Prayer is not just to change situations or circumstances. Prayer is not just to receive the desired request. Rather prayer is to change us. The praying person is to be changed through prayer.
The more we petition God for souls,revival,and an awakening,the more something begins to form inside of us. Instead of just asking for souls because it is the right thing to do and because we know people need to be saved, something starts to change within us. It starts to become a "must have" and then it becomes an "urgent matter" and then it becomes a "burden" that cannot be denied. Then it becomes a driving force; it becomes our daily food; it becomes a necessity of existence to pray for revival.
The prayer for revival must change us until we become the prayer;until it is the air we breathe and the food we eat. It must become a part of us.
We must be a people desperate for God otherwise how can we expect the world to be desperate for God?
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Are We Ready For Revival?
I think many believers see prevailing prayer as having to beg God to answer. Or that we must put in so many hours of gut wrenching prayer before He answers or that prayer is a method of twisting God's arm to receive what we ask for.
Not the case at all - we are engaged in a warfare and we must break through the demonic wall and wrestle the strongholds of wickedness. We are not wrestling God for souls. God desires for all men to come to the true knowledge of Christ. God desires to send revival, but He also knows the precise, proper time to send it. When the hearts of man are so plowed up to receive the precious seed.
Are we ready for revival? If it came tomorrow are we ready? Are the churches ready? Are the pastors ready? Are the people in the pews ready? Will people accept revival or reject it, because it will change their ritualistic church services! Will they reject it because man will no longer be in control? Will they be willing to be brought to their knees;will they be humble or stiffnecked;will they recognize the Spirit of God or will they reject Him?
Most likely a fair amount of our praying for revival involves prayer for the church to be prepared. This is why we desperately need an awakening in the pulpit.
If preachers are sleeping in the pulpits; if they are delivering finely tuned and well oiled speeches and not messages of fresh manna from heaven, will they welcome revival in their church? Do they truly know of the One of whom they speak of on Sunday mornings?
Are the people in the pews ready for revival? Are their hearts stirred when they listen to the sermon, do they know of the One who dwells within their hearts? Would they receive a revival that turns their neat little Sunday programs upside down?
No wonder we need an awakening in the pulpits, otherwise the revival may be rejected by the very men of God who are to carry it to the world. Joel 1&2 called for both the priests and the people to cry out to God for the harvest that was being destroyed. Is our harvest of souls being destroyed and is revival delayed because we are not awake and weeping before God?
Not the case at all - we are engaged in a warfare and we must break through the demonic wall and wrestle the strongholds of wickedness. We are not wrestling God for souls. God desires for all men to come to the true knowledge of Christ. God desires to send revival, but He also knows the precise, proper time to send it. When the hearts of man are so plowed up to receive the precious seed.
Are we ready for revival? If it came tomorrow are we ready? Are the churches ready? Are the pastors ready? Are the people in the pews ready? Will people accept revival or reject it, because it will change their ritualistic church services! Will they reject it because man will no longer be in control? Will they be willing to be brought to their knees;will they be humble or stiffnecked;will they recognize the Spirit of God or will they reject Him?
Most likely a fair amount of our praying for revival involves prayer for the church to be prepared. This is why we desperately need an awakening in the pulpit.
If preachers are sleeping in the pulpits; if they are delivering finely tuned and well oiled speeches and not messages of fresh manna from heaven, will they welcome revival in their church? Do they truly know of the One of whom they speak of on Sunday mornings?
Are the people in the pews ready for revival? Are their hearts stirred when they listen to the sermon, do they know of the One who dwells within their hearts? Would they receive a revival that turns their neat little Sunday programs upside down?
No wonder we need an awakening in the pulpits, otherwise the revival may be rejected by the very men of God who are to carry it to the world. Joel 1&2 called for both the priests and the people to cry out to God for the harvest that was being destroyed. Is our harvest of souls being destroyed and is revival delayed because we are not awake and weeping before God?
Wail, O vinedressers, the harvest is destroyed
Joel 1:11 "wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley; because the harvest of the field is destroyed." (NAS)
In the book of Joel they were under siege by a plague of locusts who were destroying the crops. Joel was speaking of a literal destruction of a harvest but with a divine interpretation. Joel called for wailing and howling because the harvest was being destroyed. How much more should we be wailing and howling in prayer for a spiritual harvest of souls being destroyed by the devil. Is not the enemy already destroying our youth and young adults with addictions to drugs,alcohol,porn,immorality and violent video games? Is a harvest of souls being destroyed because we are not weeping and wailing for them. Does the Church even see the "locust" destroying the souls of people and carrying them off to eternal death?
In Joel 1: 13 & 14 we see Joel telling us that both the priests and the people are to cry out to God. This is also repeated Joel 2:12-17. He calls for the priests and the people to return to God and to weep and wail. An awakening for souls must start in the pulpits across this nation. When the pastors begin to hunger for more of God and His Presence and begin to weep for souls and call for revival then the people in the pews will awaken and hunger for these same things. Then they will take revival to the streets of America and Living Waters will flow down the streets of our cities.
Joel 2:1 calls for the blowing of the trumpet and the sounding of the alarm. This is for one purpose: to awaken the people, arouse them,and call them to duty.It is time to wake up and cry to God for revival. Not a revival that stays within the four walls of the church but a revival that pours out into our cities,businesses,market place, schools,and government.
Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not My word like fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters rock?" (NAS)
We need the Word of God to set our hearts on fire and allow His Word to shatter the rock hardness of our hearts. Weep and wail for the harvest of souls!
In the book of Joel they were under siege by a plague of locusts who were destroying the crops. Joel was speaking of a literal destruction of a harvest but with a divine interpretation. Joel called for wailing and howling because the harvest was being destroyed. How much more should we be wailing and howling in prayer for a spiritual harvest of souls being destroyed by the devil. Is not the enemy already destroying our youth and young adults with addictions to drugs,alcohol,porn,immorality and violent video games? Is a harvest of souls being destroyed because we are not weeping and wailing for them. Does the Church even see the "locust" destroying the souls of people and carrying them off to eternal death?
In Joel 1: 13 & 14 we see Joel telling us that both the priests and the people are to cry out to God. This is also repeated Joel 2:12-17. He calls for the priests and the people to return to God and to weep and wail. An awakening for souls must start in the pulpits across this nation. When the pastors begin to hunger for more of God and His Presence and begin to weep for souls and call for revival then the people in the pews will awaken and hunger for these same things. Then they will take revival to the streets of America and Living Waters will flow down the streets of our cities.
Joel 2:1 calls for the blowing of the trumpet and the sounding of the alarm. This is for one purpose: to awaken the people, arouse them,and call them to duty.It is time to wake up and cry to God for revival. Not a revival that stays within the four walls of the church but a revival that pours out into our cities,businesses,market place, schools,and government.
Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not My word like fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters rock?" (NAS)
We need the Word of God to set our hearts on fire and allow His Word to shatter the rock hardness of our hearts. Weep and wail for the harvest of souls!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Holy Spirit Intercedes for Us
Romans8:26-27 NAS
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
This scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints. If we will yield to the Spirit in prayer and invite the Holy Spirit to hover over us and intercede for us, He will work God's will into our lives. He will brood and move and impart and pray and build within us the will of God; the plan of God into our spirits. He will work it and weave it into our spirits.
We do not know what the future holds or where we will be or what will happen but the Spirit knows. We do not know God's plans for our lives or where His path will lead us, but the Spirit knows and He intercedes for us so that we will be on the right path at the right time.
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
This scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints. If we will yield to the Spirit in prayer and invite the Holy Spirit to hover over us and intercede for us, He will work God's will into our lives. He will brood and move and impart and pray and build within us the will of God; the plan of God into our spirits. He will work it and weave it into our spirits.
We do not know what the future holds or where we will be or what will happen but the Spirit knows. We do not know God's plans for our lives or where His path will lead us, but the Spirit knows and He intercedes for us so that we will be on the right path at the right time.
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