Psa. 85:6 Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
I remember praying for revival for years. I prayed privately and publicly that the Lord would send revival to America again. Revival came all right, just not in the way I expected. How did it come? It came for me when it became personal, I was the one that needed to be revived. It is easy to recognize spiritual lethargy or even deadness in others, not so much in us. Isaiah clearly saw the personal nature of revival, he called himself a man of unclean lips when he glimpsed the glory of the Lord. He made it very clear in this verse:
Is. 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones”.
That’s why revival is personal, it comes when we humble ourselves before the greatness of our God. Here is how Spurgeon describes today’s verse.
“We are dead or dying, faint and feeble, God alone can revive us, he has in other times refreshed his people, he is still the same, he will repeat his love. Will he not? Why should he not? We appeal to him—Wilt thou not? That thy people may rejoice in thee. Those who were revived would rejoice not only in the new life but in the Lord who was the author of it. Joy in the Lord is the ripest fruit of grace, all revivals and renewals lead up to it. By our possession of it we may estimate our spiritual condition, it is a sure gauge of inward prosperity. A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as impossible as spring without flowers, or daydawn without light. If, either in our own souls or in the hearts of others, we see declension, it becomes us to be much in the use of this prayer, and if on the other hand we are enjoying visitations of the Spirit and bedewings of grace, let us abound in holy joy and make it our constant delight to joy in God.”
So….. are you ready for revival or are you stuck praying for everyone else? Maybe today you will see the Lord high and lifted up and meet Isaiah’s God.