Revival! (2)

Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself…
 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved! Psalm 80.14, 15, 19

Ministers of Scotland: Lectures on Revival II
The Rev. Jonathan R. Anderson, Minister of Kirkfield Parish, Glasgow
“For whether we regard the intercession of Christ in general, or view it in detail, we must perceive that upon it is suspended all which takes place in the church: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one.’ In this we see the first active movement in a revival of religion. Be it that prayer should be made; and that uniformly it has been made by the church for this end. Whence comes the Spirit by which they are stirred up to this holy exercise and guided in it but from the intercession of High Priest within the veil? But though prayer be made for the church continually, not a believer will be revived, not a sinner will be converted, until the Intercessor on high expresses his will that so it shall be.”

All we can do is pray and plead with God that, if it please Him, He might come and revive His Church again. Do you not believe that revival is the great need of the hour? Consider: Millions of Christians worship in scores of thousands of churches across the land; hundreds of thousands of Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, and so forth meet regularly; millions of pieces of literature – books, pamphlets, DVDs, podcasts, and more – are in circulation; Christian media outlets are everywhere available. The seminaries and Bible colleges are full. New churches spring up daily. All this outward proliferating of activity, and yet the Church’s impact on culture, society, ethics, and the precious institutions of our nation decreases year by year. We need revival, so we need to pray.

What is your attitude toward the Church being revived? Are you satisfied with the state of your church and its impact on your community? Is prayer as important to the life of your church as it might be? Should be? How will it become important unless you lead it there?

Preparing for Revival
Join us online once a month to pray for revival. Surely you can spare 30 minutes, once a month, to join with other pastors and church leaders to seek the Lord for revival, according to His Word? We’re looking for men who will commit to seeking the Lord for revival together. If you’re interested, write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll give you a list of available times.

To help you in preparing for revival, we have two brief books that won’t take you more than an hour to read. Preparing Your Church for Revival tells you what to expect as the Lord begins to move, and shows you how to get ready even now (click here). Restore Us! provides the rationale and means for praying together for revival. It includes 12 psalms to guide your times of praying together (click here).

All quotations in this series are taken from Ministers of Scotland,Lectures on Revival, Richard Owen Roberts, ed. (Wheaton: Richard Owen Roberts, Publishers, 1980). Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.