Our nation needs revival. We need revival, and the Lord’s churches need revival as well. Recent events have shaken us and caused us to hopefully cry out in desperation to God, both in humility and passionate prayer. The shooting in the Catholic school in Minneapolis began a debate over the value of prayer. Then, just one week ago, we learned about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. There are so many questions, concerns and outrage over this very heartbreaking tragedy. Could it be that God is using these devastating events to remind His people once again of how desperately we need Him?
Bill Elliff, on the One Cry podcast, observed that revival comes following an extended awareness of how desperately we need Him, crying out to Him in prayer, and then His presence comes down. Make no mistake, we are in the midst of a spiritual battle that, without His presence, we cannot win. There are over 7,000 promises in the Word of God, and that equates to right at seven per every written page. Most of them are conditional promises, where God makes it clear that He will do them, but we have a personal responsibility. The answer begins when you cry out to Him in desperation in your helplessness.
II Chronicles 7:14 is one of those conditional promises: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray…” God is fully aware of our challenges and sufferings. He told Moses in Exodus 3 that He had seen their affliction, heard their cries (prayers) and knew their sufferings. The great news is that He responded to their cries of desperation for His help. Exodus 3:8 states, “And I am come down to deliver them…” Remember, He sees, He cares and His compassion is far greater and deeper than you or I will ever fully comprehend that truth.
What should we do? The feelings and emotions of these moments expose our fears and manifest our anxieties. As darkness and evil reveal themselves more and more, may it drive us to the position of humility and prayer seen in II Chronicles 7. Humility is what exposes your need because you are completely aware that the events are completely out of your control. You know you cannot fix it, no matter how much you desire to. Prayer is how you express that need to God. Could it be that we have spent all our energy trying to supplement God’s power through strategies, systems, programs and planning?
The early church spent 10 days in a prayer meeting seeking God’s presence and power. God saw it, heard it and was fully aware of their hearts and their desperation. Then He came down to fulfill His promise, “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:20). This power of the Holy Spirit in the early church was birthed in a prayer meeting, not a preaching conference, as the people got on their faces before Him. How much time are you spending in prayer every day? In one survey, 80% of pastors reported praying less than 15 minutes a day, which includes blessing their meals.
It appears that today we are more inclined to trust in our education, training, techniques and leadership skills than in the presence and power of God. Other surveys have revealed that at best, only 15% of Christians have a vibrant prayer life. That leads us to conclude that when someone promises to pray for you, 85% of the time, it is just a matter of words. Kyle Reno, on one podcast, stated, “Until we pray like it really matters, nothing is going to happen that really matters.” The lag metric here is revival and the power of God, but the lead metric is humility and prayer. James said, “…we have not because we ask not” (James 4:2).
How do we create a culture of prayer where prayer is not a duty nor a drudgery? Where prayer is an experience of moving into the presence of God and living there? Where our desperation for God’s presence results in our walking and talking with Jesus without ceasing? How do we lead people there? How do we lead a church there? Please note that this does not happen by accident. It starts in the heart of a leader. It begins with the conviction of knowing you will never see anything happen in your life, in your ministry, in your church or in your city that does not begin in the place of prayer.
The American church is fundamentally prayerless when it comes to corporate prayer. Has prayer become only the time to transition people off the stage? Have you ever dedicated an entire service to be a focused time of prayer? Prayer is not meant to be only an add-on nor a supplement. Prayer is not an addition, which is defined as “a smaller structure added to the main building.” Prayer is not to complement or get God’s “blessing” on what we are already doing. Prayer is to be our heartbeat and our lifeline. Prayer is the birthplace for everything that truly advances the kingdom of God.
Where do we begin? Taking personal responsibility for prayer to become your conviction by avowing, “Let it begin with me.” It must become a non-negotiable practice that we implement in our personal lives and ministries. It must start as a private passion that has been developed in our prayer closets (Matt. 6:6). That is where your zeal, fervency, hunger and thirst for God are developed, and then public prayer is the overflow of your personal crying out to God. Leaders do not lead by only pointing to what needs to be done, but lead by example in demonstrating a strong, passionate prayer life.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that is precisely what we are living in right now. We desperately need to humble ourselves and pray, knowing that He sees our struggles, hears our cries, knows our sorrows and He is ready to move in mighty and miraculous ways.
