Newsletter

For recent teaching articles, scroll down the page.

Teaching for 6-23-10

Classics: Almost Incredible Promises

by An Uknown Christian (early 1900s)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. An Unknown Christian, who chose to remain anonymous, wrote a classic book on prayer in the 1930s. This article is excerpted from "A Kneeling Christian.")

“When we stand with Christ in glory, looking o’er life’s finished story,” the most amazing feature of that life as it is looked back upon will be its prayerlessness. We shall be almost beside ourselves with astonishment that we spent so little time in real intercession.

In our Lord’s last discourse to His loved ones, the Master held out His kingly golden scepter and said, as it were, “What is your request? It shall be granted unto you, even unto the whole of My kingdom!”

Do we believe this? We must do so if we believe our Bibles. We should open our eyes in bewilderment, for these promises are almost incredible. From the lips of any mere man they would be quite unbelievable. But it is the Lord of heaven and earth who speaks:

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do: because I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, that will I do.” (John 14:12-14)

A Staggering Promise
Could any words be plainer or clearer than these? Could any promise be greater or grander? Has anyone else, anywhere, at any time, ever offered so much?

How staggered those disciples must have been! Surely they could scarcely believe their own ears. But that promise is made also to you and to me.

“Verily, verily I say unto you, if ye ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My name. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be fulfilled.” (John 16:23-24)

This is the greatest - the most wonderful - promise ever made to man. Yet most practically ignore it!

Today He sits on the throne of His Majesty on high, and He bids us to take of His treasures. He yearns to grant us “according to the riches of His glory,” that we may “be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” He tells us that our strength and our fruitfulness depend upon our prayers. He reminds us that our very joy depends upon answered prayer (John 16:24).

And yet we allow the devil to persuade us to neglect prayer! He makes us believe that we can do more by our own efforts than by our prayers. How dare we work for Christ without being much on our knees?

Dare Not Hold Back
Let us not put it off till a more convenient season. The dear Savior wants me to pray. He needs my prayers. So much – in fact, everything – depends upon prayer. How dare we hold back? Let every one of us ask on our knees this question: If no one on earth prayed for the salvation of sinners more fervently or more frequently than I do, how many of them would be converted to God through prayer?

Do we spend ten minutes a day in prayer? Do we consider it important enough for that?

Ten minutes a day on our knees in prayer - when the Kingdom of Heaven can be had for the asking!

Ten minutes? It seems a very inadequate portion of our time to spend in taking hold of God!

Why, the wonder is not that we pray so little, but that we can ever get up from our knees if we realize our own need; the needs of our home and our loved ones; the needs of our pastor and the Church; the needs of our city - of our country.

No Excuses!
So great is the importance of prayer that God has taken care to anticipate all the excuses or objections we may be likely to make. Men plead their weakness or infirmity - or they declare they do not know how to pray.

God foresaw this inability ages ago. Did He not inspire Paul to say:

“The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity, for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

Yes. Every provision is made for us. But only the Holy Spirit can “stir us up” to “take hold of God.” And if we will yield ourselves to the Spirit’s promptings we shall most assuredly follow the example of the apostles who “gave themselves to prayer,” and “continued steadfastly in prayer” (Acts 6:4).

We may rest fully assured of this - a man’s influence in the world can be gauged not by his eloquence, or his zeal, or his orthodox, or his energy, but by his prayers. Yes, and we will go farther and maintain that no man can live aright who does not pray aright.

Why Revival Is Delayed
Men are wondering why the revival delays its coming. There is only one thing that can delay it, and that is lack of prayer. All revivals have been the outcome of prayer. It seems almost impertinence for any man to take up the cry when our Savior has put forth His “limitless” promises.

But these utterances go forth steeped in prayer that God the Holy Spirit will Himself convict Christian men and women of the sin of prayerlessness, and drive them to their knees, to call upon God day and night in burning, believing, prevailing intercession!

But we must bear in mind that mere resolutions to take more time for prayer, and to conquer reluctance to pray, will not prove lastingly effective unless there is a wholehearted and absolute surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am quite certain of this fact: God wants me to pray; wants you to pray. “Gracious Savior, pour out upon us the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that we may indeed become Kneeling Christians.”

(Excerpted from "A Kneeling Christian")

Teaching for 6-16-10

Classics: Keep Praying Until God Answers!

by R. A. Torrey (1856-1928)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. R. A. Torrey was an educator and ministry colleague with D. L. Moody. He preached around the world and led many revival services, as well as wrote many classic books on prayer and revival.)

I recall an experience that was full of blessing to me and full of encouragement to my faith.

In my first pastorate there were two whom God put upon my heart and for whose salvation I prayed through my entire time there. But I left that field of labor without seeing either one converted. When I went to Germany for further study, then took a new pastorate in Minneapolis, I kept on praying every day for those two.

I went back to the place where I began my ministry to hold a series of meetings, still praying every day for their conversion. Then one night when I gave the invitation for all who would accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, those two arose side by side.

There was no special reason why they should be side by side, for they were not relatives. When I saw those two for whom I had prayed all those years standing up side by side to accept the Lord, what an overwhelming sense came over my soul that there is a God who hears prayer if we meet the conditions and follow His method of prevailing prayer!

God Wants to Train Us
Why is it that God does not give to us the things that we ask, the first time we ask? The answer is plain: He would do us the far greater good of training us in persistent faith.

For our own good God compels us to be persistent in our effort. He would train us to be strong men and women of prayer by compelling us to pray hard for the best things. He compels us to "pray through."

Many tell us we ought not pray for the same thing a second time. They say the way to pray is to ask God for a thing and then "take it" by faith the first time we ask.

While doubtless there are times when we are able through faith in the Word, or through the clear leading of the Holy Spirit, to claim a thing the first time we have asked of God, nevertheless, there are other times when we must pray again and again and again for the same thing before we get our answer.

We are told distinctly regarding our Master in Matthew 26:44, "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."

Spiritual Laziness and Unbelief
There are many who, when they pray for a thing once or twice and do not get it, stop praying. They call it "submission to the will of God" to pray no longer when God does not grant their request at the first or second asking. They say, "Well, perhaps it is not God’s will."

But as a rule, this is not submission to His will, but spiritual laziness and lack of determination in that most all-important of all human lines of effort - prayer.

When the strong man of action starts out to accomplish a thing, if he does not accomplish it the first, or the second, or the hundredth time, he keeps hammering away until he does. Just so when the strong man of prayer starts to pray for a thing, he keeps on praying until he prays it through and obtains what he seeks.

I am glad that the first time we ask, God does not always give us the things that we seek from Him. There is no more blessed training in prayer than that which comes through being compelled to ask again and again and again, even through a long period of years, before one obtains that which he seeks from God.

Then when it does come, what a sense we have that God really does answer prayer!

Revivals Come Because of Persistent Prayer
Many prayers fail to accomplish that which we seek from God. We pray and pray and pray, and are almost up to the verge of the attainment of that for which we are praying, and right then, when God is just about to answer the prayer, we stop and miss the blessing.

For example, in many churches and communities there are those who are praying for a revival. The revival does not come at once, it does not come for some time, but they keep on praying. They have nearly prayed through. They are right on the verge of attaining what they sought, and if they would pray a little longer, the revival would break upon them. But they get discouraged, throw up their hands and quit.

In January 1900 or 1901, the faculty of the Bible Institute of Chicago instituted a late prayer meeting Saturday nights from nine to ten o’clock, to pray for a worldwide revival. After we had been praying for some time, a thing happened that I knew would happen. People came to me and would say, "Has the revival come?"

"No, not as far as we can see."

"When is it coming?"

"We don’t know."

"How long are you going to pray?"

"Until it comes."

And come it did—a revival that began there in that prayer meeting room of the Bible Institute in Chicago, then broke out in far-away China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, India, and swept around the world, with most marvelous manifestations of God’s saving power. In Wales, under Evan Roberts and others, it resulted in one hundred thousand professed conversions in twelve months.

Oh, men and women, pray through; pray through; pray through! Do not just begin to pray and pray a little while and throw up your hands and quit; but pray and pray and pray until God bends the heavens and comes down!

R. A. Torrey (1856-1928) was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. Torrey joined D. L. Moody in his evangelistic work in Chicago in 1889, and became superintendent of the Moody Bible Institute. He preached in nearly every part of the English-speaking world and conducted revival services in Great Britain from 1903 to 1905. During this period, he also visited China, Japan, Australia, and India. Torrey left a legacy of more than forty books, many now considered classics.

Teaching for 6-9-10

Classics: A Revived Church

by Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. Andrew Murray was a champion of the South African revival of 1860. He longed and prayed for revival, spending several hours on Friday nights in prayer. He wrote more than 240 books and articles, with an emphasis on obedience, absolute surrender, faith, and holiness.)

In praying for revival, it is important that we understand what we really desire and ask for. To most Christians the word conveys the meaning of a large increase in the number of conversions. When that happens, they say, “There has been quite a revival in that church (or town).”

The true meaning of the word is far deeper. The word means making alive again those who have fallen into a cold, or dead, state. Christians need reviving to bring them back to their first love and the healthy growth of the spiritual life. When the church is not living in full wholehearted devotion to Christ and His service, is not walking in the joy of the Lord and separation from the world, we need to pray that God’s people may truly be revived and have the life of God in power restored to them.

No More Ordinary Christians
What the world needs above everything is not more men and women of the ordinary type of Christians. We need Christians who are stronger in faith and holier in life, intensely devoted to Christ and His service and ready to sacrifice all for the salvation of souls.

When God’s Spirit is poured out upon the church, and men and women, who are now struggling in feebleness, are clothed with the garments of praise and the power of the Spirit, the world will soon share the blessing. These revived believers will be ready to give themselves to God’s work; their word and witness will be in power. And the world will, in the burning fervor of the messengers of a quickened church, share in the blessing.

A revival among believers is the great need of our day.

Nothing Less Than a Revolution
To do its work the church has the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit of God. That Spirit is given to every believer to be within him the power of a divine and holy life. He equips the person to boldly testify about God’s power and to communicate to others what has happened in his own life. Without the power of the Holy Spirit fully recognized and experienced, the church cannot know or fulfill its calling.

A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness and selfishness and making God and His love triumph in the heart and life. As every birth has its travails and its pangs, so this entrance of a new divine life in power into a church must be preceded and accompanied by the pains of conviction and confession, by the earnest searchings of heart in which sin is discovered, is held up to shame, and condemned.

In such a work of grace many will learn how little truth or power there has been either in their conversion or their spiritual life. They will see things that they tolerated to be vile sin, that nothing but the blood of Christ can wash away and the power of Christ can overcome.

A Solemn Responsibility of Believers
On those who believe that a revival is needed and is possible rests the solemn responsibility of preparing the way of the Lord. We ask Him to open our own eyes and hearts, and those of our church, to what He thinks and says of the spiritual life He finds.

We confess our own sin and the sin of our brethren. We give ourselves to stand in the gap, to take hold of God’s strength. We ask the Spirit to give us the consciousness of being intercessors, who in tender love, and yet in holy zeal and truth, speak to God about the state in which His church is.

As one here and another there - this is usually God's way - begins to see what God's will really is concerning His church, the cause of her failure, and the path of restoration - his prayer will become more urgent and believing, and the blessing will come.

A Revived Church: The Hope of a Dying World
All this must lead to the assured faith that a revived church is a possibility, a promise, and a certainty. Yes, God is able!

It needs but an act of His will; and His Holy Spirit, the mighty power of God working in His church, can give new life to all who long to receive Him. He can give the joy of the Holy Spirit, first in single churches and then in larger bodies. He can awaken His people, as out of sleep, to see, consent, and rejoice that they are indeed the hope of a dying world.

And God is ready! As the sun pours its light and warmth on every tiny flower to give it growth and beauty, God’s love is waiting and longing to pour itself into hearts that reach out after Him. Sometimes it may appear as if He waits long and delays His coming. But let us be sure of this: He does not wait one moment longer than is needful.

We may depend upon it, with the utmost confidence, that if His children unite in praying for a revived church as the only hope of a dying world, He will hear the prayer.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a pastor and prolific writer on prayer and the deeper life. One of his best-known books, With Christ in the School of Prayer, has become a classic. This article is excerpted from his book Revival.

Teaching for 6-2-10

Classics: Deliberation Necessary to Largest Results from Prayer

by E. M. Bounds (1835-19713)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. E.M. Bounds wrote several classic books on prayer, as well as traveled the country as an itinerant revivalist. This is a call to both men and women for greater deliberation in prayer.)

Our devotions are not measured by the clock, but time is of their essence. Short devotions deplete spiritual vigor, arrest spiritual progress, sap spiritual foundations, blight the root and bloom of spiritual life. They are the prolific source of backsliding, the sure indication of a superficial piety; they deceive, blight, rot the seed, and impoverish the soil.

It is true that Bible prayers in word and print are short, but the praying men of the Bible were with God through many a sweet and holy wrestling hour. They won by few words but long waiting. The prayers Moses records may be short, but Moses prayed to God with fastings and mighty cryings forty days and nights.

The statement of Elijah's praying may be condensed to a few brief paragraphs, but doubtless Elijah, who when "praying he prayed," spent many hours of fiery struggle and lofty intercourse with God before he could, with assured boldness, say to Ahab, "There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."

The verbal brief of Paul's prayers is short, but Paul "prayed night and day exceedingly."

The man Christ Jesus prayed many an all-night ere his work was done. His all-night and long-sustained devotions gave to his work its finish and perfection, and to his character the fullness and glory of its divinity.

True Praying Costs Something
Spiritual work is taxing work, and men are loath to do it. Praying, true praying, costs an outlay of serious attention and of time, which flesh and blood do not relish. Few persons are made of such strong fiber that they will make a costly outlay when surface work will pass as well in the market. Hurried devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, questionable piety.

To be little with God is to be little for God.

It takes good time for the full flow of God into the spirit. It takes time in the secret places to get the full revelation of God. More time and early hours for prayer would act like magic to revive and invigorate many a decayed spiritual life. More time and early hours for prayer would be manifest in holy living. A holy life would not be so rare or so difficult a thing if our devotions were not so short and hurried.

Plenty of time to feast in our closets will bring marrow and fatness to our lives. Our ability to stay with God in our closet measures our ability to stay with God out of the closet. Hasty closet visits are deceptive, defaulting. We are not only deluded by them, but we are losers by them in many ways and in many rich legacies. Tarrying in the closet instructs and wins. The greatest victories are often the results of great waiting - waiting till words and plans are exhausted, and silent and patient waiting gains the crown.

To pray is the greatest thing we can do. To do it well there must be calmness, time, and deliberation; otherwise it is degraded into the littlest and meanest of things. We cannot do too much of real praying.

We must learn anew the worth of prayer, enter anew the school of prayer. There is nothing which it takes more time to learn. And if we would learn the wondrous art, we must not give a fragment here and there. We must demand and hold with iron grasp the best hours of the day for God and prayer, or there will be no praying worth the name.

Who Truly Prays?
Few men there are who pray. In these days of hurry and bustle, of electricity and steam, men will not take time to pray. Preachers there are who "say prayers" as a part of their programme, on regular or state occasions; but who "stirs himself up to take hold upon God"?

Who prays as Jacob prayed - till he is crowned as a prevailing, princely intercessor? Who prays as Elijah prayed - till all the locked-up forces of nature were unsealed and a famine-stricken land bloomed as the garden of God?

Who prayed as Jesus Christ prayed as out upon the mountain he "continued all night in prayer to God"? The apostles "gave themselves to prayer" - the most difficult thing to get men or even the preachers to do. Laymen there are who will give their money - some of them in rich abundance - but they will not "give themselves" to prayer, without which their money is but a curse.

Prayer Is Lost Art
There are plenty of preachers who will preach and deliver great and eloquent addresses on the need of revival and the spread of the kingdom of God, but not many there are who will do that without which all preaching and organizing are worse than vain - pray. It is out of date, almost a lost art, and the greatest benefactor this age could have is the man who will bring the preachers and the Church back to prayer.

E.M. (Edward) Bounds (1835-1913) was a pastor and a Civil War chaplain who was called into ministry during the revivals of the Third Great Awakening. As a pastor, he established weekly prayer sessions that sometimes lasted several hours. He was regionally celebrated for leading spiritual revival and eventually began an itinerant preaching ministry throughout the country. He authored nine books on prayer that have become classics.

Teaching for 5-26-10

Classics: The Loudest of Praises

by Watchman Nee (1902-1972)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. In this article, Watchman Nee, who suffered tremendous persecution as a believer in China, writes of the importance and power of praise.)

Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children. We can say that the highest expression of a saint’s spiritual life is his praise to God. God’s name and even God Himself are exalted through praise.

 

David said that he prayed to God three times a day (Psalm 55:17). Yet in another psalm, he said that he praised God seven times a day (119:164). David was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he acknowledged the importance of praising. David touched God’s heart and offered up sacrifices of praise that were pleasing to God. We should praise the Lord all our life.

 

However, the Psalms contains chapters not only of praises but also of suffering. These psalms show us men led by God through shadows of darkness. They were rejected, slandered, and persecuted. Yet God perfected praises out of these ones. God uses many hardships, difficulties, and slanders to create praises in His people. He causes them to learn through difficult circumstances. The loudest praise comes very often from the ones who are passing through hardships.

 

God does not want men to praise Him only when they are on the mountaintop surveying Canaan, the promised land. God desires much more to see His people writing psalms and praising Him when they “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (23:4). Although you are in the midst of difficulties, He is still worthy to be praised.

 

Praise Brings Victory

But there is more. Praising is the way to overcome spiritual attacks. Satan is afraid of the prayers of God’s children; he flees whenever God’s children kneel down to pray. This is why he often attacks God’s children and frustrates them from praying.

 

But Satan also attacks the praises of God’s children. The ultimate goal of Satan is to stop all praises to God. Prayer signifies spiritual warfare, but praise signifies spiritual victory. Therefore Satan hates our praising the most.

 

Paul and Silas were praising God in the jail cell, and all the doors opened and the chains broke (Acts 16:19-34). The wounds on their bodies were not yet healed; their pain was not soothed. Their feet were in the stocks, and they were shut in an inner jail of the Roman Empire. But they saw that God was still sitting in the heavens; He had not changed at all. He was still worthy of their blessings.

 

When you pray, you are still in the midst of your situation. But when you praise, you soar above your situation. When you encounter unusual circumstances and problems and are bewildered and feel like collapsing, just remember one thing, “Why not praise?” God’s Spirit will operate in you, open all the doors, and break all the chains.

 

Let your loftiest praises burst forth to God, and you will surely withstand and overcome. When you praise, you find the way of victory opening wide before your eyes!

 

Praise in Persecution

Please remember that when you suffer great personal hardship and severe injustice, it is the time for you to praise. You should bow your head and say to the Lord, “I thank You. You are never wrong in what You do. I accept all these things from Your hands. I praise You.”

 

Victory has nothing to do with struggling with the flesh or striving to pardon others with one’s own strength. Victory comes when one bows his head and praises the Lord. When you praise the Lord this way, your spirit will soar above your problems; it will soar above your inner wounds.

 

This was the pathway our Lord Jesus took when He was on earth. We should take the same pathway. The more others try to put us down, the more we should rise up before the Lord and say, “I thank You and praise You!” Nothing can ripen and mature a man like the sacrifices of praise.

 

Praise Before Understanding

The Lord is waiting for our praises. Nothing can glorify our God as our praises can. One day, all the prayers, works, prophesying, and labor will be over. But on that day our praises will be more than today’s. Praise will last for eternity; it will never cease. When we reach heaven and arrive at our final home, our praises will swell even higher.

 

Today is still the time when we see in a mirror obscurely (1 Cor. 13:12). Although we can see a little of many things, we cannot understand the meaning behind them. We can only feel the pain of all the inward wounds and outward trials. This is why we do not praise.

 

Everything will be clear when we go before the Lord on that day. On that day we will see the Lord’s excellent will in every step of the Spirit’s discipline. On that day we will see why the Lord allowed all these things to happen to us. On that day we will bow our heads and say, “Lord, I was a fool because I did not praise you that day.”

 

Those Who Believe Will Praise

For many things, the more knowledge we have, the greater our praises will be. We have a desire to praise the Lord because He is good (Psalm. 25:8; 100:5). Today we have to learn to believe that the Lord is good and that He is never wrong, even though we cannot always understand what He is doing.

 

If we believe, we will praise. To praise is to glorify God. God is worthy of all glory. May God gain abundant praises from His children.

 

Watchman Nee (Nee Shu-tsu; 1902-1972) was a second-generation Christian born in China. His rich ministry of teaching and writing was often defined by his life of suffering and sorrow. He was arrested in 1952 because of his faith in Christ and leadership in the Church—and died in prison in 1972. Before he was arrested, some 400 churches had been raised up in China because of his ministry.

 

Teaching for 5-19-10

Classics: Prevailing Prayer

by Charles Finney (1792-1875)

(Note from PTM staff: There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. One of the foundational principles of revival is prevailing prayer, as taught here by the great evangelist Charles Finney, known as "The Father of Modern Revivalism.")

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16, KJV)

Prevailing prayer, or effectual prayer, is that prayer which attains the blessing that it seeks. It is that prayer which effectually moves God. I cannot detail in full all the things that go to make up prevailing prayer. But I will mention some things that are essential to it; some things which a person must do to prevail in prayer.

[A person] must pray for a definite object. He need not expect to offer such prayer if he prays at random, without any distinct or definite object. Many people go away into their rooms alone "to pray," simply because they must say their prayers. They fall down on their knees and pray for just what comes into their minds-for everything that floats in the imagination. They can hardly tell a word of what they have been praying for. This is not effectual prayer.

Prayer, to be effectual, must be in accordance with the revealed will of God. There are three ways in which God’s will is revealed to men for their guidance in prayer.

•    By express promises or predictions in the Bible, that He will give or do certain things.

•    Sometimes God reveals His will by His Providence. It would be impossible to reveal everything in the Bible. But God often makes it clear to those who have spiritual discernment that it is His will to grant such and such blessings.

•    By His Spirit. When God’s people are at a loss what to pray for, agreeable to His will, His Spirit often instructs them. Where there is no particular revelation, and Providence leaves it dark, and we know not what to pray for as we ought, we are expressly told that “the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

Effectual prayer for an object implies a desire for that object commensurate with its importance. If a person truly desires any blessing, his desires will bear some proportion to the greatness of the blessing. If you find yourself exercised with benevolent desires, there is a strong presumption that the Spirit of God is exciting these very desires, and stirring you up to pray for that object.

Prevailing prayer is offered when Christians have been wrought up to such a pitch of importunity and such a holy boldness afterwards when they look back upon it, they were frightened and amazed at themselves, to think they should have dared to exercise such importunity with God. Yet these prayers have prevailed, and obtained the blessing.

It must be persevering prayer. Prayer is not effectual unless it is offered up with an agony of desire. The Apostle Paul speaks of it as a travail of the soul. Jesus Christ, when He was praying in the garden, was in such agony that “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). I have known persons [to] pray till they were all wet with perspiration, in the coldest weather in winter. I have known persons pray for hours, till their strength was all exhausted with the agony of their minds. Such prayers prevailed with God.

If you intend prayer to be effectual, you must offer it in the name of Christ. You cannot come to God in your own name. You cannot plead your own merits. But when you pray in the name of Christ, you can receive just as much as God’s well beloved Son would if He were to pray Himself for the same things.

You cannot prevail in prayer without renouncing all your sins. You must not only recall them to mind, and repent of them, but you must in the purpose of your heart renounce them all for ever.

You must pray in faith. You need not look for an answer to prayer, if you pray without any expectation of obtaining it. If the will of God is indicated by His Providence, you ought to depend on it, so far as to expect the blessing if you pray for it. And if you are led by His Spirit to pray for certain things, you have as much reason to expect those things to be done as if God had revealed it in His Word.

A great deal of prayer is lost, and many people never prevail in prayer, because, when they have desires for particular blessings, they do not follow them up. They may have desires, benevolent and pure, which are excited by the Spirit of God; and when they have them, they should persevere in prayer, for if they turn off their attention, they will quench the Spirit.

Will you offer prevailing prayer that the Spirit of God may come down?


Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) was an evangelist often referred to as “The Father of Modern Revivalism.” He played a key role in the Second Great Awakening, and was also known for his involvement with the abolitionist movement. He frequently denounced slavery from the pulpit, as well as allowed women to pray in public.

Teaching for 5-12-10

Classics: How Revival Begins

by E. M. Bounds (1835-1913)

(Note from PTM staff: A "classic" is a literary work of enduring excellence written by an author considered to be an authority on the topic. There are many classic authors who have blessed the prayer movement in years past with powerful works that demonstrate God's timeless principles of prayer and revival. We pray that you will be as challenged as we have been by their writings.)

Revivals are among the charter rights of the church. They are the evidences of its divinity, the tokens of God’s presence, the witness of His power. The frequency and power of these extraordinary seasons of grace are the tests and preservers of the vital force in the church.

Revival brings life to the individual as well as to the church. Revivals are not simply the reclamation of a backslidden church. They do secure this result, but their highest end is not this. Revivals invigorate and mature by one mighty act the feeble saints. They are fresh baptisms—the more powerful consecration of a waiting, willing, working church to a profounder willingness and a mightier ability for a mightier work.

Prayer Is Everything in Revival
The revival begins in prayer. The prayerful spirit is the spirit of the revival. The spirit of supplicating prayer is the pledge of revival, its harbinger and source. The revival begins in prayer, continues by prayer, and if it ends well, ends in prayer.

Mr. Charles Finney, the great revivalist, relates that in a certain town there had been no revival for any years. The people were unconverted. Spiritual desolation reigned. There lived in a town an old blacksmith who stammered so greatly it was painful to hear him speak. At work in his shop his mind became greatly exercised about the church; his agony was so great he locked the door and spent the afternoon, prevailing with God.

He then obtained the reluctant consent of his pastor to plan a meeting. The preacher had no hope of attendance, but the room filled to overflowing. All was silent for a time until one sinner broke out in tears and begged for someone to pray for him.

Others followed, and it was found that people from every quarter of the town were under deep conviction. All dated their conviction from the hour the old man was praying in his shop. A powerful revival followed. This old, stammering man prevailed and, as a prince, had power with God.

Mighty Prayer Leads to Revival
Several members of Jonathan Edwards’s church had spent the whole night in prayer before he preached his memorable sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The Holy Ghost was so mightily poured out, and God so manifest in his majesty and holiness during the preaching of that sermon, that the elders threw their arms around the pillars of the church and cried, “Lord save us; we are slipping down to hell.”

The revival begins always in mighty prayer. The number of praying may be few. The pastor alone may be carrying the burden of a broken heart and crying to God in his penitence, signs, and tears. The praying ones may be a small circle, but whether the praying ones be the pastor or people, the circle of prayer is always the center of the revival. It begins with the praying ones. The ones who stir themselves up to take hold of God are the human sources of the revival.

Meetings Can Be Substitutes for Prayer
Many of our meetings seem to be planned substitutes for prayer. It is much easier to send for a reputed evangelist to stir up revival than to pray fervently and long until revival happens. It is much easier to engineer a great religious movement by human forces than it is to break our hearts and humble ourselves in the dust before God that He may inaugurate a real religious movement.

It is much easier to preach about saving the heathen than it is to place ourselves in their stead, as their substitutes before God, and plead with Him until He touches, overpowers, and influences all the springs of human and divine action and gives us “the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

The spirit of prayer cannot be in harmony with the spirit of entertainment in the church of God. If every church would discard the entertainment business, cease making God’s house a house of merchandise, make His house a house of prayer, and commit itself in penitent earnestness to importunate and prevailing prayer, our revival stream would run ocean floods. All our churches would be aflame with God’s glory and resonate with His praises. The Lord would add daily to our churches thousands of the unsaved.

Then the beauty of the Lord our God would be upon us, and He would establish the work of our hands.

E. M. Bounds (1835-1913) was a pastor and a Civil War chaplain known for his strong pietistic convictions. He was also known for his extensive writings on prayer and his travels as an itinerant revivalist.

Teaching for 4-21-10

Are You Listening?

For four days, a young girl was lost in a deep, alligator-infested swamp in Florida. Organized search teams were unsuccessful in locating her, and hope of finding the girl alive or unharmed was waning. Search and rescue expertise was being fully employed, but the outlook was grim.

One volunteer searcher, however, was convinced that applying the truth of God’s Word was the answer. He believed that if he prayed and sought the Lord, God would show him where to find young Nadia. James King was so confident about hearing God’s voice that he went an entirely different direction from the rest of the search teams.

King prayed for God’s direction in finding Nadia, and then set out before dawn with an assurance that the Lord would direct his path. He claimed the truth of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” He walked into the deep swamp listening very carefully to the Lord’s voice each step of the way. “Follow the sunrise,” he heard the Lord tell him. Go left; walk through that water; don’t worry, I’ve got you were all directions he discerned as God’s voice.

After two hours of navigating difficult terrain, King found Nadia. The Lord led him to Nadia in such a precise way that there could be no other explanation for it, other than it was an extraordinary intervention of God. Even the police chief said he now believes in miracles.

This miraculous journey required prayer, belief in God’s Word, and tremendous trust in God. As James described it, “It was a step of faith for me – to actually believe that not only does God speak, but that I could somehow pick up His direction. ‘Cause I’m just a regular guy.” *

The Glory of Christ In Us
James King is more than just a “regular guy”; he is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. In every media interview following this miraculous rescue, King gave all glory to God. He spoke with confidence about his trust in the Lord, and most interviewers were left amazed because there was no explanation apart from God’s hand.

We are also called to be devoted followers of Christ who demonstrate the power of God to a lost and seeking world. If the Lord’s glory and light is not seen in us, how will the world see His love and know that we are ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)? If we do not walk in confidence and seek the Lord with every breath and passion of life, how else will people be confronted with the magnificence of God?

Granted, God does not need us to demonstrate His glory. But because of His great love for us, He chooses us to be the radiant glory and reflection of Christ. Paul was so passionate about being an ambassador for Christ that he pleaded for the prayers of others - that he would fearlessly speak on behalf of Jesus.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20)

Paul knew that the greatest calling on his life was to preach the gospel boldly and reflect the glory of Christ well to those who were lost.

Confidence In Dark Days
We must learn to hear the voice of the Lord and walk in confidence that He is directing our path. When we devote ourselves to listening and discerning God’s voice, He will open the doors to marvelous and miraculous moments of His divine work in our midst. No doubt the days ahead will grow darker and the struggles around us will increase. But when we follow the leading of the Lord, we will represent truth, hope, and the light of Christ to a lost and fearful world.

Jesus Himself was devoted to saturating Himself in prayer and the truth of the Word. The evidence of this became especially clear just prior to His darkest moment in life. Because He was so intimately connected with His Father, He knew the prophetic events to come in His impending death. He prepared His disciples by telling them how they would respond – that they would scatter in fear and leave Him alone.

“I have told you all this so that you would have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)

Then Jesus prayed with confidence and assurance as He prepared both Himself and His beloved disciples. In John 17, He prayed that the Father would be glorified through His life. He prayed for the care, protection, and unity of the disciples. He prayed that the love of God would saturate them. And He prayed for us, as those who have also found faith in Him. Jesus’ prayers are still being answered in our day!

Scripture then says that when He had prayed, Jesus confidently set out on the path before Him. He met His accusers and allowed the redemptive plan to be set in motion (John 18:1-5).

Learning to Hear
In the same way, we must prepare ourselves to fulfill God’s Kingdom purposes by listening to the Lord and walking in obedience to everything He instructs us to do. To learn to truly hear His voice, we must saturate ourselves with the truths of His Word. We must deepen our intimacy with Him by spending much time alone in fellowship with Him through prayer, as well as corporately in community with other believers in Jesus Christ.

The combination of the powerful truths of His Word and the desperate prayers of our hearts will tune our ears to hear His voice. Then we can confidently walk the path set before us.

We live in a lost world that needs believers in Christ to listen carefully, walk boldly, speak truthfully, and reflect the glory of Jesus Christ. Christ in us – the hope of glory!

“Dear Heavenly Father, our greatest desire is that we will reflect Your glory to a lost world. We pray that You will teach us to hear Your voice with greater clarity – and then give us the boldness and confidence to walk according to Your Kingdom purposes. Please saturate us with the presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. As the darkness in the world increases, may the glory and light of Christ increase even more in us. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*www.abcnews.com

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 4-15-10

Because You Say So!

A handful of students from a local Christian university felt led by God to take the presence of Christ into one of the darkest parts of downtown Minneapolis. The strategy was simple. They were to sit on the sidewalk outside an "adult entertainment" business and conduct a Bible study.

They were unsure of what to expect as they sat on the sidewalk, praying and discussing the truths of God's Word. As one of them acknowledged, "We didn't know what we were doing, but neither did the disciples."

They faithfully went downtown to pray and represent the love of Christ week after week. When the weather was cold, they sat on carpet squares. Sometimes people joined them on the sidewalk and talked with them. They were overjoyed as they had the opportunity to lead one young woman to salvation in Christ after the students got her car unstuck from a snow bank.

Over time, the number of students grew to more than 20 who gathered to pray and study God's Word in this most unusual place. In faith, they continued on, trusting the Lord for the results.

What motivated these students to take this unusual challenge of faith-stretching obedience – even in the seemingly unfruitful time of winter? They heard the call of the Lord, and they responded with, “Yes, Lord, because You say so!”

Peter’s Say So Moment
Peter had his own because You say so moment when Jesus instructed him to do something that made no sense. As an experienced fisherman, Peter would have known that to fish all night without success would probably indicate that it was time to put away the nets. There is no point in continuing to try something over and over again without any results.

Except that Jesus told him to try again.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." (Luke 5:4-5)

One more time, Peter repeated an action that had previously netted no results. He did it for one reason – because Jesus told him to do it. This time the results were miraculous!

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. (vs. 6-7)

This is the place of obedience - that even when we cannot see the immediate evidence of His power at work, one chooses to obey anyway - simply because of who Jesus is and because He is most trustworthy. Peter recognized that he was in the presence of no ordinary man, and so he fell before Jesus in repentance and worship.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. (vs. 8-10)

Peter passed the test of trusting the voice of His Master and being obedient to Him regardless of evidence to the contrary. This place of obedience was life-changing for Peter and the disciples. In that moment, Jesus spoke to Peter’s fear and doubt by calling him into even greater things. The disciples saw the power of Christ, and they abandoned all to follow Him.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (vs. 10-11)

Because You Say So Times
Dale Schlafer, president of the Center for World Revival and Awakening, has studied great revivals of the past, prayed for revival for years, and even gave leadership to organizing a prayer and repentance movement for 1.3 million men at a 1997 Promise Keepers rally in Washington, D.C. He is passionate about the hope for revival in our nation.* Yet he has observed that these times just prior to a great revival are the because You say so times.

These are times when we keep praying in faith because Jesus has instructed us to pray with persistence. Though we may not see immediate evidences of revival, we pray on - even through discouragement - because Jesus told us to do so. In Luke 18:8, Jesus issued the challenge for us to stay faithful in constant prayer to the very end: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

In whatever your situation or circumstance - and whatever your heart-cry before the Lord has been - do not give up. Ask the Lord to renew your faith to pray with hope and belief. We don’t know the exact moment when the Lord will tell us to put our nets down one more time. But in that moment, the blessings of obedience will overflow and lives will be transformed for His glory!

Dear Heavenly Father, we believe that You are faithful and true to Your promises. You say in Your Word that You will hear the humble and repentant prayers of Your people – and we believe You! Increase our faith to pray through the hard times when we cannot yet see the full evidence of Your power. Fill us with the courage to boldly obey You regardless of the cost. We pray for a day soon when You will fully display Your glory in true, heaven-sent revival! In Jesus’ name, amen.

* Center for World Revival and Awakening

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 4-7-10

When Jesus Shows Up

A factory manager in Iran finally found the courage to attend an evangelical church and identify himself as a believer in Jesus. Although he had never been in contact with other believers, the gospel message did not need to be explained to him. This man was already convinced of the truth of Jesus Christ because Jesus Himself had appeared to the man in a dream. In fact, the man claimed that for the past year, Jesus had been personally teaching him to be a Christ-follower in daily two-hour sessions!*

In our Western world, this might be hard to understand. Yet this man’s story of salvation is being repeated in overwhelming numbers in nations throughout the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran. Jesus is appearing in dreams and visions to people who previously knew nothing of Christ. He is personally inviting people to follow Him, and scores are turning to Him as the way, the truth, and the life.

In fact, according to Joel Rosenberg’s weblog (an author who writes extensively on Israel and the Middle East), “More Iranians celebrated Easter this year - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - than at any other time in human history. That's because more Iranians have renounced Islam and become followers of Jesus Christ in the last 31 years than the past 14 centuries combined.” **

When Jesus shows up, He changes everything!

One Word Does It
In the darkest of places, in the moments of greatest uncertainty, Jesus has a way of penetrating the darkness and convincing people of the truth of His power and glory! He is doing it now in extraordinary ways in our world, just as He did in the days immediately following His resurrection.

A simple word from Jesus dramatically changed Mary Magdalene’s perspective. She was a faithful follower of Jesus. He had healed her and set her free, and Mary devoted herself to Jesus with great courage and love. She followed Jesus to the cross, and she honored Him in His death. While the darkness still lingered on that Sunday morning, Mary loved and grieved well by making her way to His tomb.

When she discovered that Jesus’ body was missing, it created confusion for Mary. But in that moment of uncertainty and even greater grief, Jesus spoke one word to her that changed everything.

Mary.

He spoke her name. Instantly she knew she had seen the living, resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, her beloved friend (John 20:11-18). Everything changed for Mary in that moment.

Suddenly Jesus
Two more of Jesus’ followers were discussing their confusion and disappointment as they walked toward the village of Emmaus. They talked of the events of recent days, including Jesus’ death and the stories of His resurrection. Scripture says, “Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. But they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him” (Luke 24:15-16, NLT).

With heavy hearts, they walked and talked with a man they did not recognize. Even so, Jesus personally taught them the Scriptures as they continued on the road, using the Word to explain the truths about Himself (vs.27). When Jesus asked God’s blessing on a loaf of bread, their eyes were suddenly opened to recognize Jesus.

Jesus showed up and it changed everything. These two men experienced Christ revealed and became convinced of the truth of the resurrection – by Jesus Himself.

Transformational Moment
Jesus again appeared suddenly in the midst of other disciples as they gathered in Jerusalem. He frightened them, and in a moment of doubt they were sure they were seeing a ghost! Jesus addressed their fear and doubt by encouraging them to touch Him and feel the reality of His presence. In a transformational moment, He “opened their minds” to understand the truths of the Scriptures (vs. 45).

When Jesus showed up and revealed Himself to His disciples, it changed everything for them. They went from being doubting and fearful men to true believers who operated in the power and authority of Christ. Once they experienced the truth of the resurrected Jesus, they embraced a renewed mission and mandate from Him:

“With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.’ You are witnesses of all these things.” (Luke 24:47-48)

The disciples were filled with power from heaven to take the gospel to the world. They had seen Jesus, witnessed His resurrection, and were now confident in preaching the message of repentance and salvation to all nations.

The Hope of Revival
We should not be surprised at the amazing stories of Jesus “showing up” to people in nations such as Iraq and Iran. In 1990, a prayer movement called the “10/40 Window” was launched, calling for believers around the world to pray for this area of the world that was considered the darkest and most resistant to the gospel message.

Now, 20 years later, those prayers are being answered in miraculous ways. Be assured that we can pray with faith for revival and for those who do not yet believe!

Jesus is showing up - and He is right now changing everything!

“Dear Lord Jesus, we rejoice in Your resurrection and Your gift of salvation to all who repent of their sins and believe in You. We pray with hope that You will reveal Your glorious and manifest presence even more. We pray for the revival of Your Church and the salvation of the lost. Give us the faith to believe that regardless of how dark things may seem or how uncertain we may feel about our circumstances, You have the power to change everything in an instant! In Your name, amen.”

*Epicenter, by Joel Rosenberg. Tyndale House Publishers, page 218.
**Joel Rosenberg weblog.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 3-31-10

Knowing When You're Desperate

The two men were in the same hopeless place. They were both condemned to die, and their execution by crucifixion was being played out in front of a vengeance-thirsty crowd. Placed between them was a quiet and gentle man who was especially targeted with hatred and jeers of the crowd. Yet He displayed an amazingly compassionate heart.

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminal -- one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The crowd could not contain their anger and disdain as they mocked this man’s claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

The soldiers, who really had no quarrel with Him, joined in the mockery. They dared the man to display His authority.

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

The public notice nailed above His head was also meant to add to His shame.

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Even the criminal, condemned to die next to the man and experiencing his own agony of crucifixion, could not resist joining in the mockery.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

However, there was one person amidst the hateful cries who understood his hopeless destiny and his need for a Savior. He was the one who recognized his own desperate condition.

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

In this criminal’s moment of desperation and repentance, Jesus spoke a truth that defined this man’s eternal destiny.

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:32-43)

The one man who admitted his desperate need is dwelling at this very moment in paradise with Jesus Christ, the true Messiah and the hope of the world.

Desperation Matters
It did not matter that this criminal was condemned to die. It did not matter the gravity of his crime or how much he deserved his punishment. What mattered was that he knew he was desperate, and that he called out to Jesus as his only hope.

The others in the crowd that spit out hatred toward Jesus were just as desperate. The soldiers and the other criminal were also in desperate need of a Savior. But they did not believe the claims of Jesus or recognize their need. They missed their moment to act out of desperation and call on a saving, redeeming, and loving King of kings and Lord of lords.

Our desperation for the Lord Jesus Christ matters. It matters for our salvation from sin and assurance of eternal life. It also matters as we pray and seek the Lord for revival in the Church and spiritual awakening in our nation. It is the heart of desperation that will cry out for the living Lord Jesus Christ to come and deliver us from darkness and despair. A heart that is desperate is a heart that recognizes Jesus as its only hope for deliverance.

True to His Word
As this cosmic drama was played out before all the heavenly hosts of angels and the seething demonic realm, Jesus was true to His Word, His nature, and His character. He fulfilled the prophetic Scriptures:

“Look at my Servant, who I have chosen. He is my Beloved, and I am very pleased with him. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

“He will not fight or shout; he will not raise his voice in public. He will not crush those who are weak, or quench the smallest hope, until he brings full justice with his final victory. And his name will be the hope of all the world.” (Matthew 12:18-21; Isaiah 42:1-4)

Desperation for Jesus matters. May you know just how desperate you are in the light of Jesus’ gracious death and glorious resurrection!

“Dear Lord Jesus, we are desperate for You. Our hearts long for Your righteousness, grace, and mercy to overwhelm us. We recognize that apart from You, there is no hope in this world. Thank You for loving us enough to humbly and obediently die a criminal’s horrific death on our behalf. We proclaim you as the King of kings and Lord of lords! In Your name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 3-24-10

From Valleys to Breakthrough

For the last several years, singing has been difficult for her. She struggles with heart failure and lack of oxygen. Her 88-year-old body often gives way to weakness, sometimes making it difficult even to stand.

Yet in the last few days, Evelyn Christenson has suddenly begun singing again – she says for the first time in 20 years. The Lord is strengthening her to do so, and she is amazed that she is even able to “hit the high notes.” She has been filled with joy as once again she is able to sing praises to Jesus. But this renewed joy and strength has not come without cost

Evelyn has been a leader in the international prayer movement for decades. She has taught men and women around the world to pray. Prayer for revival – and ultimately the salvation of the lost – has been her heart cry. She has taught on revival, prayed for revival, and even experienced revival in years past.

The Deep Valleys
Yet the last two years of Evelyn’s life have brought the deepest valleys she’s ever experienced. There have been health and family struggles, disappointments, and even moments of despair. But the Lord has shown Evelyn that the depth of her valley is in direct proportion to the breakthrough that is on the horizon!

“That’s always what the valleys are for,” Evelyn explains. “Every new glory level is always preceded by a valley of trials, grief, and sacrifice. The depth of your valley is in direct proportion to the next spiritual dimension that the Lord is preparing for you.”

Evelyn keeps her eyes fixed on Jesus and the coming breakthrough on the horizon. This breakthrough is that long-awaited revival that will convict individuals and the Church of sin, and will usher many lost souls into God’s Kingdom through salvation in Jesus Christ. She is convinced this revival has already started. Although still experiencing moments of the valley, Evelyn is singing her praises to Jesus as she waits on Him.

When Darkness Overwhelms
Peter had no idea that his greatest valley of darkness was about to consume him. He was bold and confident in following Jesus, absolutely convinced that he was even willing to die for Jesus. Yet Jesus prepared Peter for his coming valley by telling Peter that he would instead deny Jesus three times that night (John 13:37-38). It was a looming dark valley that Peter could never imagine.

As Jesus was about to be arrested, Peter tried to be bold. He foolishly cut off a soldier’s ear in the presence of a battalion of Roman soldiers. As long as Jesus was present, perhaps Peter thought there would be some back-up of heavenly hosts!

But when Jesus was bound and taken away, Peter’s courage began to fail. Fear overtook Peter, and he vehemently denied ever knowing Jesus. The darkness overwhelmed him as Jesus’ prophetic words rang true in Peter’s ears. Upon the realization that he had denied his deeply loved friend, Peter left the scene, crying bitterly (Luke 22:54-62). Peter must have felt utterly alone and hopeless in that moment.

Valleys are like that. They can take us to the depths of despair. They are those moments when we had hoped Jesus would triumphantly rescue us, only to have doubt and fear set in. The valleys are the times when we might wonder if Jesus is truly present or willing to answer our desperate prayers. They are dark times when we discover our only recourse is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Christ alone is our only hope.

Don’t Be Surprised
Jesus forewarned His disciples of the dark valley moments. In preparation for His death, He spoke words of hope to His followers:

“Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because she has brought a new person into the world. You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.

At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. The truth is, you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” (John 16:20-24, NLT)

Peter and the disciples should not have been surprised by the valley moments, as Jesus had taken care to prepare them. In fact, He told them that as a result, they would have a new level of access to the Heavenly Father in their prayers. He promised that their grief would turn to joy, and that they would see the purpose in their pain, just as a mother understands the place of pain in childbirth.

Yet, when the valleys overtake us – even when we know the truth of Jesus’ promises to us – we can still be surprised by the intensity of the darkness and the feelings of hopelessness. Jesus knows that, and not only does He prepare us for the valleys – He also prays us through them!

Jesus Intercedes for Us
Peter most likely did not realize the significance of Jesus’ prayer for him. But even before Peter stepped into his dark valley, his Lord, Savior, and friend Jesus had already prayed:

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31)

Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would remain strong in the midst of the valley. And when Peter repented and returned to the Lord, Jesus prayed that Peter’s redemption from his valley experience would in turn bring hope and strength to other followers of Christ.

We know from the rest of Peter’s life that Jesus’ prayer resulted in a transformed man who fearlessly championed the cause of Christ the rest of his days. The depth of Peter’s valley was in direct proportion to the breakthrough that was on the horizon!

If you are experiencing the dark valleys of despair, know that Jesus is also praying for you! The depth of your dark moment is an indicator of the greatness of the glory of Christ that will shine through you as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He is your personal Intercessor who pleads with God on your behalf:

But Jesus remains a priest forever; his priesthood will never end. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf. (Hebrews 7:24-25)

As the world grows darker, be encouraged that Jesus is interceding for us to have the faith to keep praying and seeking Him. The darker the valleys, the greater His glory will shine in heaven-sent revival!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You in the midst of the dark valleys. We believe that a day is coming when our fears will turn into courage and our doubts will be replaced with greater depths of faith in You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for interceding on our behalf. We pray for the faith to pray toward the hope of revival and Your glorious presence in our midst. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 3-17-10

In Belief, They Pray On!

For the last 24 weeks or so, they have been praying every morning at 6:00 a.m. Some gather in a small group, while others phone in or connect through Skype. Throughout a 70-mile radius in the New York area, believers are praying for revival and a move of God.

This group began when the pastor of a Chinese church was burdened by the building of a Hindu temple in his community. He was grieved when a former church was purchased, the cross of Christ torn down, and a Hindu congregation established. It broke his heart, and so he invited others to join him in prayer. They’ve been praying every day since, going on six months.

Why have they been so faithful? Because they believe!

They believe that although the power of darkness is growing, there is still hope. They believe that God is inviting them to seek Him with desperate hearts. They believe things can change through the hope of the manifest presence of Jesus Christ saturating their community in revival. They believe that God wants to reveal the truth to a lost world. And so in belief, they pray on!

Help My Unbelief
There is a story in the Gospel of Mark that reflects the struggle between wanting to believe that the power of Christ is true, yet being fearful that it may not always be the case. A man was desperate for his son to be delivered from the demonic spirit that caused the boy to convulse and foam at the mouth (Mark 9:14-29). Any father would long for healing while watching his son in such a horrific condition.

He had a level of belief, and so he asked the disciples to drive the evil spirit out of his son. But they could not, even though previously the disciples had been successful in confronting the demonic. The man’s belief was shaken. And so hesitantly, he made a plea to Jesus. “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Jesus immediately addressed the man’s “if” qualification. “If you can?” Jesus responded. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

The man then honestly confessed the paradox of his heart. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”

I believe, yet I don’t. I want to believe, yet I can’t. Perhaps it’s possible, but I’m not sure.

Have you prayed that way before? Have you wrestled with that same paradox in your heart as you have sought the Lord for the seemingly impossible?

In an instant, Jesus resolved the man’s unbelief. Right before the father’s eyes, Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and commanded it to come out. It was a frightening demonic power struggle as the spirit displayed a final moment of fury. And then it was over. Jesus took the hand of the boy and lifted him to his feet – healed and restored. Perhaps the father never again had to plead, “Help me overcome my unbelief!”

Much Prayer Births Belief
Afterwards, the disciples were puzzled about why they could not drive the spirit out themselves. They had previously confronted the demonic and experienced victory. What happened this time? they wondered, perhaps even causing a hint of unbelief to enter into their own hearts.

Jesus responded very simply. “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Some manuscripts add “and fasting.” One commentator suggests that perhaps Jesus was reminding the disciples that “they had taken for granted the power that was given them -- or had come to believe that it was inherent in themselves. So they no longer depended prayerfully on God for it, and their failure showed their lack of prayer.” *

There is a remedy for unbelief. If you are not sure that the Lord Jesus Christ can or will deliver your loved one from deception or spiritual blindness, then pray! If you are uncertain about the truth of a heaven-sent revival that will change hearts and saturate communities with the presence of Christ, then pray and ask the Lord to help your unbelief. If you are discouraged because you have already been praying, then pray more! Let your travailing and prevailing prayers lead you into places of greater belief.

Don’t Waver
Abraham had to wait a long time for the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. As the years ticked off and he neared one hundred years old, one could understand if Abraham had a hint of unbelief in his heart. Having a son, as God promised, seemed a growing impossibility.

Yet Scripture says that Abraham never wavered in his belief in God’s promise.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20-21).

Abraham’s belief was credited as righteousness to him, and God delivered His promise to Abraham in ways even beyond belief! Not only did Abraham have a son, but God also birthed a nation.

If God has placed a burden on your heart, whether it is the salvation of loved one or the hope for revival, don’t waver in your prayers. Even if unbelief begins to shadow your heart because the answer seems long in coming or the darkness is growing stronger, pray on! Invite the Lord Jesus Christ to help you overcome your unbelief. He can resolve your unbelief and strengthen your faith in a moment!

“Dear Heavenly Father, I confess my unbelief at times. I pray that You will help me overcome my unbelief because I want to pray with faith and stand firm in my hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I pray regarding the burdens of my heart that sometimes seem hopeless, my greatest desire is that Your glory will be known and Your name be praised! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

* Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2: New Testament, page 171.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 3-10-10

A Nation Cries Out in Desperation

On January 12, 2010, the earth groaned and trembled beneath the nation of Haiti. Within just seconds, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. Millions became helpless and homeless. It was a devastation of the masses that left the nation paralyzed with fear and hopelessness.

Exactly one month later, the president of Haiti publicly acknowledged the nation’s need for God. He cancelled the Mardi Gras celebrations and declared three days of fasting and prayer for Haiti. For three days, in front of the national presidential palace, an estimated one million people gathered to pray, worship, read Scripture, and cry out to God in repentance.

As the people sought God’s forgiveness and the healing of their land, at least 3,000 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Reports are that dozens of voodoo priests also experienced salvation in Christ.

Desperation will do that.

In desperate times, people are confronted with the reality that there is no hope apart from God. Although many still resist humbling themselves before God, others are willing to return to God in repentance. They seek God with the hope that He will hear their prayers – and forgive and heal them through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

It seems that God is moving in the hearts of many desperate people in Haiti. This place of prayer and desperation invites the presence of Christ in a heaven-sent revival. Perhaps we are witnessing a nation turning to God!

(To watch the amazing story of the prayer and fasting in Haiti, click here.)

Desperate Nations Returning
Throughout the Old Testament, we read examples of desperate people who returned to God under the direction of an appointed leader who called for humility and repentance. In Scriptural terms, this is the call for revival. At times the leaders were followers of God; other times the cry for God’s intervention came from a pagan leader. But whatever the circumstance, God revived the people who desperately sought Him.

Perhaps one of the most profound examples is the king of Nineveh in Jonah’s day. Under God’s direction, Jonah pronounced coming judgment to Nineveh. The king’s response was dramatic:

When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in sackcloth and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals, may eat or drink anything at all. Everyone is required to wear sackcloth and earnestly pray to God. Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will have pity on us and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn’t carry out the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:6-10, NLT)

Here is a principle of repentance. God can bring us to a point of true humility without devastation first leading the way. If we humble ourselves by acknowledging our sin, the Holy Spirit will empower us to choose the way of repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Healing and restoring in Christ can come apart from devastation.

Unfortunately, the ways of man are such that we often choose our independence instead of turning to the Lord in humility and repentance. Yet God longs for us to return to Him now. The invitation is always open.

“Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, `and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 1:3)

Our Own Nation
This call to fasting and prayer by a president is not unknown in our own nation of the United States. Take note of a portion of this proclamation for a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the devastation of the Civil War in 1863:

…And whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord….

…Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness….

There have been times in our nation when our desperation for God has been acknowledged. In those times, God has been faithful to pour out the presence of Christ in our midst in revival. We’ve experienced Great Awakenings in the 1700s and 1800s with profound spiritual impact in our nation. Some would say we are about 150 years overdue for another national spiritual awakening.

As the Church of Jesus Christ, will we wait until devastation comes to our nation before we truly humble ourselves, repent, and cry out to God? How glorious it would be if the Lord graciously poured out a nationwide revival soon in answer to our prayers of desperation!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we know that You hear the cries of those who humble themselves before You with repentant hearts. We know it is Your heart to answer cries of desperation with Your healing and restoration. We pray for the nation of Haiti, that You might pour out Your Spirit in revival throughout the land. We pray that the lost will come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray that for our own nation, as well. Create a desperation within us, Oh God, that we might once again seek You in humility and repentance. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 3-3-10

Just One Thing

The recently completed Winter Olympics in Vancouver were filled with dramatic moments. A deadly crash took the life of one athlete. Another athlete won a bronze medal even after the trauma of losing her mother to a sudden heart attack. And the nation of Canada rejoiced in a swell of nationalism as their men’s hockey team won the gold in a dramatic showdown with a rival nation.

Millions watched night after night as athletes earned medals, stood on center stage, and relished the glory of hearing their national anthems. It seems the Olympics are the one thing that captures the attention of the world and unites the nations throughout the earth.

Actually—not so.

There is just one thing in the history of the world that has united more nations than the Olympics or anything else. There is just one center stage of glory that will continue to capture the attention of all the nations of the earth. This one thing is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who supremely reigns over all creation! He will not be a fleeting moment on a podium receiving a medal that will soon tarnish. He is the everlasting King of kings!

Historic and Unequaled Moment
In 2009, an unprecedented moment in the history of the world occurred. Because the international television cameras did not capture it, you may have been missed it. But you can count on it being repeated in greater waves of glory in the years to come. It is the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14:

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

On the Global Day of Prayer in 2009, for the first time in history, all 220 nations on earth joined in prayers of repentance and hope in Jesus Christ for a worldwide spiritual awakening.

For 24 hours straight, beginning in Fiji and moving around all the time zones of the earth, believers in Christ prayed for the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14. And on the tenth anniversary of GDOP (May 23, 2010) believers will again lift up the name of Jesus throughout the earth.

Let’s put that into perspective:

•    There were just 82 nations participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
•    During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, a record 204 nations were represented.
•    In the 2012 Olympics in London, 216 nations plan to participate.

The one thing that will truly unify the world is the hope of Jesus Christ demonstrated through the Church. In every nation of the world, God has placed His people who are willing to cry out in prayer to Him in a unified voice, seeking the presence of Christ in true heaven-sent revival.

What glorious hope!

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
David Bryant, considered one of the leaders in the emergence of an unprecedented prayer movement in our day, believes that our greatest need is a Christ-awakening in our churches. He states:

“Only a God-given reawakening to Christ and the full extent of His supremacy can sufficiently resuscitate the Church's hope and passion to re-engage her effectively in the worldwide advance of His Kingdom.”

As we join with the 220 nations of the world in praying for revival, we must keep our eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. At times the true definition of revival can get lost in various expressions of believers across churches, denominations, and cultures. But the one defining factor of revival—that just one thing—is the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the One who saves the lost, heals the hopeless, and revives His Church.

As David Bryant also states, “Revival is a church saturated with the supremacy of Christ by the Spirit of Christ…. [In Great Awakenings in American history] God gave His people ‘fresh winds,’ not simply to fire up enthusiasm for spiritual things, but also to extend further the reign of His Son within communities and nations through His Church.” *

Hope in that One Thing
This should encourage you to pray with greater hope and faith that one day soon we will experience a remarkable revival that will saturate our churches, communities, and nation. All the nations of the earth join you in prayer!

With the technology of the day that allows the Church to connect through radio, Internet, and satellite broadcast—coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit blowing fresh winds throughout the earth—the time for a worldwide Christ-awakening and revival is coming. God has promised it, and it may be very, very close.

Perhaps you have wavered in your hope as you pray for family members and friends to know and live in the truth of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. There may be times that you have wondered if there will ever be breakthrough in those situations that seem to grow darker each day. Yet the Apostle Paul reminds us that we can put all our confidence in the rule and reign of Jesus Christ. In Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT), Paul puts it all in perspective:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.

In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul again emphasizes the glorious hope we have in the supremacy of Christ:

… God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It is the promise of God, and this is the one thing that we pray, believe, and hope for!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we rejoice in how Your Spirit is moving throughout the earth. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts cry out in prayer that one day soon every knee will bow to Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord and Savior. We pray for a Christ-saturated revival in the Church that touches every nation of the world. May the glory of the Lord fill the earth as the waters cover the sea! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Christ Is All, by David Bryant, page 137.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 2-24-10

Urgently Waiting

She is 88 years old, on oxygen most of the time, and struggling with a failing heart. Yet Evelyn Christenson is not about to give up! She has been praying for revival for decades, and her fervency in prayer increases every day as she senses the fulfillment of God’s promise drawing closer.

Evelyn has written multiple books on prayer. She has traveled the world teaching people to pray. She has been leading a prayer ministry for more than a third of a century – and praying for revival a lot longer!

But one day in 1994, as Evelyn was flying home from London, the Lord spoke to her heart. He showed her that it was time to turn her attention back to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He assured her that revival would come in answer to hopeful, praying people.

Evelyn is still praying with great anticipation. She is also working on another writing project. Even at 88, she knows that she is not yet done with her assignment here on earth. She is urgently waiting for that moment when God pours out His Spirit in revival!

Waiting on the Lord
To wait for something means to be in a place of expectation. If we are willing to wait, then we must believe that something is coming. If you lose your expectation, you cease your waiting.

If we believe that all of our hope rests in Jesus Christ alone, and that He is our Savior, Healer, Restorer, and Coming King, then we can fully anticipate and expect that He will come and manifest His presence in our midst. This is the hope of revival.

We have many examples of waiting. The coming of Jesus the Messiah was foretold by the prophets centuries in advance, although there was a very long waiting period for the fulfillment of the promise. Faithful intercessors such as Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) prayed and waited, fasted and waited for the gift of Jesus. And when He came, it was in the fullness of time according to God’s promise (Galatians 4:4) – and they rejoiced!

The disciples learned to wait, as well. After Jesus’ death – and even though Jesus told them of His resurrection – they waited in a dark time of the unknown. It was most likely a time of hopelessness and a sense of defeat. But then in His perfect timing as He promised, the resurrected Jesus appeared and restored all hope (Luke 24).

Jesus also told them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them (Acts 1). So how did they wait? They encouraged each other and joined together in constant prayer, not understanding what was about to happen at Pentecost.

Waiting on the Lord is that time of preparation and anticipation for even greater things to come. It takes strength, courage, and faith to wait. God will give us the grace to do so if we ask.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14)

Weariness of Delay
Undoubtedly there are longings of your heart that you have not yet seen fulfilled. You have prayed and waited and yearned in your soul for the Lord to break through. You have longed for an answer to your prayer, and you are growing exhausted by the delay. You may even wonder if the Lord has turned a deaf ear to your cries.

Habakkuk experienced this. Very candidly, he confronted the Lord with a complaint about the waiting:

How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence!” I cry, but you do not come to save. (Hab, 1:2, NLT)

But the Lord graciously replied by assuring Habakkuk that He was about to do something utterly amazing that Habakkuk could not possibly envision (1:5).

Habakkuk registered a second complaint with the Lord about the seemingly unjust nature of the wicked always succeeding (vs.12-17).

Again the Lord graciously responded with a word of hope:

But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” (2:3)

God understands your weariness in the delay of answer to your prayers. For those who have longed and prayed for revival and the salvation of lost souls, trust the Lord that it will not be delayed in His perfect timing. He has put those prayers on your heart, and He will respond in the fullness of time.

Waiting with Urgency
But what does it mean to wait with urgency? If you are urgent about something, you are compelled to call for immediate attention to that situation. Urgency impresses upon your heart and you are insistent that appropriate action be taken.

This is the essence of waiting on the Lord with urgency. It is not a passive dismissal of the need for God to act and move. It is a passionate pleading with the Lord to keep His attention on our desperate need for the revival of the Church and the salvation of the lost. It is travailing prayer that is insistent in nature, declaring that we are desperate and hopeless apart from the Lord. It is a passionate fervency in prayer for the Lord Jesus Christ to be powerfully present in our lives and the lives of those around us.

We do not know the appointed time for the arrival of revival in our midst. You do not know the exact moment when the Lord will respond to that long-awaited cry of your heart. But when God comes in all His glory, it will shake the mountains and prove His faithfulness.

For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:3-4)

For those things you have longed for and prayed for – and perhaps grown tired of waiting for – God will act on your behalf. If those prayers originated in the heart of our Heavenly Father, they will come to pass!

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can pray the prayers on Your heart because You do not hide Your will from us. When we seek You according to Your Word, You reveal those prayers that move heaven and earth. You will be faithful, in Your perfect timing, to send revival to transform Your Church and bring the lost to salvation in Jesus Christ. This is Your heart, and we pray with faith, expectation, and even urgency. With great anticipation, we wait on You to fulfill all Your promises to Your people. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 2-17-10

When Repenters Repent

Under the Communist rule in Romania in the 1970s, the Christians were subjected to much ridicule and persecution. They were mockingly referred to as the “repenters.”

But one pastor understood the power of repentance and walking in holiness. He had been praying for revival for many years, and he knew the importance of the church leading the way in repentance. He called his people to new levels of holiness. Without apology, he challenged the “repenters to repent.”

As he took a stand for holiness in the church, it came with great struggle. Some of the sins that he called out were “debatable” for many people. Yet he continued to appeal to his congregation until the believers started to take holiness very seriously. They began to repent and turn from anything they thought might be displeasing to God.

As they did, God was true to His Word (2 Chronicles 7:14) and responded with revival. Hundreds came to faith in Jesus Christ in just a few years, even though it was at great personal risk to be identified as a Christian. When the repenters took holiness seriously, God honored their desire to be pure before Him.*

Pursuing Holiness
We should note that these believers in Romania were known as “repenters” by those outside the church. Obviously the message of repentance as the core of the gospel was taught. In spite of potential danger, these Christians refused to “blend” with society or make the gospel easier to accept. They stood for holiness, and that meant they were known for their lifestyles of repentance.

How true is that today of believers in our churches across our nation? We think that holy living in a world of increasing ungodliness seems nearly impossible. We are prone to compromise because of the temptations that bombard us daily. But this call to holy living is a timeless exhortation shared by Peter:

Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God – who chose you to be his children – is holy. For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16, NLT).

If God calls us to such a high standard of holy living, He has a purpose in it. Charles Spurgeon defines that purpose this way:

“In proportion as a church is holy, in that proportion will its testimony for Christ be powerful.”**

This is the essence of revival. As God’s people humble themselves in brokenness before God, repent of their sins, and pursue holy living – God responds by pouring out His Spirit in revival. As the “repenters repent,” the glory of Jesus Christ burns brighter in the lives of God’s people. The lost are in turn introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ and the hope of their own salvation through repentance of sins. They then join the ranks of those pursuing holiness. It is a cycle that keeps the Church alive and moving in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Pursuing Jesus Christ
So how is it possible for a true Christian to live a life of holiness as commanded by God? It is possible only by fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ and pursuing Him as our only hope. The Apostle Paul (a self-described “chief of sinners”) understood what it meant to pursue Christ and His holiness:

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Jesus Christ saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (Phil. 3:12-13).

As we pursue Christ and abide in His presence, we will be transformed into holy and revived people. It is possible as evidenced in the Bible and the history of the Church.

The Challenge of Holiness
This is the start of the Lenten season. Many will set aside this time as preparation of the heart leading up to Easter. For some, this means denying one’s self or fasting from specific indulgences for a period of time – certain foods, forms of entertainment, etc.

But if we are truly to take up the challenge of holiness, our greater calling is to turn from sin entirely. Pure and simple. If we are to lay down our lives for the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the sake of others (repenters repenting), then we need to ask the Lord to show us how to live with clean hands and a pure heart.

In these next several weeks, invite the conviction of the Holy Spirit to show you those areas you must surrender to Him in pursuit of holiness.

•    How do you treat your family members? Do you honor and love them unconditionally?
•    What kind of entertainment do you pursue? Do you watch things that glorify infidelity or ungodly living?
•    How does your speech measure up with the Fruits of the Spirit? Do you speak with grace and truth at all times?
•    Do you place a priority on seeking God through prayer and the study of His Word – or do you occasionally take the time when it is convenient?
•    Do you overindulge in food, spending of money, or idle words?
•    Is the thought of honoring Jesus Christ constantly on your mind as you go through your day?

Pursuing holy living is not about checking off a list of appropriate behaviors. But the more we pursue Christ, the more our desires and actions will align with His will, plans, and purposes.

Imagine what could happen if all believers in Christ took up the challenge of holy living. Perhaps a sign of the coming revival in our nation will be when the world recognizes us as repenters who truly repent!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we desire to be obedient to Your call to live holy lives. But we know this is not possible without the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and pursue Him with all our hearts. Convict us of sin, and show us how to be the repenters who repent according to Your holy standards. Help us pursue holiness for the sake of Your honor, knowing that our only hope is in You! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Holiness: The Heart God Purifies, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, pg.167.
**Ibid, pg. 173.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 2-10-10

The Power of Humility

His message is simple. If we desire to pray transformational prayers, we must be transformed in our own hearts. If revival is to come, we must humble ourselves. We must place God on the throne of our lives daily and repent of our sins. In doing so, we allow the Holy Spirit to work through “clean hands and a pure heart.”

Madan Valvi recently preached this message in a Chinese church in New York. Madan knows the power of prayer, as the Lord has taken him from being born an “untouchable” in India to the staff of an evangelistic ministry. When you pray with Madan, you hear his constant heart cry for the Lord to do a work of humility and brokenness in his own life.

After preaching this message, Madan encouraged the church members to pray in small groups for the cleansing of their hearts. A Chinese man began praying with Madan, confessing his sins and then saying, “Lord, I have one more thing.” He did this several times until he suddenly confessed a surprising and very humbling sin before Lord.

He confessed his prejudice toward Madan. With great humility, the man acknowledged that he did not want to pray with Madan in the first place because Madan was Indian. “My country of China has been at war with your country of India,” he said. He confessed that he carried a despising attitude in his heart toward Madan – until he began praying with him. The Lord convicted him of his sin and he repented.

The man then humbly asked Madan if he would pray with him for his family members in China who do not know Jesus Christ.

That night, the man called his 39-year-old sister in China. For years she has been resistant to the gospel, often combative over any discussions about Jesus Christ. She had embraced Buddhism and other religious philosophy – and her heart was hard. Until that night. For the first time in her life, her heart was soft toward Christ, and she accepted Him as her Savior over the phone.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”(James 5:16, NLT).

God Draws Near to the Humble
There is a direct correlation between this man’s humility, confession of sin, and his willingness to seek God in prayer for the openness of his sister’s heart to the gospel. James describes this connection by stating that “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). James goes on to describe true humility:

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor (James 4:7-10).

God delights in drawing near to the humble and hearing their prayers. Daniel experienced this when he mourned, fasted and prayed for 21 days. When he had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ dressed in blazing glory, he was overcome with fear and trembling. He fainted and then remained facedown on the ground until a hand touched him and lifted him up, and a voice said:

“Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer” (Daniel 10:12).

Humility in prayer was in direct correlation to God’s immediate response.

Lesson in Humility
Although some may define humility simply as the absence of pride, it is much more than that. Humility is the recognition of how desperately we need God and how we can do nothing of eternal value apart from Him.

Job experienced perhaps one of the most powerful lessons in humility offered by the Creator of our universe. After Job debated with his friends in lengthy discourse about God and His ways, God interrupted the discussion and asked Job a few questions (Job 38-41). The Lord God Almighty reduced Job to perhaps the most humbled state ever experienced by man. Imagine being asked these questions by God: Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?

Job’s response was fitting for someone who suddenly realized how little he understood and how desperately he needed God:

“I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (Job 42:5-6).

God then acknowledged Job’s very humble response and listened to Job’s prayers on behalf of his friends (42:8-10): “When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!” (vs. 10)

Characteristics of Humility
God assures us that He hears the prayers of the humble of heart. When we pray for revival, we must start at the point of humility, which ushers in brokenness – and in turn leads to true repentance of sins and surrender to God. So what are some other characteristics of a truly humble heart?

•    Humility is characterized by a heart that is willing to confess all known sin – and understands there is even more that God will reveal. Even Paul said he was the chief of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15-17). Humility means never assuming you have nothing left to confess.
•    Humble people do not trust their own hearts, but instead continually seek God for His wisdom and discernment (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
•    Humility means surrendering and confessing all areas of one’s heart and life that have been exalted above God.
•    A truly humble person walks in obedience - even if it is painfully difficult - because he or she knows that honoring God is something that will stand forever.
•    Humble people know they cannot begin to compare to the ultimate example of true humility – the Lord Jesus Christ Himself:

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on the cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).

•    Humble people know that any hint of humility in their lives is only because of forgiveness of sin through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Over and over again in Scripture, God tells us to humble ourselves. We can do this only with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the power of Christ. As we walk in humility, we can pray with greater hope and faith for God’s favor in a heaven-sent revival.

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us the way of humility through the sacrificial life of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that You will empower us by Your Spirit to truly humble ourselves in brokenness and repentance, that we might experience the power of Your presence in revival. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Don't Fear Brokenness
by Carol Madison

A small group of us had gathered to pray for revival. I was excited because joining us was a pastor from Uganda who had been used powerfully of God in the revival in that nation. I confess that I had some expectations for our prayer together.

But this man prayed just one very simple prayer – and then he was silent. I remember thinking, “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to pray?”

As we sat in the ensuing silence, all I could hear was a jackhammer across the street, breaking up concrete in front of a downtown building. I was distracted by the constant pounding noise. I was disappointed because I had expected so much more. I was thinking perhaps revival would break out because of our prayer time!

The pounding of the jackhammer filled my thoughts. It was all I could hear, until the Lord spoke quietly to me: “You have some very hard places in your heart that need to be broken up.”

In that moment, the Lord showed me a key to revival: brokenness.

The Gift of Brokenness
The constant pounding of the jackhammer had a purpose. It was pulverizing the old concrete so that something new could be established. The old building across the street was being transformed, but the process of new life required the old to be broken up and removed.

New life comes out of brokenness, which leads to repentance and restoration in Jesus Christ. Brokenness allows the hard places of our hearts to be exposed (pride, lack of love, envy, sinful habits, hypocrisy, shame, etc.), so that the healing and restoring in Christ can begin, exchanging a heart of stone for a heart of flesh:

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:25-28).

I once prayed for brokenness in a group of prayer leaders, and was gently corrected. There was a fear that praying for brokenness meant that I was inviting pain and devastation into our lives. But brokenness really means examining the hard places that already exist in our hearts, and then repenting of them so that the healing power of Jesus Christ can restore those places to true freedom in Christ. Brokenness does not need to be feared; it is a loving gift from the Lord.

God Dwells with the Broken and Contrite
King David knew the place of brokenness. After his sin with Bathsheba, he knew that a broken and contrite heart was the key to restoration. He acknowledged that all the sacrifices and acts of service to God could not fulfill the one thing God desired the most in him: brokenness.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

The word contrite is equated to being pulverized, crushed into small particles, or ground into powder. This is a picture of true brokenness; when the rocky places of our hearts are ground into such fine powder that new life can begin to grow. David knew that this place of contriteness was the way to be ushered back into the presence of the Holy, Living God. It was the place of revival for him. It is the truth of Isaiah 57:14-15:

And it will be said:
"Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

For this is what the high and lofty One says--
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

The Heart of a Broken Person
Nancy Leih DeMoss, an author and speaker on personal and corporate revival, quotes a report from a missionary who experienced true, heaven-sent revival in Africa. He noted that the African believers would ask him if someone was a “broken Christian.” They were not concerned if he or she was a well-known or committed Christian. It was more important for them to know if the believer was truly broken.*

Nancy goes on to list some characteristics of a broken person:

•    Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for God and others.
•    Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.
•    Broken people trust in God – they rest in Him and are able to wait for Him to act on their behalf.
•    Broken people are quick to admit their failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary.
•    Broken people are more concerned about how their sin has grieved and dishonored God than about the problems it  has created in their lives.
•    Broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy.
•    Broken people realize they need to maintain a continual heart attitude of repentance.
•    Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.

Don’t fear praying for God to do a work of brokenness in your life. Although God used the sound of a jackhammer to awaken me to my desperate need for Him, the work of the Holy Spirit has been far gentler. Rather than a forceful pounding, it is been a daily, rhythmic nudging of the Spirit to give those hard places of my heart over to the Lord Jesus Christ for His reviving work.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our desperate need for Your reviving work in our lives. We pray that You will guide us into true brokenness, that we might repent and receive forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ. Take away our fears of being broken, and replace those fears with the courage to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts. As we seek true brokenness, we pray for the fulfillment of Your promise to both revive and dwell with those who are broken and contrite in Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Brokenness: The Heart God Revives, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, pg. 86.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 1-27-10

Do You Really Believe?

Victor was a very humble man who believed in the power of God. God called him to preach the gospel to a very spiritually dark and resistant area in the jungles of Peru, where there had never been success in reaching the people. Victor was not well educated or very eloquent, but he prepared himself for this assignment by seeking God in prayer for breakthrough.

Victor invited a missionary to pray with him before he headed into the jungle. The missionary thought he would give Victor ten minutes of his time, assuming another unfortunate failure.

Victor knelt on the floor and began to pray. He prayed for every single person in every single household in every village by name, asking for their salvation. The week before Victor had “spied out the land” by walking through the villages and taking note of each individual. He was now bringing each person before the Lord.

Fourteen hours later, Victor arose from his knees. The missionary had not said one word the entire time, but just silently agreed as Victor poured out his heart for the people of the valley.

The next day, when Victor entered the first village, the elders met him. Victor told them, “I have a message for you from the true and living God.” The elders responded, “We know, for yesterday an angel appeared to us and told us that today a man would come to give us good news, and that we were to listen.”

That day the entire village responded to the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Victor did this in village after village, and in the same way the entire valley responded to the gospel.*

Evidence of Your Belief
Do you believe that God can supernaturally invade your home and community, pushing back the darkness and revealing Himself to those held in spiritual captivity? Do you truly believe in the power of God in answer to your desperate, travailing prayers?

Your belief will be evidenced by your willingness to rearrange your life’s priorities to seek God fervently on behalf of others. Victor believed by faith that he could partner with God in a supernatural moment, even when others did not. Rather than strategically planning how to leverage time and resources, Victor dropped to his knees and prayed to the living God.

For 14 hours he sought God, pleading for His Kingdom purposes to be released. He knew the obstacles and spiritual opposition, but he also knew the power of the Almighty God. His belief was evidenced by his willingness to pray without ceasing.

Blinded to Spiritual Realities
Victor grasped a spiritual reality that most of us miss because we see with such limited vision of the power of God. That is why Elisha prayed for the spiritual eyes of his servant to be opened. In a moment of hopelessness, the servant saw only that they were surrounded by the troops, horses, and chariots of the enemy. But his confidence and faith in a supernatural God were rearranged when he suddenly understood the spiritual realities of the power of God on his side!

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:16-17, NLT).

We cannot see the spiritual realities around us unless God reveals them to us. When we cannot see the evidences of God at work, we tend to draw the wrong conclusions. “Perhaps it is simply not God’s will that our nation experience a powerful spiritual awakening,” we might conclude. If the world is growing darker and darker, can there be hope for the glory of Christ to supernaturally invade a world destined for destruction?

Don’t be afraid; take heart! Have faith like Elisha to believe that there are more on our side than on theirs. Whatever seemingly hopeless situation you are facing, God is calling you to seek Him by faith in fervent prayer. It may take hours upon hours, day after day – but do not be fooled by a false spiritual reality that says there is no hope.

On Our Knees
Our best efforts in God’s Kingdom are done on our knees. If we truly believe this, we will ask for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see, as well as give us faith to believe and the strength to persistently pray. There are supernatural moments awaiting us!

As we pray for revival (the presence of God living and active among us), we can believe God for His desire to awaken His Church and pour out His grace on the lost. Psalm 85 speaks of the hope of our land being filled with the glory of the Lord through revival:

Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his people, his faithful ones. But let them not return to their foolish ways. Surely his salvation is near to those who honor him; our land will be filled with his glory (vs. 6-9, NLT).

God chooses to work through us as partners with Him in this amazing moment in the history of the Church. For as long as it takes for revival to come, let’s drop to our knees in prayer. May we seek Him with hope and belief that He will answer our prayers powerfully in accordance with His will!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that there are times when we simply do not have the faith to believe that revival is coming. Please fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit to pray with courage and unceasing faith that You will awaken the Church and push back the darkness. We pray for the salvation of the lost through faith in Jesus Christ. When we cannot see the spiritual realities around us, open our eyes that we might see the hope of Your glory! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Story told by Rev. Ronald Croyle, Alliance Life magazine, April 27, 1994, pg. 19.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 1-20-10

Behind Closed Doors

It was a revival moment that did not have a lot of fanfare. There was no showy, outward display; just new life breathed into a lifeless body. The awakening of a soul thought to be dead forever. It happened in a pleading moment between a man and his God – behind a closed door.

This story of a revived life comes from 2 Kings 4. A wealthy woman was miraculously blessed with a son, as prophesied by Elisha. Several years later her joy turned to agonizing sorrow as her son suddenly died. In her grief, she traveled to find the prophet who knew how to plead with God on her behalf.

Elisha returned with the woman and found her child lying dead on the bed. In that grief-filled moment, Elisha displayed an unusual and quiet confidence in the Lord. Scripture says he went into the room alone and shut the door behind him.

A Pleading Prayer for Revival
Behind that closed door, Elisha poured out his heart to God in prayer. Not only did he pray, but he laid his physical body on top of the dead boy’s body. Face to face, mouth to mouth, hands to hands, Elisha stretched out over the boy. He prayed. Warmth began to return to the child.

Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room a few times. He then stretched out over the boy’s body again. Face to face; life upon the lifeless. In that moment behind a closed door, God answered the prayer of His servant Elisha. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!

And then, Elisha simply opened the door and offered a revived son back to the once desperate but now joyous woman.

Behind Closed Doors
Some of the greatest work in God’s Kingdom is done in those alone moments behind closed doors. It is that moment when God’s servants lay themselves out before the Lord, pleading for His miraculous work in reviving the spiritually dead and saving the lost through Jesus Christ. There is not a lot of fanfare, no gifted speakers, no orchestration of prayer times. It is a man or woman laid out before God with no hope of anything but God’s gracious and miraculous response.

Those are the moments when God tests what is truly in our hearts. Do we believe Him for the promise of revival? Are we willing to lay down our very lives in His presence with pleading prayers that only He can answer? When we don’t see immediate evidence of His answer, it is often for purposes of testing of our willingness to persevere in prayer. Are we willing to pour out our lives again and again for the sake of others?

Alone with God
Although God calls us to corporate times of pleading prayer with other believers, we must also nurture the “behind closed door” times when we are alone with God. These are times when God refines us and prepares us to walk in the power of His Spirit. He reveals the deep places in our hearts where we must repent of our sins. He touches the wounded places that need His healing. He speaks to us in a voice that we can recognize when we are alone and quiet with Him. And He fills us with confidence to pray with boldness according to His promises.

Oswald J. Smith (a Canadian pastor and author known for missions) writes:

“So far as I have read the biographies of anointed men, they have come from their knees with the power of God resting upon them, and the fire of the Holy Spirit burning in their souls. I am perfectly confident that the man who does not spend hours alone with God, will never know the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The world must be left outside until God alone fills the vision.” *

There is great power and clarity that comes when we pray alone with God, behind closed doors, apart from the world – until God Himself responds. This is often where our part in revival begins. Revival comes to the hearts of those who earnestly seek Him without regard to any fanfare or notoriety around them.

Jesus and His “Behind Closed Door” Moment
Jesus demonstrated this for us at His most agonizing moments in preparation for His death. Although He brought His trusted disciples along to the Garden of Gethsemane, He left them to wait while He approached His Father alone. In that distressed exchange, Jesus wrestled, wept, and cried out to God (Mark 14:32-41). In that “behind closed door” moment, Jesus was assured of His Father’s love and empowered to walk the way of death for the sake of others. And what may have looked like defeat to everyone else was just the beginning of glorious victory and a revived Church.

Yes, we are called to pray in community with each other as we plead with God for His promise of revival - to those who humble themselves and repent. But do not neglect or discount your times behind closed doors with the true and living God. He is waiting to breathe life and hope back into you!

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that it is Your desire to revive our hearts and empower us with Your Holy Spirit. We pray that You will draw us into those “behind closed door” times with You, that we might know You more intimately and experience our own personal revival of the heart. Give us the longing to be alone with You as You prepare us for the coming revival. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Quoted from “With Every Great Revival, Someone Tarried, Waited, Wrestled, and Travailed,” from Herald of His Coming, December 2009.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 1-13-10

The Centrality of God's Word in Revival

The more he preached the Word of God, the more people were drawn to listen. He was known as a great revivalist preacher who was one of the first to step outside the church walls and preach to the masses. At first there were 200 people gathered, but within a few days the crowd had swelled to 20,000. They sat on horses, climbed trees, and crowded around to hear the powerful preaching of God’s Word.

George Whitefield preached his first outdoor sermon in England in 1739, and from then on the Lord drew great crowds to hear his messages of repentance and holy living through Christ. Eventually Whitefield set sail for the United States and was used of God to fan the flames of revival in the First Great Awakening in our nation. The crowds continued to gather wherever he went.

To what did Whitefield attribute this drawing power in his preaching?

“I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books and praying over, if possible, every line and word. This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh light and power from above. I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men.”*

Revival Begins in the Word of God
Historically speaking, all who have been used of God in revival have been those who have deeply embraced the truths of God’s Word and applied them fully to their lives. God has graciously revealed Himself through His Word – and it is by His Spirit that we can saturate ourselves with His divine revelation.

It is not possible to have true revival except in the light of His Word. Those who pray for revival will keep God’s Word in front of them as they are on their knees.

God’s Word Is the Plumb Line
Without God’s Word as a measurement of our sinfulness verses His holiness, how can we possibly know how far we have drifted from God? God spoke to the Prophet Amos about His plumb line as a measurement of righteousness among His people:

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?"

"A plumb line," I replied. Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer” (Amos 7:7-8).

If we are not in complete alignment with God’s Word in every area of our lives, we have a problem. We have a desperate need for repentance and reconciliation to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

God’s Word Pierces Our Souls
When we invite the Holy Spirit to convict us and reveal the truth of God’s Word to us, we cannot help but be pierced to the core of our souls in the light of God’s holiness.

After rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra the priest brought forth the Word of God to the people. Nehemiah 8 says that Ezra faced the crowd and read from the Word from early morning until noon (six hours). “All the people paid close attention…” (Neh. 8:3). The leadership clearly explained the Word and helped the people understand God’s truth (vs.8). The people worshiped with joy at God’s great mercy to them.

But in light of that truth, the people gathered again to hear God’s Word read aloud to them. This time their worship and joy turned to confession of sins and godly sorrow. This expression of repentance is a necessary ingredient in true revival:

On October 31, the people returned for another observance. This time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. The Book of the Law of the Lord was read aloud to them for about three hours. Then for three more hours they took turns confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God (Neh. 9:1-3).

God revived and restored His people according to the truth of His Word: both in joy at His mercy and repentance in light of His holiness.

God’s Word Offers True and Lasting Revival
God’s Word must be the standard by which we measure the cleanliness of our hearts. As the Holy Spirit convicts us by those truths, we will realign our lives to live accordingly. That allows the refreshing power of God to remain at work in us – just as it did with George Whitefield every time he preached.

Henry Blackaby, a historian on revivals, notes that short-lived revivals come when a revival is “experience-oriented rather than Word-centered.” He states, “Experience and emotional response to God can carry you only so far. The deep and long-lasting revivals in history have been Word-centered revivals. As people return to God and His plumb line, lives, churches, cities, and whole nations have experienced deep and lasting change.”**

There are many definitions of revival today with many different experiences and expressions being termed true revival. One sure measurement will be if that revival is birthed out of the Word of God, remains consistent with its truth, and is confirmed by the spiritual fruit described in Scripture.

As we pray for heaven-sent, Presence-based revival, may we keep the Word of God and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ at the forefront of all our longings!

“Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for the gift of Your Word and the revelation of Your character through it. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will enlighten us to the truths of Scripture and convict us accordingly. We honor Your Word and ask You to fulfill all Your promises in and through us. We pray for a revival that starts with the truths of Your Word and is sustained by Your power and our obedience to those revealed truths. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Revival! A People Saturated With God, by Brian H. Edwards.
**Fresh Encounter, by Henry Blackaby and Claude King, pg. 71.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 1-6-10

Revival: For the Sake of Others
by Carol Madison

The words came so clearly that I immediately had to find a pen to write them down. I was praying and asking the Lord to guide me on the path toward revival. His voice was so clear and simple – and I have carried these words in my heart ever since:

“Live your life according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 as if other lives depend on it.”

As if other lives depend on it…because they do!

On Behalf of Others
You have friends and family members who have not yet embraced the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. They need you to pray with humility and repentance on their behalf.

You know of families that have been devastated by sin and heartbreaking situations. How they need an intervention from God based on His promises to hear your prayers!

You have witnessed the spiritual apathy and even decline within the Church, and God is waiting for you to pray with greater belief in His covenant promise to respond to the humble and desperate prayers of His people. God prompts us, calls us, and even provides the prayers that He wants us to pray back to Him.

So many lives depend on our willingness to take God at His Word, believe His promises, and reprioritize our lives to seek Him with abandonment. God wants to send revival in response to our brokenness and persistence in travailing prayer. He wants us to live out 2 Chronicles 7:14 as if other lives depend on it. Because they do!

God’s Covenant Promise
God has made a covenant promise with His people. If we walk in humility, repent of all sin, pray faithfully and seek Him, He promises to hear and respond to our prayers. God will pour out His mercy and grace upon us. He will “heal our 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This means that the glory of the manifest presence of Jesus Christ will revive believers into a vibrant and dynamic faith that will turn the world upside down. (Think of the disciples immediately following Pentecost; they were unleashed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit into a lost and desperate world with amazing power for healing and speaking of truth.) In the midst of a “healed land,” the lost will come to faith in Jesus Christ as they are convicted of sin and profoundly drawn into a saving relationship with Him.

So why wouldn’t we give our lives to this? Isn’t a humble, broken, and repentant lifestyle worth the revival of the Church and the salvation of the lost?  

A 2 Chronicles 7:14 Lifestyle
Other lives depend upon your willingness to step into your God-given role. God calls us to live this way. But what does it mean to live a repentant lifestyle according to God’s covenant promise?

First of all, it means that you have not arrived. Repentance is woven throughout Scripture, from Nehemiah fasting, mourning, and repenting for his sins and the sins of his people, to Jesus warning five of the churches in Revelation of their need to repent in spite of their attempts at good works. Repentance was the first message that Jesus preached, and it was the message that He commissioned His disciples to take to the ends of the earth (Mark 1:15, Luke 24:47).

Repentance is a gift from the Lord that leads to joy and refreshing (Acts 3:19-20). Without God’s gift of repentance, we cannot know or live out a right relationship in Jesus Christ.

• A person with a truly repentant lifestyle will examine all of his or her actions and thoughts in the light of the holiness of God. The temptations to sin are surrendered moment by moment to the power of the Spirit. And when sin does occur (perhaps on a daily basis), confession is quick to follow. A truly repentant person knows that he or she has never “arrived,” but with God’s help is always walking in humility and brokenness before a holy God. (See Isaiah 6:5.)

• A person living a repentant lifestyle will also embrace a godly sorrow on behalf of others. Having experienced the mercy and grace of God’s forgiveness, a repentant person desperately desires others to experience that same freedom from sin and release from shame. In 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, Paul writes of his desire for godly sorrow over sin to bring repentance, earnestness, and a new zeal for justice. Those who have experienced both the pain of sin and the joy of forgiveness will pray with passion for all to experience life-giving repentance through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, it means that you are surrendered to pursing Christ-likeness. There is no greater calling on your life. God gives His people specific assignments in the Body of Christ, but our greatest calling is to become more like Christ. As we seek the face of God, we are pursuing the reign of Christ in the depth of our souls and the core of our being. The passion for revival is the clear evidence of the glory of Christ active within us. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 (NLT):

We don’t go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.

Are you willing to surrender your life in such a way that others will be blessed by the power and presence of Jesus Christ living and active in you? With God’s help through the empowerment of His Holy Spirit, we can live out our God-given roles in helping to usher in His manifest presence in revival.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we know we are weak and frail vessels, yet You choose to use us in Your Kingdom plans. Please fill us by the power of Your Spirit to live out 2 Chronicles 7:14 with humility, repentance, and the pursuit of Christ-likeness in our lives. We pray that the glory of Christ will brightly shine within us so that all can see Your glorious power and come to a saving and revived faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 12-30-09

Revival: Prepare for Rain
by Carol Madison

As an intercessor, he walked the halls alone, praying over every locker in the school. He was often seen behind the scenes, quietly seeking the Lord on behalf of others. Faithfully he prayed for revival to come to the school.

In a scene from the movie Facing the Giants, this intercessor challenged the struggling football coach not to give up—even when he didn’t see God at work. The faithful prayer warrior shared a story about preparing for rain that illustrates a profound revival principle:

“There were two farmers who desperately needed rain. Both prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one trusted God to send the rain?

“God will send the rain when He’s ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”

Preparing Your Field in 2010
We do not know exactly when God will send revival in response to the faithful prayers of His people who are desperate for His manifest presence. His presence in revival will change us and empower us in accordance with His plans. God promises that if we humble ourselves in prayer, seek Him, and repent of our sins, He will answer us (2 Chronicles 7:14). That is certainly a part of “preparing our fields to receive the rain.”

If we are truly desirous of God to send revival—even in this coming year—there are other ways that we can prepare to receive the gracious and miraculous outpouring of His Spirit. We invite you to pray for these “gifts” from the Lord to help you prepare the field of your heart for the coming revival:

The Gift of Repentance: Ask the Lord to give you the gift of repentance in the coming year. True repentance. A repentance that comes from God revealing the true condition of your heart in the light of His holiness. By His grace and mercy, may you experience a miraculous cleansing and refreshing of your soul!

The Gift of Devotion: Pray that the Lord will stir a deep desire in your heart for prayer and the study of God’s Word in the coming year. The Apostles “devoted” themselves to prayer, fellowship, communion together through the Lord’s Supper, and the teaching of the Word (Acts 2:42). Invite the Lord to fill you with a new passion for Him that compels you to spend time daily in His presence.

The Gift of Community: The early Church met to pray and worship together in community. Many believers were added to their numbers as they sought God daily (Acts 2:46-47). Pray that the Lord will direct you to a community of fellow believers who will pray with you for revival in the coming year. Encourage each other to stay faithful in prayer, even when you might not yet see evidence of God’s work.

The Gift of Surrender: Recognize that true hope in the coming year rests in God’s graciousness in blessing us with the fire of His presence in revival. Coming to this realization is a gift from God, as it will help you to fully surrender your life to His purposes. Ask the Lord to show you how to die daily to your own selfish desires, that you might seek His purposes alone.

The Gift of Grief and a Burdened Heart: If you are going to pray with greater fervency and belief for revival in the coming year, you will need to experience more of the grief and burden of God’s heart. Ask the Lord to increase your sorrow at the spiritual decline of the Church, so that you might pray with love and hope. Invite Him to burden you for the spiritual indifference of the ungodly and the lost, so that you might pray with faith for their salvation in Jesus Christ.

The Gift of Travailing and Prevailing Prayer: Ask the Lord to fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit to “travail in prayer until you prevail in prayer.” In other words, pray that the Lord will deepen your cries for revival with a passion that emanates from and is empowered by the Lord – and does not give up until revival truly comes (Luke 18:1-8).

The Gift of Waiting: In this coming year, pray that the Lord will fill you with faith to believe and wait on Him for His promises. Pray that as you wait, God will fill you with even greater assurance that in the fullness of time, He will respond in revival.

The Gift of Quiet Confidence in Christ: Pray that you will be so convinced of the reign and rule of Jesus Christ in this coming year, that nothing will shake you. Isaiah 32:17 (NLT) speaks of the righteousness of Christ in this way: “And this righteousness will bring peace. Quietness and confidence will fill the land forever.”

Jesus Christ Himself displayed this quiet confidence by fulfilling the prophetic words of Isaiah 42: “He will not fight or shout; he will not raise his voice in public. He will not crush those who are weak, or quench the smallest hope, until he brings full justice with his final victory. And his name will be the hope of all the world” (Matt. 12:19-21).

Pray that your confidence and hope will be placed fully in Jesus Christ alone as we pray for the fire of His presence in revival. Perhaps it will be in the coming year. Regardless of God’s timing, we pray and we wait.

God will send the rain when He is ready.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that our hearts will be fully prepared to receive the rains of Your revival. We even pray that revival might break out in 2010! But until that moment in time, we ask You to fill us with the gifts of repentance, devotion, and community. We pray that our hearts will be grieved and burdened to pray with greater travailing prayer. As we surrender more to Your purposes, help us to wait on Your perfect timing with a quiet confidence in Your great power. May You fill us with an even greater hope for revival in the coming year. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 12-23-09

Advent and Revival: Awaiting the Arrival
by Carol Madison

They prayed and waited. And prayed and watched. They were expectant and eager for the arrival of the long-awaited One. Years of waiting did not dampen their belief that the promise would be delivered in the fullness of time.

Simeon was a righteous man filled with the Holy Spirit. God assured him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah—and Simeon believed God.

Anna was devoted to fasting and praying daily, without fail, in anticipation of the coming of the promised King. She stayed at the Temple day and night, waiting and believing. Planted deep within her heart was the hope that her Deliverer was coming.

At the exact moment in time when the newborn baby Jesus was brought to the Temple to be presented to the Lord, God orchestrated the paths of Simeon and Anna perfectly. The Spirit graciously led Simeon to the Temple that day so that he would not miss the arrival of Christ (Luke 2:27). And as Anna walked through the Temple area (Luke 2:38), still praying and fasting, the Lord divinely intersected her with Simeon and Jesus at an appointed place.

Perfect timing. Simeon and Anna knew in an instant that their prayers and longings were fulfilled. Jesus, the long-waited, had come!

The Hope of Advent
This is the hope and meaning of Advent. It is the coming or arrival, especially of something or someone extremely important, especially one which is awaited.

God interrupted the history of the world in exactly the perfect time to introduce Jesus, the Savior and Messiah.

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

Advent is the celebration of the fulfilled hope of the birth of Jesus Christ. What amazing joy! Jesus has come and history is now set on a course toward redemption and restoration. Simeon’s prayer still echoes this hope of Advent:

“Lord, now I can die in peace! As you have promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:29-32, NLT).

The Hope of Revival
In the same way, we pray with hope for another divinely orchestrated moment in history in the form of God’s heaven-sent revival. We pray that God will again show mercy to us with the presence of Christ with such power that we are awestruck at His glory unabated in our midst.

Revival is that divinely sovereign moment in time when God supernaturally interrupts history to pour out the fire of His Spirit. We pray and seek the Lord, asking for His manifest presence to once again come to us. When that happens, we will know - like Simeon and Anna - that our prayers and longings have been fulfilled.

We pray for this revival because our hearts long for the Church to be awakened to her desperate need for the cleansing and purifying fire of the presence of Jesus Christ. As the Church is rightly restored to Christ, the lost will be touched by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and many will come into the Kingdom of God through salvation in the Jesus Christ.

This is why we pray and wait, and pray and watch, for the arrival of Christ in revival.

The Hope of the Christ Coming Again
And at exactly the right moment in the fullness of time, Scripture tells us that Jesus will return again at the end of man’s days. When that happens, all will know: “For as the lightening lights up the entire, sky, so it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:27, NLT).

This will be that final, glorious moment in history when the Lord ushers in His reign forever. Matthew 24:30b-31(NLT) describes it this way:

“And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”

This is why we continue to pray in the hope of Advent – for the hope of revival, and the hope of the second coming of our glorious King: The arrival of someone extremely important, especially one which is awaited.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Dear Heavenly Father, We thank You for the precious gift of the birth of Your Son Jesus Christ. And we thank You that in the fullness of time, You will again break forth from heaven and send revival upon us. We so desperately need another divine interruption in history, and so we pray and wait, pray and watch. We believe that at the right moment, You will hear the longing of our hearts and send the fire of Your presence in revival. With humble hearts, we anticipate Your arrival! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 12-16-09

Revival Principle: Divine Magnetism
by Carol Madison

In a true revival, there is one headliner name and one method of attraction: God Himself through the drawing power of the Holy Spirit.

During the Great Awakening of 1857-59, a fascinating spiritual phenomenon was prevalent along the eastern seaboard of the United States. While revival fires were spreading throughout the countryside, there was also a “canopy of holy and awesome revival influence” that extended 100 miles out to sea.*

Ships coming toward east coast harbors, unaware of the revival on land, would suddenly come under the power of God’s presence as they entered into this 100-mile spiritual cloud. The presence and conviction of the Holy Spirit was so strong that hardened sailors fell to their knees in repentance. The ship’s captain would send for a minister, not knowing how to handle all the sailors who were overcome with this holy presence.

It was God Himself through the power of the Spirit who brought people to repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ!

God Alone Does the Drawing
This is divine magnetism. Defined as the “ability to attract,” this divine magnetism is the power of God alone to draw sinners to Himself. God is not dependent on mass media or communication tools to spread the fire of His presence. Although He often moves through anointed preaching or the sharing of the gospel, God can bring conviction of sin without a human word being spoken. When God moves in genuine revival, there is no advertising campaign or clever marketing that can be credited. God Himself saturates people and communities with an awesome awareness of His holiness.

In the Hebrides Revival of 1949, the Holy Spirit overpowered more than 100 young people in a dance hall in the town of Barvas. They often gathered there in the evenings, enjoying themselves and remaining unconcerned about any spiritual matters. But the night that revival fires fell upon the local church, God’s presence instantly spread to the dance hall. As the power of God suddenly fell on the young people, the music ceased. They immediately left the hall and were inexplicably drawn to the church, many of them giving their lives to Christ that night. It was the divine magnetism of God alone that drew them into a holy encounter with Him.

In the Second Great Awakening in the 1800s, more than 20,000 people were drawn to Cane Ridge, KY – a very sparsely populated area. But God’s magnetism was so powerful that people came from miles around, walking for days or traveling by wagon. The crowds grew so large that preachers positioned themselves on various tree stumps, facing different directions and preaching God’s Word simultaneously to sections of the crowds. No media campaign in those days drew those crowds. It was God alone.

How Little We Know of God’s Power
This kind of revival is not something most of us have experienced in our lifetime. We may feel the presence of God in our quiet times or during a corporate prayer gathering. There may be times when worship or preaching is powerfully anointed and we can sense the Holy Spirit in our midst. But this magnetic power of God saturating entire communities is not a common experience in our day.

But God’s Word and history point to God’s desire to send the fire of His presence in unmistakable ways. Through conviction of sin, God allows people to see their sin in the light of His holiness. With repentant hearts changed through forgiveness of sins, we can enter into true faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This magnetism of the Almighty God brings glory to His name and salvation to those whom He has called unto Himself!

It is the kind of power that the people experienced that day on Mt. Carmel when Elijah invited God to prove Himself to the prophets of Baal. When fire of God flashed from heaven and burned up everything—even the rocks—the people fell face down, declaring, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!” (1 Kings 18:38-39)

It is also the divine magnetism of God experienced by the people in Solomon’s day, after Solomon dedicated the Temple to God:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it .When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever" (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).

The Divine Magnetism of Jesus
When Jesus walked this earth, people were attracted to His love and compassion. This also was divine magnetism in the form of God made flesh. People were so attracted to Jesus that they could not resist coming from miles around, following Him and hoping to experience His healing touch.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him (Matthew 4:23-25).

Jesus was a true Healer who brought the hope of freedom from sickness, pain, demonic harassment, paralysis, and sin—and the crowds were drawn to Him. They came from all over the region to experience the presence and power of Christ.

When true revival comes, this divine magnetism in the form of the presence of the Living Lord Jesus Christ will visit us once again. As we pray with repentant hearts, seeking the fire of God’s presence to fall in our communities, we can trust God to draw sinners to Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In a genuine revival, God alone will be the headliner!

Dear Heavenly Father, we desire the kind of revival that is characterized by Your powerful presence and divine magnetism. We pray, with repentant hearts, that the fire of Your presence will again fall upon us, drawing all sinners to true repentance and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for a revival to again sweep our nation and draw all people to You alone as the Almighty God! In Jesus’ name, amen.

   * Revival Fire, by Wesley Duewel, page 133.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 12-9-09

Key to Revival: Extraordinary Prayer
by Carol Madison

When God’s revival fires blazed through the Hebrides Islands, the prayer meetings in the churches were crowded as people sought God day after day. It was expected that those who were converted the night before would be found crying out to God in prayer the following day. No one had to appeal to people to show up for prayer meetings; they were compelled by the power of God’s presence.

For two hours every day, the work in the fields and businesses stopped as people gathered over the noon hour to pray. This unified, extraordinary prayer continued for three years (1949-52) until the fires of revival saturated the entire island. In fact, it said that the prayer was so extraordinary and powerful that at least three quarters of those who accepted Christ were born again before they ever stepped into a church or heard a sermon.

Seasons of Extraordinary Prayer
Throughout Scripture and revival history, there are accounts of times when God calls His people to extraordinary prayer as the backdrop for His great and mighty works.

In his book, The Power of Extraordinary Prayer, Bob Bakke writes, “For the glory of his name and the splendor of his purposes, God summons intercessors who will unitedly, urgently, and relentlessly seek God.”

It is this extraordinary prayer that ushers in God’s gracious presence in revival. As Dr. Bakke continues to write, “…down through the centuries, we are told of those extraordinary times when ordinary praying is not enough. Crises, periods of danger, or times of great sin compel God’s people to seek God for the glory of his name. Sometimes the prayers are answered swiftly. Sometimes the prayers come after years of praying.” *

The believers in the early Church experienced many of those desperate moments when extraordinary prayer fueled their passion for God to show Himself powerful in their midst. Even in that moment before God poured out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the followers of Christ were gathered in days of united and extraordinary prayer. They were so desperate for the Lord that there was nowhere else they could be or no greater thing they could do than seek Him!

Extraordinary Requests by Ordinary People
Scripture is filled with examples of ordinary people of God calling out in extraordinary fashion for God to move in profound ways. Elijah’s prayers of faith are described in James 5:17. Scripture actually refers to Elijah as “a man just like us.” Imagine that! He prays extraordinary prayers for the rain to cease falling for three years. God honors Elijah’s earnest prayers by closing up the heavens, and then opening them again when Elijah prays for the drought to end. Yet Scripture specifically refers to the great prophet Elijah as an ordinary person!

In the New Testament, Peter was so taken back by God’s extraordinary response to the earnest prayers of his friends that he had a hard time believing it was true. As a houseful of very ordinary people prayed fervently for Peter’s release from prison, God was dispatching an angel to release him (Acts 12:5-17). The angel woke Peter up, loosed him from his chains, and led him past the guards. Peter watched the iron gate open by itself, still not realizing what was happening to him. It wasn’t until they walked down the street and the angel suddenly disappeared that Peter realized he was free – a walking miracle!

He went immediately to find his “ordinary friends” gathered in their extraordinary prayer meeting - and they were all amazed at God’s response to their fervent prayers. No doubt they were changed that day into even greater prayer warriors, confident that God hears and answers their prayers!

Extraordinary Days Require Great Prayers
We are living in extraordinary days. Almost daily we hear the news of another moral failure, a realigning of nations toward greater global conflict, an increase in financial instability, and the eroding of biblical values – to name just a few of the challenges facing us today. These are some of the indicators that we are closing in on the final days of man. We don’t know exactly when Jesus will return. But we know that some day soon He will come as our glorious King when His Church is prepared for His return.

In the meantime, we want ask the Lord to give us extraordinary prayers that will usher in the fire of His presence in our midst. We must pray desperately for a lost world to know the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation. God is summoning His people to pray with hope and expectancy toward a sweeping spiritual awakening in our nation.

As we pray for revival, we must be willing to go beyond the normal prayer practices. Extraordinary prayer is a gift from God, and He wants us to ask Him to send it to those who seek Him with all their hearts. As we humble ourselves, repent, and fervently seek the face of God, He will in turn take the desperate prayers of ordinary people and use them to reveal His glory to the world. May we, as the Church, unite and rise up to the calling of Isaiah 62:1-2a:

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory.


“Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with unified and extraordinary prayers that cry out to You to reign in our midst. We desperately need a holy visitation of the revival fire of Your presence. Although we are ordinary people, we pray that You will compel us to extraordinary, fervent, and repentant prayers toward the revival of the Church and the salvation of the lost through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

       *The Power of Extraordinary Prayer, by Dr. Bob Bakke, pg. 30-31.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 12-2-09

Keys to Revival: Forerunners and Timing
by Carol Madison

He sat alone for 30 minutes, praying that perhaps others might join him. After passing out several thousand invitations throughout the business district of New York City in 1857, Jeremiah Lamphier hoped someone would show up for the noon-time prayer. By the end of the hour, just six men had joined him. But a week later, one hundred people were praying, and then thousands throughout the city – and revival was soon to follow.

Nearly 100 years later, two elderly sisters prayed alone in their home in the Hebrides Islands. They did not go out much, as one was blind and the other had severe arthritis. But they prayed faithfully for every person on every street in their village. They often prayed late into the night for the fire of God’s presence to fall on their community. Eventually a pastor and several elders also began praying - and revival was soon to follow.

Forerunners Are Key to Revival
While researching the biblical and historical revivals, author Bob Griffin noted several characteristics that were common to every revival. Without exception, revival always “began in the heart(s) of one or more consecrated servants of God who became the agent(s) God used to lead His people back to faith and obedience in Him…. Prayer was central to revival.” *

Forerunners to revival are those men and women who are called of God to pray during spiritually desperate and dry times, with a Spirit-led faith to believe that God desires to once again send revival. They often pray alone or in very small groups. They will pray without any immediate evidence of God answering their prayers, yet they know in their hearts that they must not give up until He answers. They pray believing that there is no hope apart from God, and they will pray at great personal cost because they believe God’s promises.

Peggy and Christine Smith (the two sisters in the Hebrides) pleaded with God for months, often until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. Yet as time passed they did not become discouraged. They simply became more determined. They were gripped by Isaiah 44:3, and prayed accordingly: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty; and floods upon dry ground.” They believed God, and eventually He fulfilled His promise to them.

Although history records the Smith sisters as faithful forerunners to revival, many of these forerunners are unknown heroes of the faith. Many of these heroes exist today, known only to God. Right now they are praying with persistence and faith for God to visit our nation once again in revival.

God’s Perfect Timing Is Key to Revival
We cannot predict when God will send the fire of His presence in revival. But we can sense the nearness of the time based on the increased fervency in the prayers of His people. It has been said that when God is getting ready to move powerfully in the midst of His people, He sets them to praying.

Jesus was sent in God’s perfect timing to do His Father’s business. In order to accomplish His Father’s work, Jesus prioritized prayer as the primary activity of His day. Jesus’ prayer life was living and active relative to the will of the Father. And His intensity in prayer was measured to the circumstances He was about to face. In Luke 22:44, Jesus prayed with “anguish,” and then He prayed “more earnestly…” We are in desperate times as well, where our prayers must storm the throne of heaven, pleading with our Heavenly Father to intervene!

The increased desperation of the times (economic, global conflict, etc.) should be a catalyst for a dramatic increase in prayer. God has always summoned His forerunners to prayer, and many intercessors believe the day of revival is at hand. We know that we can trust the Lord in His timing, but our increased fervency in prayer is an indicator that revival may be closer than we think.

Habakkuk 2:3 gives us the assurance that the Lord will move His hand at exactly the right and appropriate time: “…Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Until then, we are instructed to pray with expectant and fervent hearts.

Matthew 7:7-8 (New Living Translation) speaks of this persistency and not giving up:

“Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”

Jesus is instructing His followers to “keep on” when it comes to asking, seeking, and knocking for the fulfillment of His Kingdom purposes.

Nothing, Nothing….Everything!
Elijah was certain that the drought was about to end. In fact, he was so sure of God’s answer to his prayer that he alerted King Ahab ahead of time to prepare for rain.

And then Elijah confidently approached God in prayer and persistence of faith. 1 Kings 18:42 says that Elijah climbed Mount Carmel to pray. He bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees – an indication of his fervency and determination in prayer. Although the sky was clear and not a single cloud in sight, Elijah prayed with confidence because he knew he was praying according to God’s purposes.

He sent his servant to look for the forming rain clouds. His servant came back to report: “Nothing.” Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look for rain clouds, and six times his servant reported that nothing was on the horizon. Nothing…nothing…nothing….

But on that seventh time, as Elijah persisted in faith and waiting on his Lord, the servant reported that he saw “a little cloud about the size of a hand rising from the sea.” It was enough for Elijah, for he knew that God had answered his prayers. That little cloud was soon to become a terrific rainstorm, and the drought was about to end.

That is the kind of faith and expectancy we must have when praying for revival. When we humble ourselves and pray, seeking God’s face and turning from our sins (2 Chronicles 7:14), we can confidently await God’s response of refreshing rains of revival.

"Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You that You have already called faithful forerunners to pray for revival in our communities and nations. We pray that You will instill that faith in all of Your Church to pray with fervency and expectancy for the refreshing rains of revival to restore us once again. We pray for humility and hearts of repentance that will help us pray according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Although times may seem drastic, we pray with faith for a revival that ushers in the fire of Your presence! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

    *Firestorms of Revival, by Bob Griffin, page 44.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 11-25-09

Undeniable Fruits of Revival
by Carol Madison

The doors of the church open every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. There is room for several thousand people, but if you do not arrive at least an hour before the service starts, you may not get a seat. In the quiet hush of the two hours preceding the service, people kneel on the steps at the front of the church and prepare themselves for the most anticipated time of the week.

What motivates thousands of people to walk, take the subway, or fight traffic through New York City to gather in a church in the heart of Brooklyn? What causes people to rearrange their lives and work schedules to make sure they get an early seat in a packed sanctuary?

A prayer meeting.

This weekly prayer gathering at the Brooklyn Tabernacle has sustained this level of enthusiastic participation for years – even to this day. The members of this church are devoted to boldly calling upon the Lord week after week, believing that the greatest indicator of a Spirit-led church will be the power of its prayer meeting.

The Fruit of Prayer
In the Hebrides revival of 1949-52, one of the immediate measurements of true revival in a person’s life was his or her attendance at prayer meetings. When one was convicted of sin and experienced true repentance, his or her salvation experience was measured by the outward sign of an increased desire for prayer. Converts to Jesus Christ were considered “doubtful conversions” if they did not show up at the next prayer meeting.* The immediate fruit of revival was reflected in people being compelled to rearrange their lives to pray together according to the power of the risen Christ.

Imagine applying that same standard of measurement of true faith in our churches today!

Yet we know that the early Church was born out of a prayer meeting. And the early believers continued to meet often for prayer. Scripture says that the immediate new converts (about 3,000 in number) joined other believers to devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, and prayer! When the power of God’s presence came to the church of Acts, people were compelled to gather in constant prayer and worship (Acts 3:41-47). As they prayed, more people came to Christ and were added to their group.

Imagine 3,000 people back then trying to find a place to meet together in prayer. No doubt the homes were crowded and people spilled into streets and open areas. Certainly no one place could hold all the enthusiastic new believers. In the same way in the Hebrides, people brought their own stools to the church because there were not enough places to sit.

When revival comes to your church or community, you will know it by the fruit of prayer and packed prayer meetings!

The Fruit of Holiness
Revival also ushers in an intense awareness of God’s presence and holiness. If the fire of God’s presence invades a person or community, things cannot remain status quo!

Even the hardest of hearts and those most resistant to salvation have some awareness of God’s presence around them in a true heaven-sent revival. Some may resist, but most experience a conviction that cannot be ignored or opposed! As one convert in the Hebrides revival put it, “So awesome and pervasive was the sense of God’s presence that even the grass beneath my feet and the rocks around me seemed to cry out ‘flee to Christ for refuge’” (page 38).

When God’s holiness is ushered into a community in revival, there will be an immediate impact on the lives of those who submit to the conviction of sin through the power of the Spirit. When Isaiah found himself witnessing the throne room of the Almighty God, he was undone by his own lack of cleanliness before the Lord. Isaiah could only exclaim, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5).

This realization of unclean hearts and words was also the experience of believers in the Hebrides revival. It is said that the “people were so overwhelmed at times that they were afraid to open their mouths for fear that they might utter words that would bring on them the judgments of God” (page 37).

This deep consciousness of God not only led people to a holy fear of God and true repentance; it also ushered in a new joy in experiencing the depth of God’s love and salvation in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Fruit of Joy
When Paul and Barnabas were sent to the Gentiles to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were welcomed and embraced. Many more became believers and the message of Christ spread throughout the entire region. Acts 13:52 records that the new believers were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” When the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed throughout entire communities, the subsequent repentance will bring a releasing of profound joy of forgiveness and salvation.

More than 80 new spiritual songs or hymns were written during the Hebrides revival, most focusing on the newly understood love of God. Praise was constantly on the lips of the people. It is said that one woman was given many new and beautiful songs by the Holy Spirit, but she simply sang them and never wrote them down.

The singing of this new music was described as “fire that went through a person’s whole being. The singing was ‘almost supernatural, full of joy and spiritual power’” (pages 43-44). The newly revived people could not contain their joy, and they found themselves singing in stores, on the streets, and wherever they gathered in homes and churches.

The Fruits of Revival
True revival will be marked by increased fervency in prayer, an awestruck awareness of the holiness of God, and an overwhelming joy in the depth of God’s love. Let’s pray for the kind of revival for ourselves, families, friends, community, nation, and world that is marked by undeniable fruit through true salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You that when You make the fire of Your presence known in revival, we can be assured of Your supernatural fruit. We praise You for the fruit of passionate prayer. We pray that our churches will soon be overflowing with believers gathered in fervent prayer. We also invite the overwhelming fire of Your holiness to cleanse us from sin. And we embrace the joy of Your forgiveness and deep love for us. We recognize, Lord, that it is Your holy presence alone that can supernaturally revive us and transform our lives and this world. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

*Fire of God’s Presence, page 43

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 11-18-09

Revival Awaits Spiritual Leaders
by Carol Madison

“The world has yet to see what God can accomplish through one man wholly surrendered to Him.”

This quote helped shape the ministry of one of America’s great evangelists, D. L. Moody. Moody was certainly powerful in his preaching, but it was his daily surrender in intimacy with God that gave him fresh anointing each time he proclaimed the gospel.

Revival awaits those spiritual leaders who are willing to humble themselves, repent of their own sins, and fervently seek God with a determination that does not give up until God answers. These are leaders who will persevere in united, repentant prayer and not neglect the intimacy of their own souls before God.

In the Hebrides revival of 1949, the pastors and elders of one church understood their responsibility before God on behalf of their people. They took on the burden of revival for their community, surrendered themselves to God, and prayed night after night. In fact, on the night that God sent a powerful revival, some of the men were spiritually spent and physically exhausted as they knelt on the floor crying out to God. There was no cost too great for them as they pleaded for revival.

A Marked Christian Leader
A leader who has counted the cost for revival will be easily identified as one who speaks the truth boldly and walks with integrity. If you are a leader who perseveres in humble, repentant prayer, people will know. If you spend considerable time in intimacy with God, seeking Him fervently, it will show. You will be a “marked” Christian leader.

So how “marked” are you? The path of least resistance is often to blend in with society or cultural norms. As we consider our ways, God expects true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to speak the truth in love, rather than couch the truth in seemingly “non-offensive ways.” The disciples were great examples of those who were surrendered to God and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit—and marked. Everyone knew their devotion for the Lord!

Soon after Pentecost, Peter and John healed a crippled beggar. This created a stir among the people and gave Peter a platform to boldly proclaim the gospel and call people to repentance. The Jewish leaders tried to suppress their message by throwing them into prison for the night. Then they brought Peter and John for questioning, and asked them this fateful question: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

Without hesitation or political correctness, Peter again proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When he finished preaching, the leaders were taken back. As Acts 4:13 says,

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”

Through the demonstration of the power of God and the courage of Peter to speak the truth forthrightly, the critics were silenced. People will recognize the leader who is intimate with God and walks in the truth and power of the Spirit.

Fearless Preaching of Repentance
One of the defining characteristics of past great revivals has been the fearless preaching of the need for repentance. Some of the greatest preachers during spiritual awakenings were those who did not hesitate to preach on sin.

It is said that during Jonathan Edward’s message on “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” people gripped the back of the pews as the conviction of God was so great. Some felt they were literally sliding into hell. When George Whitefield and John Wesley preached, it was common for sinners to cry out, fall to the ground, and seek God for mercy.

And under Duncan Campbell’s preaching in the Hebrides Revival, people were gripped by his fearless preaching on the judgments of God. As Campbell preached on sin, he also emphasized the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and the hope for forgiveness in turning to God. Hundreds repented and were revived by the fire of God’s presence under Campbell’s preaching.

As one writer put it, “Lukewarm, unimpassioned preaching has never raised the dead; only a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power will do that!”*

Historians of revivals note that crucial to the coming revival will be the “reclaiming of the prophetic pulpit in America.” By this, they mean that spiritual awakenings and revivals are rooted in messengers of the gospel finding their voices to cut through culture, speak truth, and usher in the Spirit’s conviction of sin.

At All Costs
Some of the greatest movements of God followed those leaders who stood fearlessly in the face of opposition and prayed with great passion for the fire of God’s presence to invade society.

Scripture says that Stephen was “a man full of God’s grace and power, [who] did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). But opposition rose up against Stephen, and it cost his life. Stephen never backed down, and God gave him the grace to persevere. Even as the Sanhedrin argued with him and falsely accused him of blasphemy, they could not deny Christ in him. Acts 6:15 says that “all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”
   
Stephen was stoned after his steadfast message of repentance, but he was a leader who prayed to the very end (Acts 7:54-59). In response, God opened up the heavens and allowed Stephen to see into the throne room of God. There, Stephen saw the Lord Jesus Christ standing, no doubt interceding on his behalf at that very moment.

Oh, what God can accomplish through one person wholly surrendered to Him! As a Christian leader, are you marked with humility and a passion to take on the burden of revival for your church or community? Revival awaits true spiritual leaders who seek God in prayer and trust that He will powerfully answer.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise to send revival if Your people will truly humble themselves, repent of their sins, and have faith in a covenant-keeping God. We pray for spiritual leaders to take on the burden for revival by praying with repentant hearts and perseverance until You answer. May all of us who walk with You be fully surrendered to Your will. We pray for a conviction of sin amongst Your people and an outpouring of the fire of Your presence on our churches and communities. In Jesus’ name, amen.

*The Fire of God’s Presence, page 51.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 11-13-09

A Picture of a Revived People
by Mark Peterson

We have been writing about revival for weeks now. We have recounted inspiring stories of what God can do when His people seek Him, and then He chooses to usher in the fire of His presence. God has given us a sensational vision for revival that saturates hearts and entire communities—and He wants to send it to us!

So why have we not yet experienced this supernatural revival? Scripture says that we do not have because we do not ask. Certainly at least a few of God’s people have been asking for revival. So why don’t we have it?

Perhaps the better question is: How can we ask with the right motives and purity before God so that He can respond to our prayers and send revival to believers, the Church, our communities, and even the unsaved?

The Challenge of Change
Let’s face it, we are creatures of habit. Change is hard and we avoid it. We sit in the same pew at church, park in the same spot at work, watch the same newscast each night, and try to get to bed around the same time. Our lists of “sameness” could go on and on.

While earthly familiarity, routine, and comfort can be a good thing, that is not God’s plan for His people. Abraham could have stayed in Haran rather than packing up his possession and moving at age 75. David could have kept tending the sheep instead of leading a nation into battle. And the disciples could have fished for the rest of their lives instead of dropping their nets and following Jesus. God had a different plan for all of them, and it did not include ease and comfort.

I believe that God wants to impart a vision and a passion to seek revival. It is His heart to send it and He wants to prepare us to usher it in—through prayer. Historically speaking, every revival was ushered in with prayer. It was typically through a small group of people who took God at His Word and became the catalysts for revival. They prayed passionately and fervently, changing the course of their lives to seek God for revival.

So if we want revival, we cannot stay the same. We cannot continue in our same patterns. God will send revival when we are willing to leave the comforts of our “sameness” and seek Him for the fire of His presence to rend the heavens and come down in our midst!

A Vision of a Revived People
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he offers a prayer for the Church that provides a vision of what a revived people looks and acts like. When you consider the implications of his prayer, you cannot help but seek God for it to be answered. God wants to answer it.

Let’s look at Colossians 1:9-13. The context of the verses is the adequacy and supremacy of Christ. I believe these verses reveal God’s blueprint of what a revived people and Church looks like:

•    God’s will, wisdom, and understanding working in you: …we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (vs. 9).

•    Living a life that pleases Him in every way: And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way (vs. 10).

•    Doing His work that brings God glory: …bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God (vs. 10).

•    God’s power, endurance, and patience working in you: …being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience (vs. 11).

•    Our qualifications come from God the Father: …giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light (vs. 12).

•    We live in Christ, redeemed and forgiven of our sins: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (vss. 13-14).

Paul did not pray this prayer as a wishful thinker. He was asking God to do this amazing and reviving work in the lives of the Christians. This prayer is God’s plan for our lives, as well, as revived people and a revived Church. It is His heart for us and He can accomplish it in us!

Are we asking for this kind of revival? Are we preparing for it by rearranging our lives and leaving our places of comfort? Are we being cleansed by God so that we can receive it? Does the thought of revival change your desires—or are you comfortable with the sameness of Christianity that you already have, thank you very much?

A Goal That Counts for Eternity
Without God’s powerful working in our lives there is no work that counts for eternity. Paul makes an amazing statement in verse 28: that the goal is to “… proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” Do we possess this kind of vision and faith?

Paul adds, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (vs. 29). It is God’s power active and alive in a redeemed believer in the Lord Jesus Christ that can accomplish all things.

Do we struggle to overcome “sameness” with all the energy of Christ? If not, what is hindering us? And are we willing to ask God to take us out of our comfort zones and unfurl our hearts before Him so that He can speak honestly with us and lead us into the place of cleansing?

Paul speaks of “the mystery” which has been revealed in verses 26-27: Christ in you, the hope of glory. We have everything we need in Christ and we can do all things through His power working so powerfully in us. Praise the Lord!

Heavenly Father, forgive us for not asking You to send us bold prayers to pray back to You. Thank You for showing us what a revived people looks like. Lord, we humbly ask You to give us the faith and boldness to ask and receive from You all that Paul prayed for the Church. Remove our selfishness and need for comfort so that we can see You and respond to You in faith. May we accomplish the work You have ordained for us to do. We pray that You will send revival to our communities, but that You will start with each of us as individuals. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Mark Peterson is the Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries.)

Teaching for 11-4-09

Revival Is Supernatural
by Carol Madison

It was a bold prayer from a young man who was desperate for the fire of God’s presence to descend upon his community. As a small group of people prayed fervently for revival, late into the night, this young man rose to his feet.

In his prayer, he reminded God of His covenant promise that He would pour out His Spirit upon those who were truly thirsty for Him (Isaiah 44:3). He acknowledged the desperation of his own heart. And then he looked up to the heavens and cried out: “God, do You know that Your honor is at stake? You promised to pour water on the thirsty and floods on the dry grounds, and, God, You are not doing it.”

This boldness in prayer might make one cringe. Yet the prayer for revival is a prayer that God Himself puts on our hearts. Upon knowing this young man’s heart and hearing his desperate wrestling in prayer for revival, God responded supernaturally. Those who were present said the house literally shook. A jug fell from a shelf and broke. It was an Acts 4:31 experience: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

At the moment that the fire of God’s presence shook that house, God’s Spirit also swept through the village. All over the town, people were awake and under deep conviction of sin. Some of them walked the streets and knelt on the road. Others knelt beside their beds, seeking forgiveness of sin. There was no denying that a revival had just been unleashed on the community in answer to a young man’s desperate prayer.

God Moves Supernaturally In Hearts
This account from the Hebrides Revivals of 1949-52 demonstrates a key principle of true revival. It is a supernatural move of God. Not every revival will be evidenced by the shaking of a house, but there must be a clear indicator that God has somehow moved supernaturally in the hearts of people. There must be evidence that God has done something extraordinary.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss (a leader in today’s prayer movement) suggests that we reserve the term revival to describe “those divine moments when there is a supernatural outpouring of God’s Spirit on His people that cannot be explained in human terms.” She goes on to say that “if we are too quick to ascribe the term revival to various religious happenings or movements, the word will lose its meaning, and we will cease to long and seek God for that which is truly revival.”*

In this particular story from the Hebrides, when God’s presence moved through the community with great conviction, there were tangible evidences in society. Within 48 hours, the village bar was abandoned as the patrons where converted to Christ. Also within 48 hours, reports were that nearly every young person up to age 20 had surrendered their lives to Christ.

In fact, this move of God in conviction of sin was so far-reaching that not a home, family, or individual was untouched. The town was supernaturally transformed when genuine repentance swept through the people.

What Is True Revival?
Duncan Campbell, a man called upon to preach during the Hebrides Revivals, described revival in this way: “Revival is a moving of God in the community, and suddenly the community becomes God-conscious, before a word is said by any man representing any special effort.” Some people credited him with the revival, but that undue recognition grieved Campbell greatly.

True revival is something supernatural that only God can do. While it is not “programmatic,” God’s Word and history testify to some of the following manifestations when revival is in our midst:

•    God will receive all the glory; not man. It will not be credited to a well-known speaker or ministry.
•    There will be a sweeping conviction of sin, deep repentance, and true life transformation.
•    There will be no need to exaggerate or overstate the work of God. It will be clear that God has moved supernaturally.
•    Even the lost will know that something truly spectacular has happened. Not all will choose to repent, but neither will  anyone be able to deny the transformational nature of God’s outpouring of His Spirit.
•    The fire of God’s presence in revival will not only bring conviction of sin, but will also result in overwhelming joy when repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ are embraced.
•    Entire communities will be touched and transformed.

As we pray for revival, we are not to pray for the manifestations of it. We must instead pray for the unmistakable reviving and cleansing presence of God Himself that brings in its wake the conviction of sin, supernatural change to lives and communities, and saving faith in Jesus Christ!

Heavenly Father, You say in Isaiah 44:3: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…” It is Your promise that You will pour out Your reviving Spirit when we are thirsty for You and seek You with humble and repentant hearts. Please stir within us those travailing and prevailing prayers that cry out to You day and night. We pray for a true revival characterized by Your supernatural power to convict us of sin and lead us to repentance and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May our lives and communities be transformed by the unmistakable fire of Your holy presence in our midst. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

*Is This Revival? by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, page 5. Published by Revive Our Hearts/Life Action Ministries.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 10-28-09

Why Do We Want Revival?
by Mark Peterson

I was challenged by a wise Christian leader with this thought-provoking question. We were discussing why we need God to sweep in with His manifest presence to convict us individually and collectively of our sins, ushering in revival. She very politely asked me, "Mark, why do you want revival?" I paused and thought to myself, Doesn't everybody want revival?

This seemingly simple question was difficult for me to answer. Why did I want revival? I can't remember my response to her question, and I am sure that she graciously smiled and nodded at whatever I said. But from God's perspective (and Evelyn Christenson's 87 years of experience), my answer was most certainly incomplete. After several months, I have not forgotten her question.

Last week I was finalizing my preparation on a talk titled: "Preparing for the Coming Revival." I was struggling with my preparation when the realization suddenly hit me:

I do not want revival—God does! It is God's desire to revive His people, not mine.

Revival Belongs to God
Revival is God's work. It is His idea. (See His covenant promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14.) God will not share His glory with anyone. Without God, there is no work of revival. It is His desire is to give us new hearts that seek, listen, and obey Him. This, I believe, is part of the answer to Evelyn's question.

I want revival because God wants it. And God will give me the heart and prayers to pursue Him for it as I seek Him. Wow!

Think of the implications of this: God wants (and promises) to send revival, and He includes us in the process of ushering it in. The process is the same as when we first become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He reveals our sinful condition to us and provides the means for us to be justified before His holiness in Christ. Because of His work in us, we can respond in repentance and faith in Christ. And He will complete the work He has ordained us to do. But we play a part, and our part starts with prayer!

God's Presence Distinguishes Us
Dr. Bob Bakke spoke on the topic of "Desperate Prayer" at the recent Praying Church Conference. He recounted the scene of when God determined to destroy the Israelites because of their grievous sin towards Him. Moses interceded on behalf of the people and God's reputation (see Exodus 32:9-14).

Following Moses' intercession for God's people, Exodus 32:14 states: "Then the Lord relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened." If you continue reading the account, the Lord says, "I will send an angel before you and drive out...." (Ex. 33:2).

This intrigued me. Why would God send an angel to lead His people into the Promised Land?

Dr. Bakke went on to show God's answer this question in Exodus 33:5: "...If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you...." Imagine what Moses thought as he heard these words. God had led them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. He had led them through the desert with a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He fed them with manna and provided them with water in a desert.

God was their leader, and yet now an angel was going to lead them? Let's pick up the account in Exodus 33:15-16, with Moses appealing for God Himself to go with them:

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Moses knew that it was "God's presence" that makes all the difference. Nothing else would do! It is the presence of God that distinguished the Israelites (and us) from every other nation on the earth!

The Answer to Why Revival?
I now better understand the answer to Evelyn's question: Why do I want revival?

I don't want it; God does. It is His idea—and He gives us the heart to pursue Him for it! He has given us covenant promises that state His desire to send it. And without His presence leading, convicting us of our sin, and allowing us to repent so that we can have "clean hands and pure hearts" before Him (Psalm 24:3-4), we are hopelessly lost and we will not see revival. God enables us to ask Him for His heart to usher in revival through prayer!

As it was with the Israelites, so it is with us. The only thing that separates us from everyone on the face of the earth is the presence of God. This is manifest in the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory!

We must travail and prevail in prayer before God so that His presence will be unrestrained among us in revival power. We must pray fervently so that the lost will be convicted of their sin, repent, and find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must pursue God, asking Him for revival, so that the Church is prepared by the Father as an "unblemished Bride" for Him to present to His Son, hastening His return when His Bride is ready.

Heavenly Father, we confess that we often seek our own comforts and not Your glory and presence to be unrestrained among us. Forgive us for not interceding before You for the sake of the lost, bound for hell without the saving work of Jesus making atonement for their sin. We humbly ask You to give us vision and passion for You and Your Word. We acknowledge that without Your presence among us, we are hopelessly lost. We pray that You will teach and empower us to travail and prevail in prayer so that You will usher in revival. Please bring glory to Your name and sinners into Your eternal kingdom! In Jesus' name, Amen.

(Mark Peterson is the Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries.)

Teaching for 10-21-09

Prayer Preparation for Revival
by Carol Madison

The prayer meeting had dwindled to just a few people. It was harvest time in one of the villages in the Hebrides Islands, and people were too busy to show up for the weekly prayer gathering. The elder in charge decided to announce that he was canceling the prayer group until the harvest was over.

But when he showed up the following week to close down the prayer time, he just couldn’t bring himself to cancel it. Something kept him from speaking out of his discouragement. So he determined that he would most certainly cancel after next week’s prayer meeting.

But a week later he was surprised when another five or six people gathered to pray. Now he knew he simply could not tell the faithful few to cease showing up for prayer!

Imagine his relief and gratitude to God the following week when, as just a faithful few gathered to pray, revival broke out!*

Waiting Just Long Enough
The first revival of the early Church was birthed out of a prayer meeting. Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And so they waited and prayed. And waited and prayed. Although they were together in one place in constant prayer, perhaps they wondered if they would ever hear from the Lord again (Acts 1:4-15).

But we know from Scripture that they waited just long enough! Acts 2:1-3 says that when the day of Pentecost came, the presence of Holy Spirit suddenly blew through their prayer gathering and filled the room. They saw the fire of God rest upon them. There was no question that the Holy Spirit had come to those who waited faithfully in prayer!

What if the disciples had decided that they could use their time more effectively than sitting in a crowded room, waiting for the unknown? Imagine if they had decided a day earlier to embark on their own mission journeys without praying and waiting for the Holy Spirit to clothe them with power from on high. Their ministry would have been undoubtedly weak and fruitless. Certainly they would not have become the men and women who set the stage for spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Begin with the Truth
Part of the journey in praying and waiting on the Lord is the recognition of our own desperate need. Unless our eyes are opened to the true spiritual condition of our hearts—and in turn our churches and society—we will most likely not be moved to travailing and prevailing prayer. This awakening is a gracious and sovereign act of God.

In a Presbyterian Church in another village in the Hebrides (many years later from the opening story), the leaders gathered to discuss the appalling spiritual condition of their community. They were also concerned about the condition of the church. They knew they had reached a hopeless place, apart from a powerful move of God.

So they began to pray. Their burden for revival increased the more they prayed for God’s intervention. As their burden increased, God revealed a powerful truth to them: that He is truly a covenant-keeping God. God impressed on their hearts that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is true:

"…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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

With this revelation from the Lord, the leaders covenanted with God to take on the burden for revival for the community. They committed to pray with humility and not give up until the Lord sent revival. They knew that hope for their community depended on their willingness to believe God for His promises and seek Him.

Eventually God revealed the true condition of their hearts and took them to a place of deep, godly repentance, which in turn was a part of the revival. They waited and prevailed in prayer long enough for God to move powerfully!

Preparing for Revival
We are in the same desperate need today for a spiritual awakening from the Lord. Are you willing to take on a prayer burden for revival for your church and community? Prevailing and travailing prayer is part of the preparation for revival. If we step out in faith, God will begin to reveal Himself and prepare us for perhaps the most powerful revival our communities and nation have ever known! We must be willing for God to change our passions and our hearts so that we can pray and wait on the Lord.

Heavenly Father, we know that prayer is key in the preparation for revival. But we also know that we are weak and prone to seek our own way, often giving up too soon. Please fill us with the ability to be bold and full of faith to take on the burden for revival for our own churches and communities. We pray that You will provide us with the strength and vision to pray long enough for You to send revival! In Jesus’ name, amen.

*Story from The Hebrides Revival: A Retrospective, produced by the Sentinel Group. Click here to view.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 10-14-09

Paying the Price for Revival
by Carol Madison

When revival fires fall and God’s overwhelming presence saturates entire communities, history has often traced God’s response back to the cries of just a few people. In the revivals of the past 200-plus years, there were almost always “forerunners” who were willing to pay the price.

In the Hebrides revival that began in 1949, there were several believers who desperately sought God for a holy visitation. But they did not just attend a casual prayer meeting and then go back to the cares of the day. They persistently sought God, prevailing and travailing in prayer, often several nights a week into the early morning hours.

Refusing to Give Up
Two faithful prayer warriors in the Hebrides revival were elderly sisters in their 80s, Peggy and Christine Smith. One sister was blind, and then other was nearly bent over double with arthritis. Their physical condition kept them housebound, but their prayers permeated the community. For months, they faithfully prayed late into the night for revival. In fact, they prayed by name for each person in each home throughout their village.

On the night that revival finally broke out in their church, the sisters were home, deep in prayer. In fact, they had prevailed in prayer through the night. As they recounted their prayer time, they said, “We struggled through the hours of the night, refusing to take a denial…. Our God is a covenant-keeping God and He must be true to His covenant engagements. Did He fail us? Never! Before the morning light broke we saw the enemy retreating, and our wonderful Lamb taking the field.”*

The Cost of Brokenness
And while the sisters prayed, so did the pastor and elders of a church. They, too, persistently called out to God, night after night. They also experienced the breakthrough of God’s glory when God revealed through His Word their need to have clean hands and a pure heart. They responded obediently to the truths of Psalm 24:3-5a:

“Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD.”

These leaders realized that revival would come at the cost of their own brokenness. God revealed to them their sin and the need for His cleansing through repentance. They cried out to the Lord, lying prone on the floor, for several hours. As the story is recounted, they were physically exhausted from their prayers and pleading with God. When God cleansed their hearts, revival fires ensued as His response of grace and mercy.

Will Jesus Find You Paying the Price?
Jesus talks about this kind of persistence in prayer. It is the kind that does not give up, even when the heavens seem silent with an answer. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus uses the example of a persistent widow who comes day after day before a judge, seeking justice. She pleads her case at the risk of her reputation before others. Jesus commends her prayers, and then asks if He might find others like her when He returns:

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get their justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (vss. 7-8).

Consider this searching question posed by the founder of a revival ministry: “If revival in this land depended on your prayers, your faith, your obedience, would we ever experience revival?”**

At times God moves powerfully simply because He graciously chooses to, independent of His people’s prayers. But more often it is because a handful of His people are willing to seek Him in truth, often at great personal cost.

Are you willing to seek God for His glory and the salvation of the lost? Are you willing to pay the price of travailing in prayer, repenting of your own sins, receiving cleansing from the Lord, and then believing God that He will respond with revival fires?

Heavenly Father, we confess that we do not understand how powerful You are. Forgive us for thinking that we understand how You work and accomplish Your purposes. We ask You to reveal our sin and then cleanse us so that we may have clean hands and pure hearts in Your sight. Forgive us for our unwillingness to pay the price of praying as You see fit, for the sake of Your glory and the salvation of the lost. We pray for Your Spirit to fill us with desire to earnestly seek after You regardless of the cost. We pray for Your revival fires to fall! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

*From Revival Fire, by Wesley Duewell, pg. 309.
**Del Fehsenfeld, Jr., Life Action Ministries, from Is This Revival? By Nancy Leigh DeMoss, pg. 19

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 10-7-09

When Revival Fires Fall
by Carol Madison

A group of elders and a pastor were face-down on the floor, crying out to God and repenting of their sins. Into the early morning hours they prayed and groaned under the weight of their offenses before God.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a glorious light. The fire of God’s presence had come! The men were overwhelmed with a sense of awe as the holiness of God permeated their souls. God responded to their repentant prayers—and the revival fire of His presence was soon to sweep through all of the Hebrides Islands.

At the same time, God’s glorious presence also filled the home of two elderly sisters who had prayed for months for revival. Quietly, behind closed doors, these sisters had faithfully sought God. And God honored their faith by igniting this revival fire in their own home and throughout their community.

When God’s Fire Falls
Praying for revival fire to fall is not new in our day. Isaiah prayed that the fire of God’s presence would once again consume His people:

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!

As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!

For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:1-4)

Isaiah knew what it meant to pray for the fire of God’s presence to fall. Isaiah had been ushered into the throne room of God, and it left him undone and on his face in fear and repentance (Isaiah 6:1-7). His request of God to rend the heavens and come down was not made lightly. Isaiah knew that no one could stand in the presence of the Almighty God.

God’s presence is equated with fire in other biblical passages, as well. When Elijah prayed that the Lord would prove Himself to the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-37), Scripture says that the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up everything! The people could do nothing but fall on their faces and acknowledge God.

Moses encountered the fire of God on more than one occasion. When he climbed Mt. Sinai to meet with the LORD, His glory enveloped the mountain like a cloud. The Israelites witnessed this glory at the foot of the mountain, and they described it as looking like a “devouring fire” (Exodus 24:17).

Daniel, John, and Ezekiel all experienced the consuming fire of the presence of the LORD, and their response was to fall face-down as though dead men (Dan. 10; Ezek. 1; Rev. 1).

When God’s Fire Burns
When we pray for revival, what are we really asking of God? Calling upon to God to come in His manifest presence and send revival fire cannot be prayed with a casual expectation of His response. If God chooses to send the fire of His presence, it will devour and change everything!

We can expect God’s fire of revival to do the following:

•    Expose our pride and independence from God.
•    Reveal the hidden sin that needs to be burned out of our lives.
•    Fill us with an overwhelming sense of God’s holiness.
•    Humble us as we cry out to God in repentance and mercy.
•    Renew our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

When you pray for revival, is this what you desire? This is truly the most glorious thing we can invite into our lives. If you desire to seek the fire of God’s presence in revival, then invite Him to prepare you to encounter the living Almighty God.

Yes, it will devour and change everything. But oh, how we need it! Our personal lives, churches, and nation need it. Let’s pray with expectancy for God’s holy and cleansing fire.

Dear Lord God, we pray that You would rend the heavens and come down! We know that means a cleansing, revival fire that will overwhelm us with Your holiness and expose our sin and pride. But we also know that we desperately need this in our personal lives, our nation, and our churches. So we humbly ask You in Your grace and mercy to send the fire of Your presence. In Jesus' name, amen.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 10-1-09

The Coming Revival
by Carol Madison

This week a few hundred people gathered on a chilly evening in Elliot Park in downtown Minneapolis to pray, worship, and repent. The collective heart-cry was for God to respond to repentant hearts with a move of revival in our city and state.

The prayer gathering was hosted by ReignDown USA, a prayer and repentance movement that began in April 2008 with a gathering on the Mall in Washington, DC. At that time, thousands of people around the country gathered in various locations to join the live broadcast. The Twin Cities hosted several sites that night as we prayed for God to move.

A year and half later, Shawn-Marie Cole and her father Walt Kallestad sensed the Lord’s leading to come to Minneapolis for the next ReignDown gathering. They believe God is pointing to the Twin Cities as a place where He will move profoundly in revival.

Kneeling in the Dirt
So in faith, this small group of believers knelt in the dirt on the infield of a baseball diamond to pray and repent. They repented of personal and corporate sins. They repented for the sins of this nation. They expressed their hearts’ desire to the Lord—that He would come soon to cleanse, heal, and revive His Church.

At Prayer Transformation Ministries, we believe this is in keeping with the calling God has given us. As we seek the Lord in prayer, His purpose for PTM remains constant: “to be a part of helping to prepare the Church for the coming revival.” We do not know when God will respond to the repentant prayers of His people and pour out His Spirit in revival. But we do know that He promises to respond to the prayers of even just a few people—if they are broken and humble before Him.

What Is True Revival?
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more about revival. We will write about the true meaning of revival. We will share stories of the kind of revival that saturates entire communities and brings scores of lost people to faith in Christ. We will take a look at examples of undeniable revivals in the Western world. As we reflect on the stories of revival, we will share the biblical principles that always precede revival.

We pray that in the next few weeks, your hearts will be stirred with greater hope toward true revival. This is the kind of revival that changes everything! We pray that you will join us in kneeling before our Almighty God, asking Him to prepare us for the coming revival.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 9-23-09

Radically Changed!
by Carol Madison

She declared herself to be agnostic, and it felt surprisingly “free” to her. Rachel Bauman had grown up in the church and embraced the basics of the Christian faith. But now on her own in college, she was ready to embrace an alternative belief system. Her choice to reject the church and pursue a more “intellectual” route brought great heartache to her parents.

So as Rachel enjoyed her new freedom and declared herself independent of Christianity, Rachel’s parents prayed fervently. They invited others to pray with them. With growing fear and slipping hope, they cried out to God.

God Was Always There
In the meantime, Rachel began facing her own personal crisis that left her depressed and unable to cope. In a moment of desperation, Rachel was reminded of the truths that she had known all her life. She knew that secular counseling was not going to help her. In that moment, Rachel called out to God—and He answered her profoundly! (To read the rest of this faith story about Rachel and her parents, scroll down to other articles.)

When Rachel cried out to God and put Him back in the center of her life, it changed everything. Rachel was immediately flooded with God’s love. It was so profound that in an instant Rachel knew the depth of God’s love for her. It was something she had not experienced or understood before.

Brokenness Brings True Life
“You can do all the Christian things,” said Rachel, “but it can still not be alive for you. I did not know what it meant to experience the transforming love of God and the power of prayer.”

It was a revelation for Rachel. “If you aren’t missing it, how would you know?” she mused. “Can you tell if you are spiritually dead?” All her life she had heard stories of other people’s living faith, but it meant nothing to her in daily life. It wasn’t until she was broken and hit bottom that she called out to God in her own true faith. That was the moment that she finally, genuinely experienced the presence of God.

Isaiah 57:15 explains the mystery of brokenness and God’s response:

For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

“Contrite” in this context means brokenness, suggesting something that is crushed into small particles or ground into powder. God dwells with those who are contrite and broken in spirit. In that place, one can truly experience the powerful love of God.

That’s what happened to Rachel, and she was dramatically different. In her moment of complete surrender, she experienced a previously unknown depth of God’s love. She also began to learn the power of prayer.

Practicing Constant Prayer
Rachel now practices the constant prayer that Paul instructed the Church to embrace in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

She describes her prayer life as a continually running dialogue with God throughout the day. “Constant prayer is elusive until you live it out,” she says. But now Rachel finds herself talking with God all day long about everything. Sometimes she’s not even conscious that she’s doing it. But in doing so, Rachel finds that her thoughts are becoming more connected to God’s thoughts, and ultimately His will for her life.

“The more I am aware and in conversation with God,” she explains, “the more I am in sync with Him in the world. His qualities start to embody me...and I want to exude His love to the world.”

Rachel remains completely in awe of God’s love and the power of prayer. She didn’t just “come back to the tenets of faith”; she came back to Christ radically changed and living out her faith to the glory of God forever.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 9-16-09

From Spiritual Deadness to Life
by Carol Madison

She decided it was time to “fess up” and come clean in her life. Rachel Bauman believed she was living a lie about her faith. So at dinner one night soon before she left for college, Rachel broke the heartbreaking news to her parents. She had become an agnostic. Her parents’ faith was no longer her faith.

This announcement sent Rachel’s parents to a place of desperate prayer. They knew their only hope was to cry out to God, and they invited family and friends to join them. (Scroll down to read their story from the 9-9-09 PTM newsletter.)

Seemingly New Freedom
Meanwhile, Rachel’s confession felt like new freedom for her. For quite some time, she had been embracing a more universal perspective of faith. Growing up in a Christian home and being fully immersed in church activities and Bible studies, Rachel had accepted the fundamentals of the Christian faith. But it didn’t feel personal. And the more she fixated on intellectual pursuits, the more she realized there were other “options” of belief systems. She chose agnosticism as her core belief, the declaration of which felt “freeing” to her.

Rachel was relieved to no longer be weighed down by pretending to care about church or Christianity. She went off to college believing that she was now finally happy and free to pursue a new intellectual world. She was soon occupied by a partying college lifestyle.

But she began to discover that the freedom from faith didn’t feel so free anymore. “The partying was fun,” said Rachel. “But the next morning I would wake up and not be at the party anymore.” In the midst of the partying cycle, Rachel began to struggle with a poor self- image. As she tried to keep control of her spiraling life, she found herself feeling increasingly helpless. Depression soon came crashing down on her. She was broken, desperate, and out of control.

“This is Silly…”
A friend suggested that she see a counselor. Rachel had no desire to see a pastor or anyone associated with a church, so she opted for a mental health clinic. In her first visit, the counselor suggested “meditation, prayer, or whatever works for you.”

Rachel immediately knew that the answer was not going to come from this counselor. “This is silly,” she thought. “I don’t need to be talking to you. I need to be talking to God.” Rachel knew immediately that she needed to pray and call out to God.

Rachel left that session knowing it was time to reconsider the validity and hope of a God-centered life. She simply acknowledged God by recognizing His name. In an instant, Rachel knew God was there. He flooded her with an overwhelming love that changed everything.

Suddenly Rachel knew—really knew—for the first time how much God loved her. He filled her with so much love that she knew she could surrender everything to Him. Rachel started attending church again. She began reading Scripture with new eyes, finally understanding the Bible as God’s Living Word.

Her faith in Jesus Christ was now becoming truly her faith, as God was revealing Himself to her and she was discovering unthinkable, new depths of His love for her.

Every Prayer Counts!
During this time, Rachel’s parents were praying faithfully. They asked others to pray, whether they knew Rachel or not. Rachel was profoundly touched by all the people who were praying for her. “I was amazed,” she said, “to learn later of people that I would never have guessed had been praying for me.”

“It all adds up,” Rachel surmised. “Prayer is not a ‘throw-away’ thing. If someone asks you to pray for them, then actually do it! It counts!”

And Rachel has some advice for parents who are struggling with wayward children. “Pray for your kids, and ask others to pray for them, as well. Then tell them that you are praying for them—even if it doesn’t mean anything to them at the time. Even if they don’t seem to care, you are still blessing them.”

An Awakening
Rachel believes there were two key components in the transformation of her life: the power of prayer and the depth and profundity of God’s love. The combination of so many people praying opened the door for Rachel to cry out to the Lord and experience the refreshing of His love.

The truths of Jeremiah 33:3 are reality for Rachel: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Rachel was recently baptized as a proclamation of her faith in Christ before family and friends. She describes her awakening from spiritual deadness with one word: Revolutionary!

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 9-9-09

Cries of Desperate Parents
by Carol Madison

His daughter’s declaration was one that breaks the hearts of many Christian parents. Jim Bauman was stunned to hear his college-age daughter say, “I just want you to know that I don’t believe what you believe anymore.”

It was a painful and fearful moment that can leave parents reeling with uncertainty and despair.

Even In a Godly Home
Jim and Jamie Bauman had raised Rachel with many opportunities for godly influence. As a pastor, Jim thought Rachel was growing and maturing spiritually. She came to faith at an early age, walked through years of in-depth Bible study, and even attended a Christian school.

But then Rachel headed down a path of seemingly more “intellectual pursuits.” She took classes at the University that focused on the “power of man.” She began to believe the standard fare: that God was a myth for the weak-minded.

When Rachel declared to her parents that she no longer embraced the Christian faith, Jim said it hit them “like a ton of bricks.” Their only hope was to turn in desperation to God. Jim and Jamie prayed together with a new fervency for Rachel.

At the time, Jim was chairman of the board of Prayer Transformation Ministries. He came to a weekly PTM prayer time, devastated and in tears. His friends also prayed and cried out to God with him.

Lifelines During Crisis
As Jim and Jamie prayed, they worked hard to keep communication lines open with Rachel. They expressed their love to her when they could. They continued to invite her to church, but never pushed it. They also found some comfort and help through an article John Piper's son Abraham, entitled "Twelve Ways to Love Your Wayward Child." Abraham had also rejected the Christian faith for a period of time.

Throughout this trying time, several Scriptural promises were lifelines to Jim and Jamie. They believed the Lord would never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). They clung to the promise that Satan could not snatch Rachel from the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29). “We continued to pray and claim God’s promises,” said Jim.

In the midst of their crisis, Jim and Jamie listened to a sermon on prayer. They were challenged to write down a prayer request and seal it in a self-addressed envelope. After a month, the church would mail out the envelopes as an encouragement toward answered prayer. Of course, Jim could only think of his daughter Rachel as he wrote down his prayer request and submitted it.

Reminder of God’s Faithfulness
When the envelope arrived at Jim’s home, he knew what it said. But he was too discouraged to open it. He tossed the envelope on the counter, where it sat unopened for months. Finally Jim picked up the envelope and read what he had written: “Prayer for my prodigal daughter to return.”

Jim immediately prayed again for Rachel. And within just a few hours of opening the envelope and praying, Rachel called home! Her voice was so upbeat that Jim didn’t recognize it at first. Jim knew something had changed. Rachel had in some way returned!

As her story unfolded, Jim and Jamie learned that Rachel had experienced her own crisis in her life. A counselor recommended that Rachel “get help” because she could not resolve her issues on her own. At that moment, Rachel knew that it was only God who could help her. For the first time in months, Rachel prayed. Instantly she was filled with hope.

Not only did Rachel soon return to church with Jim and Jamie, but she was baptized shortly thereafter. Although months earlier Jim had wept at his wayward daughter’s rejection of faith, Jim was now weeping at her public declaration of her love for the Lord.

God does hear the cries of desperate parents. Both Rachel and her parents are even more convinced of God’s faithfulness as they learn to pray more fervently and trust Him more fully!

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)


Teaching for 9-2-09

Get Me Down From Here!
by Mark Peterson

I still remember the fear that gripped me. I was about ten years old when I climbed a ladder to the roof of our house. Of course, I had no idea that the fear of heights would overwhelm me once I stepped onto the roof.

As I clung to the fireplace in panic, my dad tried to reason with me and talk me down. Even as he told me not to be afraid, I would not listen to his counsel. Finally he had to come up, pry me loose from the fireplace, and then guide me back down the ladder. The ground felt so safe and good!

You’ve Got to be Kidding Me!
Fast forwarding about ten years from my childhood “roof incident,” I was hired as a carpenter for a summer job as a young man. I love construction work, and so I couldn’t wait to start. One of the first projects was installing soffit and fascia on a three-story house. This required balancing on scaffolding and walking on the roof—right on the edge!

I can still remember standing on the ground listening while the project manager explained what I would have to do. I mustered the courage to get back on the roof, but I must have lost ten pounds from the anxiety itself. Conquering this fear, at least for the moment, was quite an accomplishment for me—although I still do not like heights to this day!

Who Will You Listen To?
When you are gripped with fear, it can be hard to listen to reason. My dad could not convince me to let go of my fear or the fireplace while on that roof. And years later, I still had a hard time convincing myself I could climb another three-story roof.

There are times that our Heavenly Father calls us to step out in faith to accomplish something that does not seem safe and certain. It can be hard to listen and act in obedience. We might be fearful that following God’s instructions will be painful, dangerous, difficult…you can fill in the blank.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God speaks to His people with clear instructions. The only question is whether God’s people will listen. For example, God sent the Prophet Isaiah to warn His people that their sin would bring captivity if they did not listen to His warnings (see Isaiah 9:13, 65:12, and 66:4). And in the New Testament, Matthew 17:5 states our mission from God very clearly: “…This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

Why the Fear?
At the core of our inability to hear—or our willful refusal to obey—is fear. We fear losing something if we are obedient to God’s instructions. Often our fear will cause us to compromise God’s will and purpose in our lives in exchange for our own agendas.

So where does our fear come from? We are told in Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Being gripped with fear and anxiety is not the lifestyle God had planned for His people. In fact, Isaiah 51:22-23 states that fear is intended for God’s enemies, not His people!

Sometimes fear is a good thing, as it warns us of impending dangers or physical harm. But fear as a lifestyle is sin. It is not a part of God’s plan for Christians. In fact, another word for fear is unbelief. Our Lord is so gracious! He has given us great and glorious promises that include no need to fear!

In Christ, No More Fear!
As I look back on my life, my fears have robbed me of God’s best and His intended joy for me in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has always been faithful to me even in the midst of my fears (unbelief). The abundant life offered in Christ does not include fear, but rather is filled with faith, hope, and confidence in Him.

So what are your fears? My guess is that we can all create a list very quickly! But how is God’s Word guiding your thoughts and actions in the midst of your anxieties and fear? How are you guarding your heart and mind so that you do not drink from the cup of fear?

Heavenly Father, we admit that it is hard not to be fearful. Forgive us when we do not believe in Your provision and guidance in our lives. When we choose to not follow You, we thank You that You will not leave us to our own wayward ways. Instead, You will bring us back to Yourself, convicting us of our sin and restoring us in Christ. Teach us to not live fearfully, but to listen and follow You confidently through Your Word, the Holy Spirit, and the encouragement of believers in Your Son. And it is in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

(Mark Peterson is the Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries.)

Teaching for 8-26-09

Shouts of Joy!
by Carol Madison

I stepped outside my home and heard the roar of the crowd at the recent PGA championship. Although I live three miles from the Hazeltine golf course, apparently the wind was just right to carry the crowd's cheers a good distance. And from the sounds of it, it must have been a pretty spectacular shot!

I was actually on my way to the Rock the River music festival on Harriet Island. For months, thousands of people have been praying and preparing for this evangelistic outreach to young people. I had not heard of most of the bands playing, and I must admit feeling a bit old around the raucous music. But I was proud of us older generations who were there to support the youth, some with Kleenex sticking out of their ears as sound buffers!

The gospel message was preached several times with simplicity and Scriptural clarity. In the midst of some 23,000 people, God’s Spirit penetrated hearts. Nearly a thousand people walked to the front of the stage to give their lives to Jesus Christ. It was a thrill to watch the youth stream forward at the gospel invitation.

As much as my heart rejoiced, just imagine the roar of the heavenly crowds cheering them on! Certainly no golf shot could ever match the eternal shouts of joy when God's Kingdom was advanced that Sunday afternoon.

Shouts of Joy When a City is Restored
Scripture records a time in Nehemiah's day when the roar of the crowd was also heard far away. After the broken-down wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, the people held a victorious dedication. Choirs sang and marched around the top of the wall. The people could not contain their joy!

And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. (Nehemiah 12:43)

The people knew that God’s hand of blessing was on them. They did not hesitate to send up a shout of joy at God’s great favor. Anyone outside the city knew that something spectacular had just happened!

What Causes You to Shout with Joy?
I must confess that I did not give a shout of joy when I saw all those young people giving their lives to Jesus Christ at Rock the River. Admittedly, I am a bit reserved. But I’ve also been known to shout at a sporting event when I’ve been caught up in the moment, just like the crowd did at the PGA championship.

So where do I find my greatest joy? I pray that my heart will become so tender and transformed that nothing competes for my joy like a lost soul repenting and turning to Jesus Christ. I pray that our churches will grow even more passionate about preaching the gospel and praying for the salvation of the lost.

I pray that when the Kingdom of God is advanced and cities are restored, we will be so caught up in the moment that we cannot contain our joy. May our sounds of rejoicing be heard far away!

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)

Teaching for 8-19-09

Cares of the Day or Songs of Praise!
by Mark Peterson

It amazes me when I wake up in the middle of the night with something on my mind—often something I would not expect. A week ago I woke up about 3:00 a.m. with business issues on my mind. I have owned a small business for 30 years, and as many of you are experiencing lately, the times have been a-changing! These are days when many people find themselves awake at night, wondering what the next day or weeks may bring.

As with anything in motion (business, relationships, ministry, etc.), we must adapt to new paradigms. So the fact that our minds are busy thinking about important issues is not necessarily bad. If we are not responsible in considering the various issues that face us, we may suffer the consequences of trusting in our past experiences and methods to bring us through a trial. God gave us our minds to be used and guided by Him!

I have found that when I wake up in the middle of the night (or at my usual time in the morning), my immediate thoughts are a good barometer of where my spiritual life is focused. I have two categories for my “barometer” when I wake up: songs of praise or cares of the day. Amazingly, so often I do not go to sleep at night with the cares that I wake up with in the morning or middle of the night.

That begs the question: Where do these thoughts come from? Often we do not recognize the battles that are being waged in our minds. But the truth is that these battles are real—and they matter both to us and to God!

Where Is Your God When Things Seem Uncertain?
Nehemiah must have struggled with the same issues when he learned that the Jewish remnant was in great trouble and disgraced, and that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned! Nehemiah was so disturbed that he sat down and wept. For some days he mourned, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.

I’m sure there were nights and days when his mind was filled with thoughts that he could not describe or understand. The enemies of the Israel did not want the wall rebuilt. There were many obstacles before a stone could be laid. This would not be an easy task in increasingly desperate days.

But Nehemiah’s response was to keep his thoughts fixed on the Lord. His mind was saturated with a response of prayer, faith, and waiting on the Lord’s timing and direction. Before he made a move to rebuild the wall, he prayed and waited on the Lord to act. When it was time to work, Nehemiah faced opposition and great danger. But even those challenges were met with faith in God’s protection and provision. And once the work was completed, Nehemiah gave all recognition and glory to God for the work He had done in and through them!

God Has a Plan and Destination for Us
The Psalmist in Psalm 43 was oppressed and asking God for direction in verse 3: “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me…”

We do not know God’s destination; it can only be revealed to us by Him. His light and His truth are all that matters—and He wants us to seek Him with all our heart. Verses 3 and 4 tell us the destination: “…let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.”

When God is our joy and delight, wherever He dwells and works is where we want to be. He is in the business of keeping us close to Him. Again, seek Him! Verse 4 states what our appropriate response is to our God who guides and leads us: “I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.”

God deserves all the praise, which is the natural outpouring of our spirit when we are close to Him. The Psalmist ends this Psalm with a rhetorical question in verse 5: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” If we are walking closely with God, His love guides us and His song is within us. We should not be downcast and disturbed. But if we do struggle, we know where to go to be healed and strengthened!

The end of verse 5 is a great encouragement for us: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

If You Are Awake, Listen!
I don’t know what keeps you up at night. But God may be speaking to you at these times if you are willing to seek Him and listen! Psalm 42:8 describes God’s activity in our lives, both day and night: “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.”

I believe this Scripture reveals God’s heart for His people—to be directed by His love, with His song in you! These are prayers that God prays for you. And He puts these prayers within your heart when Jesus is the Lord and Savior of your life. Could the world offer anything better than this? Absolutely not!

So what is your barometer? What keeps you up at night? How are you recognizing the opportunities to seek and pray for God’s direction? Ask the Lord to put His love and song within you—regardless of the circumstances!

A Prayer for the Middle of the Night:
Our Father, thank You for the song that You sing with us and through us as Your children in Christ. Forgive us when we take the solutions for our troubles into our own hands and turn them into something displeasing. We know that You are good, and that You will bear our burdens and lead us in Your pathways. We humbly ask You to enable us to take Your yoke which You promise is light. We cannot bear our troubles apart from You, so help us to give them over to You. We ask You to direct our steps and send us joyfully on our way each day glorifying and serving You, The Most High God! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Mark Peterson is the Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries.)

Teaching for 8-12-09

The Next Spiritual Awakening
by Carol Madison

The cry for revival and spiritual awakening is growing more fervent. No one knows for certain how close the next great revival is, but there are signs that the Church in America is closing in on a desperately needed move of God.

The spiritual condition in America today is very similar to the desperate conditions prior to past awakenings. There is a growing agreement among pastors and prayer leaders that it will take a widespread revival to return America back to Jesus Christ.

Signs of Coming Awakening
Leaders have met for the past two years in key geographical locations in our nation related to spiritual awakening. In 2008 they met in Northampton, MA, where Jonathan Edwards preached and the First Great Awakening was ignited in the 1730s. In 2009 they met in Lexington, KY, near the Cane Ridge Camp, considered to be the epicenter for the Second Great Awakening (early 1800s).

As Christian leaders prayed and examined the historical roots of awakening in our nation, they recognized some patterns emerging today that have always preceded revival.

In recent years there has been an increase in the use of language around revival and awakening, as it is becoming more the heart-cry of many in the Church. In addition, the prayer movement is growing as the spiritual hunger among the “remnant” is steadily increasing. This has led to an increase in united prayer movements. These patterns are all forerunners of revival.

Two Consistent Indicators
Two of the most significant indicators of coming revival involve prayer and preaching. Historically these are two recurring keys to revival. According to Billy Wilson of the Awakening America Alliance, prayer leaders agree that these two things are also necessary for another major awakening in our nation.

•    The first is a movement of united, extraordinary prayer. This is characterized by prayer that is passionate, fervent, and repentant in nature. It is prayer that comes from a burdened heart that cries out to God in extraordinary fashion.

Prayer must be restored to the Church in a way that unites the Body of Christ in a way “we have not yet seen,” according to Wilson. “We are going to need each other more than ever,” he said. “The Church is asleep and is not ready for the trials that are coming.”

•    The second is the reclaiming of a message of boldness and truth in the American pulpit. Spiritual awakenings and revivals are rooted in messengers of the gospel finding their voices to cut through culture and bring conviction of sin, observes Wilson. "It takes courageous preachers to speak on deep and radical repentance that leads to true transformation of life."

Becoming Proactive
As pastors, prayer leaders, and intercessors, here are some specific ways to be proactive in a renewed call for spiritual awakening:

•    Foster a heart for unity in prayer by praying for other churches in your community. As you drive by another church, engage your heart by praying for that pastor and the congregation. Ask God to do a work of unity among the churches in your area.

•    Find a prayer group of fellow believers from different churches and walks of life. If you don’t know of a group, start one! God’s people can unite in prayer despite having differences in doctrine when you keep the focus on Jesus Christ. Agree to pray in unity for a Christ-awakening in your community.

•    Be intentional in your prayer times. You need to model that heart-cry for revival. As you pray with others, be willing to express a repentant heart and a strong belief in God’s power to send revival and transformation. Pray with courage and faith! We are walking in days when people need to have their belief restored in the God of the impossible.

•    If you are a pastor, preach the truths of repentance and lead your congregation in united, fervent prayer! Join with the great leaders of past spiritual awakenings in our nation. When they prayed with passion and preached the integrity of the gospel, God responded.

There has never been a more desperate, yet more opportune, time in our nation for a powerful move of God. Be a forerunner of revival by praying boldly and walking out a lifestyle of repentance.

(Carol Madison is a writer/editor for Prayer Transformation Ministries)


Teaching for 8-12-09

Though Troubles Assail Us
by Mark Peterson

A friend of mine lost his son a week ago in a hiking accident in New Mexico. Just 14 years old, he collapsed while hiking at a Boy Scout camp. Of course I was shocked when I heard the news of his death. Until it was confirmed, I prayed that it was not true. I cannot imagine anything worse than losing a child.

As the past week unfolded I found myself in prayer for my friend Jim and his family often each day. Even in the midst of my busyness, the Lord led me in prayer when I least expected it. I spoke with Jim and his wife briefly one night this week, offering my presence and heartfelt sorrow for their loss.

The following morning I woke up thinking about my friend, with these words from the Lord ringing through my mind: “Do you love Me? Do you trust Me?”

God’s Call to Us
Throughout the Bible, God continually challenges His people with these questions. But how do we know that we really love and trust the Lord? Our actions, thoughts, and obedience to Him answer this question, and sometimes the answer is not very pretty.

I wanted to say “Yes, Lord, I love You and I trust You.” But sometimes I have to answer honestly, “Lord, I want to love and trust You, but sometimes I don’t.” It would be easy to say, “Yes, I love and trust You, Jesus” and move on, but that would not be the whole truth.

Anxiety, fear, unbelief, anger, and other things invade our lives from time to time—often when we least expect it. They are a few of the sins that battle against our righteousness in Christ, and in turn answer the question for us. Only Jesus could answer the question with an unequivocal “yes, I love and trust You, Father!”

Surely Not Me!
In Mark 14, Peter answered this question at one of his defining moments. Just after the Lord’s Supper, Jesus explained to the twelve disciples that one of them would betray Him. Following dinner they sung a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Picture Peter listening as Jesus spoke to them with these words: “You will all fall away…” (vs. 27). Peter, in his zeal and humanness, replies to the Lord in verse 29: “…Even if all fall away, I will not.” But Jesus knew what Peter would do. In vs. 30, Jesus answers Peter: “I tell you the truth…today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

Jesus was then arrested and taken away to be crucified. Just hours later (vss. 66-72) Peter emphatically denies Jesus three times. Imagine his guilt and shame when the rooster crowed twice.

Was Jesus Surprised?
Obviously Jesus was not surprised at Peter’s failure—and He is not surprised at ours, either. In fact, in Mark 16 the women who went to the tomb encountered an angel and were alarmed. The angel reassured them by saying, “Don’t be alarmed…You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter…” (vs. 6).

Angels are God’s messengers sent to deliver God’s messages. In this case it was to tell the best news in all of human history—Jesus’ triumph over death! But the message included a special note to Peter. Can you imagine what was going through Peter’s mind after denying the Lord three times? Jesus knew exactly what Peter was feeling and what he needed at that moment in time. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter…” He was not chastising Peter; He was beginning the restoration of Peter—by name!

Love and Trust In His Power
As Christians, Jesus calls our name, too! When we fail, He will restore us if we repent of our sins and trust in Him. The Bible states that Jesus was exalted to the right hand of the Father and intercedes for believers. Knowing that our Lord and Savior has conquered death and is praying for us right now is the greatest comfort of all!

The question still rings out: “Do you love Me? Do you trust Me?” The answer is: “Yes I do, but only in Your power and righteousness, Jesus!”

Jesus knows that we will fail Him, just like Peter did. Yet He still loves and restores us when we turn to Him—praise the Lord! How would it change the way you view your current circumstances if you could hear Jesus praying (interceding) for you in the next room? He is! There are no better reassurances than that!

Please pray for my friend Jim and his family as the Holy Spirit leads you. Pray especially that the Lord Jesus Christ will provide them with comfort and peace in Him. Thank you!

Though Troubles Assail Us
(song lyrics by John Newton)

Though troubles assail us and dangers affright
Though friends should all fail us and foes all unite,
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The Promise assures us, “The Lord will provide.”

The birds, without garner or storehouse, are fed;
From them let us learn to trust God for our bread.
His saints what is fitting shall ne’er be denied
So long as ‘tis written, “The Lord will provide.”

When Satan assails us to stop up our path,
And courage all fails us, we triumph by faith.
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
This heart cheering promise, “The Lord will provide.”

He tells us we’re weak, our hope is in vain,
The good that we seek we never shall obtain,
But when such suggestions, our graces have tried,
This answers all questions, “The Lord will provide.”

No strength of our own and no goodness we claim;
Yet, since we have known of the Savior’s great Name,
In this our strong tower for safety we hide:
The Lord is our power, “The Lord will provide.”

When life sinks apace, and death is in view,
The word of His grace shall comfort us through,
Not fearing or doubting, with Christ on our side.
We hope to die shouting, “The Lord will provide.”

(Mark Peterson is the Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries.)

Archived Articles

 

Copyright 2009 Prayer Transformation Ministries :: Created by Exodus Design Studios