Revival! (4)

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11.13

Ministers of Scotland: Lectures on Revival VI
The Rev. Alexander Cumming, Minister of Dunbarney Parish
“And if wrestling importunity will constrain God to open his storehouse of blessings and pour down mercies, it is always to be remembered, that there is one signal benefit we may more easily secure than any other, namely, the Holy Spirit…The image [in our text] is here drawn from the instinct of parental tenderness, and assures us that it is not only probably but absolutely certain that we shall receive the Holy Spirit by proper applications through the medium of our Intercessor.”

I suspect that very few Christians pray for the Holy Spirit, except perhaps to “fill” or “guide” them in some vague, indistinct way. We have the Spirit, if we believe, so what more is there to seek? The Spirit of God is His power at work within us, that we might be willing and able to do what accords with His pleasure (Phil. 2.13). He is a power capable of doing in us more than we have ever dared to ask or think (Eph. 3.20). More of His power for holiness, more of His fruit and gifts for ministry, more of His leading and emboldening presence for witness – among many other things. Unless the Spirit works in us powerfully, our experience of the faith will not go beyond what we’ve ever known before. Pray that the Father will cause His Spirit to work and stretch out in us, and teach your people to pray that the Spirit of God will fill, empower, and guide them, until He transforms them increasingly into the image of Jesus Christ, and they are revived.

How might you lead your people to pray more consistently for the Spirit to work in them for revival?

Preparing for Revival
Maybe the place to begin in seeking the Lord for revival is to admit that we just don’t believe it can happen. The tares of worldliness are flourishing all around, and they don’t seem much interested in spiritual things. Meanwhile, it’s all we can do to keep up with the weekly work load. But while may lack the faith to believe the Lord for revival, He can help that unbelief if we cry fervently to Him in prayer: “Help my unbelief?”

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. Or we can discuss beginning a new group to pray for revival at a more suitable time.

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.