Repentance and Revival

Photo by Daniel Gutko on Unsplash

I see a growing hunger in many parts of the Body of Christ and specifically in the church in the United States for revival. This is most welcome! The Holy Spirit gives hunger so that he can fill it. I have also been hearing reports of revival in churches. 

Just recently, the church where I am serving held a youth retreat. The weekend was characterized by time in small groups, fellowship, eating, play, and worship. The time in worship seemed to have a deeper focus and intensity than usual. The youth of the church came to the altar again and again. They were on their knees, reaching out to the Father, asking Jesus to forgive them and heal them in their pain. . They were asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

There were two highlights that stood out to me. One was the willingness of these kids to repent. They  seemed to be aware that all is not well within themselves and they were willing to cry out to the Lord for forgiveness and healing. The altar was overflowing with 7th – 12th graders who came forward to confess their sins,  repent, and  turn back to the Lord.

Repentance always precedes revival. People who are hungry for revival should start getting excited when they see people genuinely grieving and humbled by their sin.

The second thing I noticed was a burden to pray before and during the weekend. There was a collective sense of the need to pray by the leadership of this weekend. Some were called by God to intercede before the weekend started. These people spent meaningful time pressing in and asking God to move. They went beyond normal cursory times of prayer requests. They were lingering in prayer, interceding, travailing in prayer. It was serious and sustained. During each worship service there were people interceding for the Spirit to move and bless the youth. 

When the Spirit is ready to move, he often gives a burden to people within the community, who begin asking him to move. And he does!

In one session, the leader felt the Spirit leading the youth to not only come forward for prayer, but also to be empowered and released to pray for each other. After an extended time of this kind of prayer, he also gave a simple invitation to profess faith in Jesus and commit to follow him. Eight people came forward! It was awesome!

And now those of us who are their spiritual elders are given the opportunity to embrace the challenge of  discipling those youth. What a great opportunity, and adventure. God is good!

My favorite part is that the normal Sunday morning worship services at our church felt different after this. The retreat ended after worship on Sunday morning, with the youth group attending worship. One of the youth who professed faith was baptized by immersion. His bold commitment to follow Jesus changed the atmosphere of that whole service, not only among the youth, but also among the adults.

A few days later, we had our Ash Wednesday services. The evening service had an abnormally large turnout. The sanctuary was full! And again, the atmosphere seemed different than business as usual. It wasn’t just that there was a crowd. They came hungry, on Ash Wednesday, to a service of repentance!

I suppose a few people attending the service  may have been genuinely ignorant of Ash Wednesday and its significance. But I  think most of the people who were there came knowing that  Ash Wednesday is a service of repentance where we confront  our mortality and begin a prolonged season of prayer, fasting, and seeking the Lord during Lent. 

You know when there is a surprisingly good turnout for a midweek service of repentance, and the liturgy and preaching is anointed and the atmosphere is electric, things are about to get interesting. 

May it be so!

I recently heard of a church that has been experiencing revival. I’m serious! And it was sparked by two young women feeling called to spend hours every week praying at their church. When an 18- and 21-year-old make radical changes to their lives to have time and space to pray, you know things are about to get interesting! And they have.

I share these anecdotes in hopes of encouraging you. Are you experiencing a hunger for more? Do you sense a need for God to breakthrough in a new way in your life?

Then praise God! And lean in. Make time to feast on the Word of God and rest in the Lord’s perfect love for you. Ask the Spirit to teach you to pray in new and deeper ways. Ask the Lord to connect you to Spirit-filled followers of Jesus who can pour into you and help you be filled with the Spirit. 

I want to see the Lord move in ways that bring breakthroughs that cannot be accounted for other than as a work of the Lord. I want to see the Spirit poured out, bringing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) I want to see people groaning over their sin, grieving and crying out to God to set them free. And I want to see the love of the Father rush in to meet them, fill them, and set them free. I want to see suffering people experience healing through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to see hunger for the truth, and a clear-eyed embrace of the good and the beautiful.

Above all, I want to see people come to faith in Jesus and put their full trust and confidence in him.

In two different conversations over the past few months I have shared my hope and hunger for revival. The responses have surprised me. I was preparing myself for something like, “You need to be more realistic.” Or, “Who are you to think revival is coming?”

To my surprise, my passion and hunger was not trivialized or dismissed. Rather, each time the person I shared with looked me right in the eyes and said, “I think revival is already here.”

Can you see it?

Dr. Kevin M. Watson is the Acting Director of the Wesley House of Studies at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and a member of Firebrand Magazine’s editorial board.