Forgiveness as Preparation for Revival

Revival is a time that is set aside for special devotion to the Word and work of God.  This is a time for us to focus ourselves upon our dependence upon God in a special way and a time of expectation for a move of God among his people.  Once again we are focusing upon God's love for the lost within our lives and within our community.  We are seeking a move of God among those who do not know him and are praying for the salvation of those he has placed around our lives who are separated from the love and grace of our Lord.

Last year as we sought the Lord and prepared our hearts, the Lord began to move among us drawing 13 souls to faith in Christ over the last year.  We celebrate this move of God among our hearts, our homes, and our community.  As we approach revival this year, we must renew our desire to reach those who do not know Christ.

However, if we are going to see God move in the lives of those who do not know him then we must first experience a move of God in our own lives.  In the model prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray for God to forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12).  If we are going to see God call the lost to accept his gracious gift of forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must also be willing to offer this gift to those who have sinned against us. 

I am asking you to seek the Lord for his forgiveness and to confess your unforgiveness to him.  If you are holding on to a grudge, a trespass, an offense, or an issue then I am asking you to turn that over to God and to make things right with those who have offended you.  If you know that you have offended someone else, then I am asking you to go and make that right with them.  Do not wait for them to come to you, but rather, whether you are the offended or the offender, go to them and settle this matter (Matthew 5:23, Matthew 18:15).

Paul tells the Corinthians that they are one body in 1 Corinthians 12.  As a result, any matter of division hurts us all.  Unforgiveness, division, gossip, slander, criticisms, and apathy bring harm to each and every member of the body.  As we prepare for a time of revival in the presence of the Lord, I am asking you to settle your accounts with each other under the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and to forgive the debts we are holding against one another clearing the path for a mighty move of God among our church and our community (Isaiah 52:1-2, Acts 3:19).

God Bless

Prayer as Preparation for Revival

We are a month away from this year's Revival event with James Scott.  November 8th-11th will serve as the harvesting event for United Baptist Church this fall.  As we approach these dates, we must begin making preparations for the work that is ahead.  The work of soul-winning is a spiritual work and the preparation for a spiritual work is prayer.

The first step in this preparation is your own personal spiritual preparation.  We must begin with the confession of our sins to God and a mending of our broken relationships with each other.  Let us lay aside our pride and our selfishness and let us seek reconciliation with our savior and with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we prepare for these coming days.

Then we must prepare the field for harvest.  This year I am encouraging all of us to identify 3-5 people that we can invite to join us in these revival services.  Ideally these will be people who either have never professed faith in Jesus Christ as their savior or they are people who are not involved in the ministry of a local church.  Then over the next 31 days, I would invite you to pray for those people and for the work that God can do in their lives.

The following is from an article I received from our state prayer coordinator and it offers some direction for praying in preparation for this year's revival.  Let us take these suggestions and put them into practice as we seek a move of God within our community.

How To Pray For The Lost

Only God can save a soul and each person must decide individually if he or she will believe in

Jesus and accept the free gift of salvation. Prayer is an important part of the process. Here are a

few suggested ways to pray.

1.  Claim the person you are praying for as God’s purchased possession in the name of Jesus and on

the basis of His shed blood. “In Him we have redemption through His blood” (Eph. 1:7, NASB).

2.  Ask God to tear down the works of Satan, like false doctrine, unbelief, or other teaching that the

enemy may have built up in a person’s life. Pray for his thoughts to be taken “captive to the

obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, NASB).

3.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict him of his sin and his need for a Savior. “The kindness of

God leads you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4, NASB).

4.  Pray that the person will hear, receive, or read God’s Word and that God’s will and purposes

may be accomplished through Scripture. “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire” (Isa. 55:11, NASB).

5.  Pray that the person’s eyes will be opened and ears unstopped so that the truth is heard. “And

even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this

world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel

of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:3‐4, NASB).

6.  Pray with consistency and perseverance, not to persuade God but because of the resistance of

the enemy. Read Daniel 10:12‐13. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1

Cor. 15:58, NASB).

6.  Thank God for making us more than conquerors. “But in all these things we overwhelmingly

conquer through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37, NASB). “Thanks be to God, who gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57, NASB).

The HEART acrostic is taken from Praying Your Friends to Christ.

The key is for the lost person’s heart to be changed by the saving power of Christ. The

acrostic HEART will help one remember what to pray.

     A. Pray for receptive HEARTS (see Luke 8:5,12).

     B. Pray for their spiritual EYES to be open (see Matt. 13:15; 2 Cor. 4:3‐4).

     C. Pray for God’s ATTITUDE toward sin (see John 16:8).

     D. Pray the person to be RELEASED to believe (see 2 Cor.10:3‐4; 2 Tim. 2:25‐26).

     E. Pray for a TRANSFORMING life (see Rom. 12:1‐2).