O Lord, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2 ESV
By: Jim Wood, Founder
Several weeks ago as I was preparing this series on Awakening and Revival, I came across an article by a pastor I’m not familiar with who was sharing some thoughts on Revival by John Piper. I enjoyed what was shared but especially a series of quotes from others which Piper had apparently assembled. I reached out to the folks at Desiring God requesting permission to use these with attribution. Having received no response in the weeks that followed, I am sharing the quotes with this disclaimer.
It is God’s will through his wonderful grace, that the prayers of his saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for his church, it is his will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of his people; . . . and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for his church, he will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication. (Jonathan Edwards, Some Thoughts on Revival)
Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival: men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. (Charles Spurgeon)
When did you last hear anyone praying for revival, praying that God might open the windows of heaven and pour out his Spirit? When did you last pray for that yourself? I suggest seriously that we are neglecting this almost entirely. We are guilty of forgetting the authority of the Holy Spirit. . . . When God sends revival he can do more in a single day than in fifty years of all our organization. That is the verdict of sheer history which emerges clearly from the long story of the Church. (Martin Lloyd-Jones)
I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God’s creational intentions. (John Wesley)
G. Campbell Morgan famously observed how a sailor has no impact on the wind. But a good sailor knows the wind, and knows how to set the sails when the wind blows. Let us study the history of revival and let us gather in what Edwards called “a humble attempt to promote explicit agreement and visible union of God’s people in extraordinary prayer” so that we will know when the Spirit moves afresh. Then we may set our sails accordingly.
We certainly should continue to pray for revival in our day, in our nation, in our churches, in our homes, in our lives. We must remember that prayer, however, is not a substitute for obedience. Pray for God to change our lives and then, as he leads, repent and believe the Gospel.
