Our website uses cookies to give you the best and most relevant experience. By clicking on accept, you give your consent to the use of cookies as per our privacy policy.Learn more.AcceptDeny

Sat. Jan 11th, 2025

“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? —Malachi 3:1-2

Nearly all my life I have wanted to see revival. I am not sure when I first had an appetite for it, but I grew up in what was something of a revival atmosphere. In 1985, I introduced the first prayer covenant in Westminster Chapel. There were several petitions, and one of them was a prayer for true revival in the congregation. After five years we closed that covenant but revived the idea some years later. Then, instead of praying for true revival in Westminster Chapel, we prayed for the manifestation of God’s glory in our midst along with an ever-increasing openness in us to the manner in which He chose to appear.

The people in Malachi’s day prayed the equivalent of that prayer. Malachi tells them how their prayer will be answered, and I don’t think it is exactly what they had in mind. What they wanted was for God to come in the way He had done in the great days of Solomon, when the temple was filled with His glory and all the nations stood in awe of Israel. They were looking not only for the honor of God’s name to be restored, but also for the honor of Israel to be seen in the world. They sincerely believed that when God came that was how it would be. But things were to turn out very differently.

What is the difference? The difference is that praying for revival was, in a sense, setting a limit on God, and that is what these Israelites were doing. Praying for the manifestation of God’s glory is not dictating to Him what He should do. Why did we use the word glory? The word glory is the nearest we can get to the essence of God. If we only had one word to describe the God of the Bible, that word would have to be the glory. He is a God of glory. We prayed that He would manifest His glory, and we did not tell Him how to do it. What is revival? Revival is certainly one manifestation of God’s glory. Praying for such a revival is inviting God to be Himself. But we must not limit Him.

Excerpted from Between the Times (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 2003).

Related Post

Leave a Reply

Related Podcasts

More News
Is the Pope Engaged in Spiritual Warfare Against Donald Trump?
Is the Pope Engaged in Spiritual Warfare Against Donald Trump?
10 Clues You Have an Angel Nearby
10 Clues You Have an Angel Nearby
Jentezen Franklin: This is How Fasting Lifts Up Your Soul
Jentezen Franklin: This is How Fasting Lifts Up Your Soul
Here is Why You Went Through Trials in 2024
Here is Why You Went Through Trials in 2024
These are the Keys You Need for Bible Reading in 2025
These are the Keys You Need for Bible Reading in 2025
The Spirit of Accusation Will Fall in 2025
The Spirit of Accusation Will Fall in 2025
Unveiling the Spiritual Risks of Investigating the Occult
Unveiling the Spiritual Risks of Investigating the Occult
Greg Locke: A Biblical Blueprint for Your Best Year Yet
Greg Locke: A Biblical Blueprint for Your Best Year Yet
Biblical Essentials for Navigating Marriage and Ministry
Biblical Essentials for Navigating Marriage and Ministry
Jonathan Cahn: This is How You Can Have a Victorious New Year
Jonathan Cahn: This is How You Can Have a Victorious New Year
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Latest Videos
90.1K Subscribers
1K Videos
9.2M Views

Copy link