, yet God desires to bless us with fresh outpourings. Grace is also God’s divine enablement upon our lives. Believe for increased grace. We do not obtain revival through works as it is a work of His grace and goodness. Cry out for greater grace.
For more teaching and resource from Patricia King
Discussion Add a Comment