How To Pray for Revival: Part II by Ray Ortlund

Over the last several weeks we’ve been sharing a list of ways to reach out to our neighbors with the love and hope of Jesus. As we grow in the passion and skill making disciples for the glory of Christ in the Elk River area, I ask you to join me in praying that Jesus will graciously send revival to our area and even beyond. In this hope, last week I shared Part I of a helpful article by Ray Ortlund on how to pray for revival. This week as you read Part II, I pray God will inspire you to add this kind of praying to your daily prayer routine.

“When Jonathan Edwards described the awakening in his church, he had to use words like ‘surprising,’ ‘extraordinary’ and ‘astonishing.’ The Bible says of the early church that ‘awe came upon every soul’ (Acts 2:43). We can’t program that into our worship: 10:45 am – Awe comes upon every soul. Since revival is of God, we should pray for it. But how? The Bible teaches us how to pray; Isaiah 63:15-64:12 is a biblical prayer for revival…

“LAMENTING OUR OWN SINFULNESS: ‘In our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?’ (64:5). Isaiah is not blaming God for our sins, but he is saying God can hand us over to the power of our sins. It’s easy to think, ‘We’ll never change. Nothing will ever change.’ After all, it’s not as though we fell just yesterday. We have long histories running contrary to God. Let’s admit it to him. Let’s admit how helpless we are. Let’s hurl ourselves at Christ, the mighty friend of sinners.

“LONGING FOR THE TOUCH OF GOD: ‘We are the clay, and you are our potter’ (64:8). If we are the clay and God is the potter – if God is sovereign over us – why pray? Because we are the clay and he is the potter! We lie in his power. He can touch us again and reshape us in new ways. Nothing in us limits God.

“FINAL APPEAL: ‘Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?’ (64:12). Oh, that God would visit us with unrestrained power! Nothing in us can hold him back. Only God controls God. We therefore cry out to him, to vindicate the holy name of Jesus Christ in our time.

“Will you join me in praying for revival, as the Bible instructs us to?”

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