DAY 5: The Road to Revival

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 – “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

These words were spoken by God at the dedication of Solomon’s temple over 3000 years ago.  But they offer timeless principles and hope for all God’s people who live in dark times.  I see in this passage God’s road to revival in seasons when he is pouring out judgment for sin.

“… if my people…” – Notice there is a beautiful possibility here, a window of opportunity to avert God’s judgment.  But it’s conditional upon God’s people.  Not conditional upon politicians or the circumstances of culture, but God’s people.  When God’s people take responsibility for their own sin, God promises to respond.

First, God lays out four conditions for revival:

1. Humility.  It all starts with humbling ourselves before the Lord, because pride causes us to be self-sufficient and self-satisfied.  Pride blinds us to the depth of our sinful condition and our desperate need for grace.

2. Prayer.  Once we wake up and realize our true condition – “You are the man!” Nathan said to King David – then we respond, “I have sinned against the Lord!” (2Sam 12:7&13)  

3. Seeking God’s face.  It would be tempting to think that prayer signifies revival, but the truth is our sinful hearts substitute things in place of our relationship with God – religious activity, good works, even prayer.  So prayer is just a means of bringing us into deeper relationship with God – seeking his face and knowing him intimately.  God knows that is the only thing great enough to flush the love of sin out of our soul.

4. Repentance.  Finally, when the love of God has become our consuming passion, then sin loses its allure.  Instead of attracting us, it becomes hideous and repulsive.  The beauty of God’s face causes us to turn away from sin, and that is the essence of Spirit-born repentance.

When God’s people meet God’s conditions, he promises that three results will occur: (1) he will hear our prayers; (2) he will forgive our sin; and (3) he will heal our land.

So if our land is not healed, what is the inevitable conclusion?  It’s that God’s people have not done their part.  They have failed to meet the conditions for revival.  And therefore judgment will continue.

My friends, it’s time for the Church to stop blaming the culture and start taking responsibility for its own sin.  Our culture is where it’s at because the Church has failed to do its job.  The salt has lost its saltiness and the light is hidden under a bushel.  

We can’t snap our fingers and wake up the whole Church.  But we can apply the principles of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to ourselves!

As the old saying goes: “Revival begins by drawing a circle around yourself and saying, ‘Lord, start here with me!’” 

Suggested things to pray for:

• For the sin-sick, apathetic, slumbering condition of the church that has resulted in the degradation of our culture.
• For personal revival to take place in your own life as you pursue the “four conditions” laid out in 2 Chronicles 7:14.