At The Fellowship of Ailbe we are committed to seeking the Lord for revival, and to encouraging men to join us in this effort. I trust you share our longing for revival and are joining in this labor of prayer daily, as well as with other men.

Our prayers for revival can be greatly strengthened by having a clearer vision of what we seek in revival. This is why praying the psalms can be so helpful, as T. M. explains in his book, Restore Us! The clearer our vision for revival, the more we will long for it, and the more earnest and diligent we will be in seeking and preparing for it.

2 Kings 22 and 23 provide an account of a revival during the reign of Josiah (640 – 609 B. C.). From the Scriptural record of this revival, we can develop a clearer picture of the revival we seek, and for which we pray.

Over the next several installments of Men at Prayer, we’ll be looking at what we can learn about revival from the work God did in Judah in the days of Josiah.

The revival began as proper worship was being restored to the land. Josiah ordered the repair of the Temple (2 Kings 22.3), which had fallen into disrepair under the reign of his grandfather Manasseh. As work began on the temple, Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered the book of the Law, and sent it to Josiah. Shaphan read from the Law before the king (v. 8), and Josiah responded by tearing his clothes (v. 11). Then he led the people to begin seeking the Lord.    

In just these few verses, we see most of the elements that accompany the onset of revival: 1) people humbling themselves in repentance before God; 2) renewed reverence for the Law and all the Word of God; 3) a commitment to prayer; 4) a return to godly worship; and 5) the raising up of godly leadership.

Instead of merely praying for the idea of revival (which is an excellent beginning), we can pray more substantively, with more focus, as we allow the revival which began under Josiah to shape our own vision for this glorious event.

We should pray that God would raise up leaders such as Josiah and Hilkiah, as well as Shaphan – men who honor the Word and proclaim it far and wide. We should pray for repentance and a renewed reverence for God’s Word, evidenced by men studying and submitting themselves to Scripture with renewed zeal and obedience. We should pray that God would bring our worship into line with His Word. 

And this all begins by our humbling ourselves before Him.

Can you see this kind of revival beginning in your church? In your own soul?

In our next installment, we will continue our look into the revival under Josiah. Until then, let us make these elements part of our prayers and our lives. 

Ralph Lehman, Men’s Prayer Coordinator
T. M. Moore, Principal

Download “Men of the Church: A Solemn Call” for free by clicking this link. Make copies for all the men you know, and urge them to join you in this movement of Men at Prayer. Order your copy of Restore Us! and start your own regular Revival Prayer Group.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.