Does your faith need awakening?
Instead of living the abundant, fruitful life that Jesus promised, are you living in a quagmire of slumber and defeat?
Never have believers had as many resources, tools and places to fellowship as they do in today’s society, yet in the abundance of these things, we have never been more ineffective and lukewarm in our faith.
Why is that?
Revelation 3:14-19 (NKJV) says,
And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing “—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.'”
We are rich and have need of nothing. In many ways, this describes the church in America. It describes you and me. There is an abundance of Bibles to choose from—different translations, different study notes and even designer covers. Some homes have multiple Bibles lying around—but how often are they opened? We can go online or to a bookstore and get all kinds of resources that help guide us in our daily walk. And yet we are largely still living with one foot in the Spirit and one foot in the flesh. There are megachurches on almost every corner in our communities, but we are more disconnected from one another than we have ever been.
Why is that?
What are we lacking?
We need a spiritual awakening.
What is spiritual awakening, and why do we need it so much? In simple terms, spiritual awakening is when a person’s heart is open to the voice of God, is tuned in to hear Him speak, allows Him to rule over her life and does not resist the words God speaks.
We live in an era when there is a lot of religion but very little relationship with God. There are a lot of Christian churches but not a lot of early church power and testimony. And there are a lot of “salvations” but not a lot of “lordship” and walking the walk.
Considering the fact that we live in a place with religious freedom, there are Bibles and books and resources everywhere to help us in our walk, and there are an immense number of Bible-believing churches and megachurches spread throughout the nation, we are profoundly weak in the faith and making little, if any, impact on our culture.
It’s time to have a spiritual awakening … and it starts with you and me.
Prayer Power for the Week of August 4, 2019
This week as you pursue intimacy with God through prayer, pray intensely for our nation and its leaders as they make decisions affecting us and the world. Remember those serving in the military as well as our first responders. Pray for and support your local church and thank God for our religious freedom. Read 2 Chronicles 7:14, Revelation 3:14-19.
For more from Carter Conlon on the power of prayer, listen to this podcast interview with Charisma founder and bestselling author Stephen Strang.
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