Are You Ready to Embrace These 4 Truths to Bring Revival to the Land?

There is a well-known verse in the Bible that outlines what it will take to see revival in the land.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Chances are you have heard this verse before. But let’s take another look, because within this verse are the truths we need to not just know, but to start putting into practice. 

Truth 1 - Revival Will Come Through God’s People

It is important to note this instruction was given to the people of God. This means you and I play an important role in whether revival happens or not. This is an individual responsibility as much as it is a collective responsibility of the people of God. Revival will come through God’s people and from nowhere else.

For too long it feels like many have fallen into the trap of believing that revival in our land is connected to who is serving in office. Political figures are important because they help shape the laws of the land. As important as that is, that is not what brings about revival in the land. Politicians can change laws, but they can’t change hearts, and for true revival to happen there must be hearts that are changed, and lives transformed.

We must get past the place of believing that revival will come through the personality of a man or woman, and recognize that it will only come through the person of the Holy Spirit. It is for this reason alone that revival will come through God’s people, because we are the ones who have the Spirit of God living inside our hearts.

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Another thing we must recognize is that revival will only come when God’s people pray. But in addition to praying, we must also humble ourselves. Humility is important because in doing so you are recognizing your need of God and recognizing that he is the only answer to the problem.

Spiritual change does not happen because we debate and win arguments. Neither will it come when all you do is protest. Real change can only happen when we the people of God begin to truly humble ourselves and cry out to God for him to pour out his Spirit in the land.

Imagine if every believer got on one accord and prayed, asking God to move by his Spirit in the land. Imagine if we the body of Christ set aside every possible difference we have because we want to see God move in the earth, and we prayed earnestly together for this to happen. One of the reasons the church in the book of Acts was so powerful is because they knew how to come together as one body and pray.

There is no greater force on the face of this earth then the people of God united in prayer. If we can get to this place, then we are well on our way to seeing revival in our cities and salvation flooding the streets. 

Truth 3 – Revival Will Come When We Seek His Face

To seek God’s face means to seek his presence, his person, and his purpose. Let me ask you this question, what is it that you want? If we are going to seek his face, that means we want his agenda and his purpose – not our own. We want his glory and his name to be lifted up and exalted, and not our own. We also want to draw near to him so that our lives become a reflection of who he is and nothing else.

Is this the cry and desire of your heart? I cannot answer that question for you, but I do know that when that becomes the most important thing, then our hearts are getting in position to see revival in the land.

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If we are going to be honest, there is a need for true repentance within the body of Christ because repentance is critical to revival. This verse in Chronicles tells you exactly what repentance is. To repent is to turn from your wicked ways. This is one of those ouch parts of the verse because we don’t always think of our ways as wicked. Wickedness is deceptive because it can be blatant and outright, but it can also be subtle. We love to point out the wicked ways in others, but how often do we turn the spotlight on ourselves. It’s like what Jesus said, where we point out the specks in other people’s eyes, but we miss the log sticking out of our own.

It is easy to acknowledge the outward wickedness that we see in others, but it is the inner wickedness that lives in our hearts that God wants to deal with. This is what we often ignore. Inner wickedness is when you choose unforgiveness, when you are consumed with greed, when pride fills your heart, when you pursue anything above God’s purpose, when you exalt yourself over another person, when you become an agent of division – all of these are examples of wickedness. By the way, these are just a few; there can be a lot more.

These subtle types of things live in our hearts and until we deal with them, we will not see revival in our cities. That’s why the prayer David prayed in the Psalms is so appropriate.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV).

The New Living Translation translates verse 24 as see if there is anything that offends you. If we are going to see revival, we need to ask God this question: is there any wickedness in our hearts or anything that offends you living within us? To not consider this question assumes that everything is alright. Maybe you look alright to those around you, but remember God looks past the outward appearance and looks at what is in the heart. Get into the habit of asking God to search your heart and whatever he reveals, turn from it because that could be the thing keeping revival from flowing from your life into others.

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When you return to this verse, we see that God says if you do this, then I will do this. What this tells me is that this is a conditional promise. If we will do what God requires, humbling ourselves, praying, seeking his face, and turning from our wicked ways, then God has promised to heal the land. If your heart is to see revival in the land, this is the price that it will require.

I don’t know about you, but if this is what it takes to see salvation in the streets and revival in our cities, then I am all in. My prayer is that you will also take up this mantle and together let’s begin to seek God in the way he desires so he will pour out his Spirit in the land.

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