“Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2
There was a time before news “journalists,” when those who delivered the news were called reporters. They didn’t invent the news. They just reported it. Those days are gone forever, but the reports keep coming, as the heads keep talking. Empty though they may be.
The prayer of the prophet Habakkuk was prompted by a report he had heard about God, and driven by the fear of God. He appealed for mercy. This is the desperate cry of a man who knew what he needed, was convicted he didn’t deserve it, and believed God was his only hope for it.
Scripture connects the dots and provides a picture of what revival looks like. It is an outpouring of God’s mercy upon people who deserve his wrath. It is a response to the humble death cries of people who know they are in a desperate condition, and they have no one else to blame but themselves.
Revival is not a new and improved work of the flesh, glorifying the achievements of an ambitious pastor and a self-centered church. Revival sets a man on fire, but it doesn’t necessarily put his name in lights.. Revival is not the result of a man making a name. It is God making a difference.
Never forget this. Revival is the work of God The prophet prayed, “…revive Your work in the midst of the years.” Those who long for revival are on their way to receiving it, when they admit they don’t deserve it, and they can’t create it.
The airwaves and news pages of this nation have been filled with bad reports for years. In recent days the level of malignant messages have spread like a cancer eating away at the soul of America. The response to these reports has been varied, yet relentless. For some the news has been joyful, but for others it has left them hopeless. The prophet gives direction to us “in the midst of the years.”
The prophet did not expect God to dilute His righteousness by minimizing His wrath. He called on God in all His holy anger to transform it into a powerful, purifying outpouring of His mercy. Mercy is healing, but it is not painless. Those who receive it are purified. Anyone who has ever had peroxide poured into a puss-filled cut knows the experience. Expect tears.
This is the very essence of revival. God descends from Heaven and by His Spirit, He walks among His people, purifying them by His undiluted Presence. When His people pray, God brings revival. Revival is God. We pray. He stays. Is your church praying for the Presence of God. The only other option is the wrath of God.
Revival is not series of meetings. It is a prolonged, outpouring of God’s mercy upon His own people, until they become saturated by His Presence. Revival pours out from the four walls of the church and into the public square when purified people are more concerned about receiving the approval of God, than they are about seeking the approval of man.
“Revival is a community saturated with God.” Duncan Campbell
Revival will be rejected by people inside the church, as well as by those outside of the church. The purification process is painful because it is humbling. Prideful people are prayerless people. Admitting failure is more painful than the failure itself. Calling upon God for mercy for your own sin is more painful than pointing out the sin in others. Revival gets personal before you get right with God. Get the picture?
NOTE TO SELF: Pray for mercy. You don’t deserve it. You need it. Pray for your nation to experience a fresh work of God’s mercy “in the midst of the years.” The spirit of desperation precedes the outpouring of revival. Pray for God’s people to become desperate enough to come to the end of themselves and the beginning of God. The wrath of God is kindled to its greatest intensity by the rebellion of His own people. Pray for the church to repent and to turn back to God, praying to Him, in the name of Jesus, these same words, “in wrath remember mercy.”
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!