Praying for Revival

The previous generation sometimes talks about “the good old days” as if everything was perfect back then and totally unacceptable now. I’ve never done that. Perhaps it is my tendency to remember the negative of life, but I remember those “good old days” had their share of misery and trials.

The writer of these devotionals on the church looks at the early church and compares today’s church in an unfavorable light. In trying to be more objective, I notice church problems too, yet no matter the era, the church is filled with people who are battling sin, and that means people with problems. Besides, the Bible says Jesus is building His church; I hesitate to be critical of what He is doing.

Yet the writer does have a point. Many of today’s congregations seem to be asleep, oblivious, stuck in their ways, disunited, weak, declining, and a host of other negative descriptions. We are supposed to be united as members of God’s family, standing strongly on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself being our cornerstone. In Him, the whole church is supposed to be joined together and becoming a holy place in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19–21)

I’m blessed to be in a local church that is alive and well, but not all of them are like that. In fact, in North America at the least, nonbelievers have lost respect for the church, or at least for what they call “organized religion.” They say, “God is dead” and the same thing about His church.

Individual spiritual lives are like that too. We begin our journey with God filled with vibrancy and excited hope. As we draw closer to Christ, we begin to be more aware of our sin, sin we never noticed before. Then the battle with it begins. For many, we become discouraged with ourselves, even with God and with other Christians. With this happening to individual members, little wonder it also happens to congregations.

Also, the Bible says we are saved by grace through faith, and that we are also to walk by faith, trusting Christ for everything. However, the human default is trusting in ourselves. If I do that, not only do I make an idol out of me, I become proud when I succeed and discouraged when I fail. My eyes are off Christ and on my performance. I compare myself with others to measure how I’m doing, am threatened by those “more spiritual.” This adds to that downward spiral. Without diligence in spiritual disciplines and the power of the Holy Spirit, I will hit a low spot and am apt to take other Christians with me.

All this is the reason for the exhortations in the New Testament. God uses strong language to tell His people what they must do, such as, “Prepare your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13–16)

Yet Christians fail. We could say “The devil made me do it.” We could speak about our weakness and gullibility. We could even excuse ourselves with “Life is too hard” or “I am just so busy making a living.” Excuses don’t cut it, so what is the remedy?

David knew. He was a good king, a “man after God’s own heart,” but he fell into sin. He didn’t make excuses, but confessed his sin (read the whole psalm). Then he asked God to fix it, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” (Psalm 51:10–15)

Notice that David knew the result of God’s cleansing power. He would be restored to joy, teaching sinners about God and praising Him —activities of a healthy spiritual person and a healthy spiritual church.

Churches who have stumbled into a slump need to confess as David did. We need to say to God, “Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us! Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:4–6)

The Lord is faithful. He says, “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Renewal or revival is an intensified version of the normal work done by the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s people. Through the years, the church’s effectiveness has gone up and down, down through unconfessed sin, but up through personal and corporate revival. It is always the right time for another one.

Secularism

Secular describes the realm of worldly, temporal, unspiritual things, including the attitude toward life of an ungodly person. It was this attitude that ruined Esau. He had been hunting. When he came home, he was hungry and his brother was stirring a pot of stew. When he asked for some, Jacob offered to trade it for the “birthright” that belonged to the eldest son. Esau replied, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” (Genesis 25:32)

The Bible says Esau was more concerned about his stomach than his eternal well-being. The birthright was an important part of his heritage and had high spiritual values for God’s people, but this man didn’t care. He’d rather eat, and while being hungry is not a sin, putting food ahead of a sacred blessing gave Esau a historical designation; both Old and New Testaments record God as saying of him…

Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Malachi 1:2-3 and Romans 9:13)

The New Testament comments on Esau as an example of someone who falls short. Bitterness can do it, as can sexual immorality, but so can having a secular or godless mind.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. (Hebrews 12:15–17)

Some Bibles translate “unholy” as “profane,” a description of people who judge things by coarse earthly standards, without spiritual understanding or insight. They are aware of every other desire, but have no inclination or desire toward God.

Esau had no self-control, but also no appreciation of spiritual values. To him, the birthright was a vague religious blessing, so when the choice came, it seemed a distant sentiment compared to the here and now advantage of a full stomach.

I could put down Esau, but I know how easily I can drift into that secular realm, to have my spiritual values sail off into the sunset while I busily become taken up with the things of this life. I can forget that all of life is sacred and give up on seeking to be godly in all that I do. As today’s devotional writer says, it is easy when “soul wars with sense” to “depreciate everything that is beyond sense” and let my moral standards sag. It is for good reason that the Scripture warns, “See that no one… is godless like Esau.”

Living below my privileges and spiritual opportunities is equivalent to despising my birthright. I am a child of God, reborn to an inheritance and a joint heir with Christ. I belong to the kingdom of heaven, but when I forget or ignore that, I am disinheriting myself as Esau did.

There are consequences. When secular temptation strikes a weak spot, my spiritual life becomes dim. God’s love and holiness, the reality of His kingdom and righteousness, and my life of faith, prayer and fellowship with Him become shadowy and far off.

Besides that, eating the stew is no profit either. Momentary gratification of even legitimate passions mean nothing when that moment is a trade-off for clarity of spiritual vision and a pure heart. What profit is easy self-indulgence if I trade it for peace, love, holiness and joy? Perhaps the worst is what happens after such a trade-off…

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:34)

Esau had his fill and carried on. He didn’t even notice that his life was impoverished. Only later, when he wanted the birthright did he finally realize it was no longer his — but it was too late to do anything to get it back.