What if we prayed for revival?

“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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
-2 Chron. 7:14

In 1971 I was blessed to be part of the Jesus People revival. That was a wonderful time when God poured out his Spirit into the lives of young people all across America. Teenagers gave their lives to Christ in masses with no adult supervision or even encouragement. There was an amazing openness to the basic gospel message. We didn’t have to sugarcoat it with flowery words. We simply shared how Christ had changed our lives. We told young people of their sin and need for a Savior and they responded by surrendering to him. Our church youth group grew from under 20 to over 100 in a matter of a few months. That‘s when I gave my life completely to the Lord Jesus and it changed me forever. What a wonderful time that was! What a blessing to be part of it!

What if we called out to God and prayed for revival? The same Holy Sprit that moved across America in the 1970s can move today. How exciting that would be.

Our passage tells us that in order for this to happen, though, we must take a few steps.

To begin with, we must humble ourselves and pray. I don’t know about you but when I look at the state of our country and of our world, I realize how desperate we are for God.

• People today are lacking simple peace of mind.
• Families are in disarray.
• Many have lost hope.

We need the life changing power of God. Unfortunately, though, people are not turning to the Lord.

Instead of crying out to the only one who can bring the change we so desperately need, we’re trying to fix things in our own power and ability.

We’re not seeking God’s face as scripture tells us to.

And we’re certainly not turning from our wicked ways.

How sad this is. Who do we think we are?

God tells us in this passage that if we will turn to him, not only will he forgive our sin but he’ll also heal our land. Can you imagine how different life would be to live in a healed land? It’s hard to imagine.

Is this even possible? Yes. Scripture tells us it is.

Instead of trying to fix things ourselves, let’s humbly cry out to God and ask him to do what we are totally incapable of doing.

What if we prayed for revival?