How a Church has Revival
“…that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23, NKJV)
I have been to a lot of churches that were full of hype. Some talk incessantly about how does a church have revival. I have been to some that were dead and stale. I have visited a few that were driven by ego and arrogance. I can remember visiting a handful of churches that were dramatically different. In these congregations, a sweet presence of God hung in the air with the richness of thick honey.
What makes a power-filled church
Last week the Lord led me to look at the honeybee for an example of how believers should draw sweetness out of people all around them. This weekend, He spoke to me that we should do the same toward Him. We do this through prayer—that is the key behind how a church has revival.
Prayer is not just repenting of our sin or asking for things. Prayer is an opportunity to draw on the sweetness of God’s presence. Sometimes it is easy to find fault with God. The little old lady who knows how to pray down the power of God has learned to seek out His good points and dwell on those by worship. As she does that, you can see His nature form in her life. Fill a church with people like this and you will have revival naturally.
How a church is to have revival
Honeybees draw nectar out of flowers and basically chew it until it thickens into a paste called honey. They produce way more than their hive could use in a year so that others can be fed as well. True prayer warriors do not just get a “fix” of God’s pleasantness, they bring back enough that the whole church can feed on it. This is the difference between what we call “a revival church” and the average one.
You might be able to taste the sweetness of God’s presence with just a few minutes in prayer, but prayers that linger an hour or more are prayers that cultivate something others can feed on. If your church and mine are going to offer the honeycomb of the Holy Spirit, it is going to take more than a great preacher. We need a whole colony of workers connecting with the Creator and providing a place for those without Him to be revived and energized.
What makes a church a game-changer
Most people come to church to get a little dab of God’s presence during worship service, a little morsel of manna during the preaching, and perhaps a dollop of gossip on the front steps after service. Powerful churches have a core of people who are honey makers. Many times these are elderly people who give themselves to hours of prayer each day. These people get in the presence of God and savor Him. They bring something to the hive, so to speak, that others can feed on.
I have been reexamining my prayer life. It has to be more than just a list I pray through each day. I must do more than just repent and beg for stuff. I want to seek out the goodness of the Lord. I must talk to Him about how wise He is, how faithful He is, how generous He is, and how holy He is. I want to talk about the joy He brings, the love He puts in my soul, and the patience He is developing in me.
The church does have revival when people pray
As I pray for my family in Christ and my lost loved-ones, I want to call down His character into their lives. I want His peace to be with that young mother taking her little girl in for surgery; I want His wisdom to be with my brother looking for work; I want His love to be with that child stuck in a home by court order; I pray His joy over that young family whose daddy/husband is being deployed.
If my children will know the depths of faith in Christ, I must feed them with more than sugar-water by talking about when the church did have revival. Most Christian homes today do not even have a scent of God’s sweetness. The only difference between them and other families is that they go to church. I do not want my children or friends just copying my religion. I want them to learn how to develop a golden flow of the richness in Christ through prayer and worship.
This is how the church has revival: by praying, fasting, and worshiping until God’s power and presence fills the house with sweetness. Then you will not be able to keep away those who are hungry for Him. I feel like going somewhere and praying right now.
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33, NKJV)
[1] Interview with Maude LeFleur Wilkins, Mary Wallace, Pioneer Pentecostal Women, Vol I, Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame, 1981, 240.