Willing for Revival

I have been struggling with the matter of revival now for several months. I have prayed about it and I have studied it. I believe that our greatest need today is for the burning of revival fires. However, I am confronted time and again with whether or not I am truly willing to pay the price to experience revival. Charles Finney believed that revival was not a miracle of God. Rather revival was the result of meeting God according to the conditions he has defined and trusting in his providence to bring the revival he has promised. The more I look at the the Scriptures I find this to be true. When the people of God met the conditions for revival, then revival always came. When they determined that no matter what the cost they would walk in righteounsess with God and others, seek God in prayer and repentance, and surrender themselves absolutely and completely to his will and his way, then revival came. This was the promise God made to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14, this was the promise that was claimed by Jehosaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, and this was the promise displayed in the reign of Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34. Each time, as the people of God met the conditions of revival a mighty move of God came upon the people. I believe that if we were willing to meet these requirements today we would experience revival as well. However, I am not sure that we are willing to pay the price for revival. To experience revival today we must determine to live in a righteous way. That means we must be willing to mend our relationship with God and with one another. We must forgive and even more devestatingly, we must acknowlege our own failings, apologize, and ask for forgiveness of those we have offended. We must put aside gossip, backbiting, and slander. If we are unwilling to pay this price, then we are unwilling to experience revival. Secondly, we must be willing to seek the leadership of God in every area of our lives and we must repent of our sins. This means that we must turn aside from anything that we think, say, or do that displeases God. We must allow the Spirit of God to search our hearts and our lives to find any sins that we have hidden. We must confess those sins and put them aside. Not only must we turn from our sins, but we must allow God to lead us in our activity. We not only must avoid doing wrong things, but we must do right things as well as the Lord leads. Third, we must surrender completely. This is a great demand. To surrender requires us to give up control. This is to allow God to move as he sees fit and to work as he sees best without our obstruction. Without this surrender revival can never truly be unleashed in our lives. Stephen Olford defined revival as "Times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." Revival must begin in the hearts of God's people. Revival is an encounter with God first and foremost that results in a lasting change. When we are brought back from the place of carnality and sin that so easily sets upon us, then true revival is taking place. When the world sees the presence of God on display, then the lost are drawn by the Spirit of God as he calls, convicts, and converts the lost in this time of refreshing. The question that we must ask ourselves is "Are we willing to pay the price for revival?" Is this what we are willing to do in order to see a move of God. If we are not, then we can be certain that revival will remain absent from our churches and our lives, but if we are then we can prepare to see God honor his word and unleash himself like we have never imagined. Are you willing?