Stirring Up Revival Sample

Andy Stanley recently asked a question that stopped me in my tracks. He asked: “What’s the faith of the next generation worth?” And then he answered his own question by saying: “Everything.” The faith of the next generation is worth everything! The stakes are high. 

My soul longs to see a generation rise up by bowing low. Making a difference by going the distance. To see the vibrant faith of the next generation is a vital imperative for the church! May the faith of the next generation be a faith that lives on. And yet we have to ask, "Is this happening?" Something needs to change! 

The current climate in our world today reminds me of the setting surrounding the book of Joel in the Old Testament. A locust plague had just happened and it left the land bare. This was a warning from God to turn from their wicked ways or face a day of judgement. 

If we want to stir up revival in our personal hearts, our families, our churches, our community, in this generation, and ultimately in our world, I see five things that really precede revival. I will weave them in and out as found in the book of Joel. 

1.   Serious prayer with fasting.

Desperate situations call for desperate prayers. Have you ever been there? Maybe you were lost? Sick? In trouble? Facing a personal challenge? 

We see this in Joel right from the get-go. Things are bad and Joel is tasked with gathering God’s people for prayer and fasting. “Declare a holy fast, call a special meeting, get the leaders together, Round up everyone in the country. Get them into God’s Sanctuary for serious prayer to God.” Joel 1:14 MSG

It’s one thing to pray a nice, cute prayer like: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” But serious prayer comes from our heart. I can’t think of many other instances in the Bible describing such fervent praying as in the book of Joel. This would be the type of prayer that keeps you awake at night. 

Leonard Ravenhill once said: “The Church is dying on its feet because the Church is not living on its knees." I wonder what would happen if we truly prayed, fasted, and lived this out?

Will it take a famine to cause us to be hungry? Hungry for the things of God, like His majesty and presence? Just to know Him for His spirit guiding wisdom? For His word? For there to be a nation or a generation on our knees, there first has to be individuals set on fire and drawn to our knees. 

Pray with an anguish and an agony. Pray with a passion, power, persistence, and purpose. Prayer paired with fasting precedes an outpouring of the Spirit of the Living God!