One of the things you’ll often hear Christians pray for is revival. This is maybe more in the forefront of people’s minds recently with the so called ‘Asbury Revival’. As Christians we long for a work of the Lord to awaken spiritually dead souls, to take people from darkness and sin to light and freedom in Christ. But what is actually involved in revival?
There’s a part of the global church who practice what’s sometimes called ‘revivalism’ a movement which focuses on the products of revival and tries to replicate it. For example you may see signs that speak about ‘revival meetings’ or people try to play on the emotions of a group to bring about an emotional response. Is that true revival? Is that really a moment where the Holy God breaks into people’s lives by His Spirit and does a miraculous work?
I’ll leave that up to you, it’s not my place to determine what God is doing in people’s hearts, the truth of everything will be seen in the fruit that comes from it. So, what is required for a genuine revival? Let’s see what Psalm 85 has to say about that. Psalm 85 was written by the sons of Korah, Levites who most likely served the worship of God in the Temple through music (2 Chronicles 20:19).
Recognition of sin and repentance v1-7
It’s simple to want God to do a fresh work, in general, but we need to recognise that He must first do a work in us. The Psalmist speak of God’s favour on the land, the restoration of blessing given to Jacob v1. But he doesn’t stay in the generic, he moves to the specific of God forgiving the iniquities of the people and not just a little bit. “God covered all their sin” (Psalm 85:2). All of it. Every impure blemish, every filthy deed, every imperfection and impurity has all been covered. Sin has been removed. For that sin to be removed, repentance needs to happen. People need to recognise our unworthiness and God’s holiness. We need to see our sin, but also be reminded of our glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ, and be thankful.
As Robert Murray McCheyne, a well-known Scottish Minister from the 1800s said “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.”
For the Lord to do a work of His Spirit to revive our churches, to revive our land and to see people turning to Him, we need to recognise our own sin and repent and follow Christ.
Then in v4-7 we get two prayers – v4-5 a prayer for restoration and v6-7 a prayer for revival. We need to pray for revival to happen because it is the work of the Lord, not the work of man.
Listening to God’s Word v8-9
But then there’s also a listening required for revival, not the listening to a certain preacher or pastor, not the listening of a certain denominational teaching or doctrine, but the listening to God’s Word. The right attitude of every believer, whether they are praying for revival or not, is one of humbly submitting to God’s authority and listening to the Word He has spoken to us in the Bible.
If you look at historical account of revivals from years gone by, the central point has been that someone has read and taught God’s Word and people have listened. When people hear the Word of the Lord it produces in us a reverent awe, a fear of the Lord that causes our ever moving mouths to be silent. It’s as if the Psalmist is saying “I have spoken to God, now I will wait for His reply.”
A believer that longs for revival, is one that listens to God’s Word and waits for Him.
God’s power and presence v10-13
In the Lord steadfast love and faithfulness meet, righteousness and peace come together. The Psalmist is describing in poetic language the beauty of the salvation that God brings to His people. As the Lord brings salvation to His people, as He walks He makes footsteps for His people to follow in. Revival cannot be a work of man, true revival cannot be worked up by man, it is an act of the powerful God who steps into the lives of His people and brings about a radical transformation that takes sinners deserving of hell and gives them the righteousness of Jesus the Son of God.
Let’s pray that the Lord bring about a true revival in our lives, in our churches and in the world that more and more people would hear about Jesus and come to a saving knowledge of Him. As Psalm 85:7 says “Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”
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