Before I heard of the outbreak of revival in Kentucky and other places taking place, the word revival has been strong in my mind. We can go and look to churches, and mostly we look to the big ones first where often we are distracted by all going on around us, but in all honesty, revival does not start in the church. It starts with the individual person. It’s a season of prayer. Down home, knee bending, tears of sorrow for wrongs you have done, and earnestly asking GOD to renew that which is absent in your life.

A book written by Yongi Cho and Wade Woodall tells us the following:“

What is the key to revival?

Revival comes from prayer. Today’s church needs an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Early church leaders like Luther, Wesley, Finney, and Moody were filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit. Prayer like theirs was the powerful key to every revival throughout Christian history.”

Notice the usage of the words filled and refilled. For something to be refilled, it must have become empty. We as a church have become lax in prayers. We say simple prayers over our meals, at bedtime, and the “Lord protect us” as we drive down the highways. We have lost the passion in our prayers. D.L. Moody in 1899 wrote a paper entitled “How To Have a Good Prayer Meeting” and he says, “Avoid falling into ruts of any kind.” (You can read his whole article by clicking the link.)

How much time do you really spend in prayer? Come on and be honest with yourself,… Is it really enough? Martin Luther spent at least 3 hours a day in prayer. We can barely make it ten minutes. One writer says that Pride, Prayerlessness, Priorities, and Presumption are the enemies of true revival.

In the year 1760, a little preacher by the name of John Wesley said “prayer is the grand means to drawing near to God”.So, you want revival? Learn from the trailblazers of our churches what prayer really was and how to pray. Pray with a perfect heart. (perfect means “sincere”) and you will see revival begin in you and then you can spread it to others.

By: Dempsey Howard