In our last visit we considered what goes into revival. One thing for sure, you can’t box God into a formula and expect revival to come on our terms. There are basic disciplines that usually are a part of revival.
We saw that openness to God’s Word was used by God to bring deep conviction to the people in Nehemiah 8:9. Prayer and fasting are other disciplines present in accounts of revival, as we saw in Nehemiah 9. What often happens, however, is that we are not patient enough to let God do all He wants to do in and through us, and when and how He wants to do it.
I once spoke in a BibleSchool in France when God moved in chapel. Students broke down in prayer and confessed sin. When the chapel bell rang the leader of chapel closed the meeting and sent the students off to class. I felt he had cut off what God wanted to do, but was not in a position to overrule the leader. I chatted with him later that day and suggested that if God breaks through the next day, to postpone classes and let God do His work.
When I gave time for prayer at the end of my message the next day, nothing happened at first. Then, just before the bell was to ring, a student from Madagascar got up and confessed he had never genuinely asked Jesus to be his Savior and Lord. Then he said, “I here and now confess Him as my Savior and Lord and ask you all to pray for me!” It was electrifying. God broke through and many of the students over the next four hours got right with God.
After reading Nehemiah 8:9, I’ve wondered if Nehemiah and Ezra short circuited revival that day.
