Revival Fires: A Response to 9/11

As America grieves over the lost lives at the hand of terrorists, we sense a comforting outpouring of God’s love. Newscasters, anchormen, people who never mention the name of Jesus are suddenly talking about prayer and church and asking for God’s blessing on America … and God is listening! Things are changing! The embers of revival are beginning to flicker into flames. God is on the move.

As Americans experiencing a major attack against our safety and freedom, we find ourselves suddenly unified. Flags are being raised everywhere. We are Americans and we will fight back! How long has it been since such unity of purpose has united our land. Strangely enough, we all recognize that we need God’s help to win this battle. So, hearts are opening up and people who have not prayed in eons, or never, are praying.

As military preparations are on-going, an all-volunteer army rallied, young men and women are standing up, willing to lay down their lives to protect America and freedom from the evil of terrorism. Our world has changed. We have changed. Suddenly there is something more important than the personal aspirations and selfish endeavors to which we allocate most of our energy. Churches are filling up. We are taking our eyes off of ourselves and looking to God.

Who will this revival touch? Which houses of worship will feel the fresh outpouring of God’s spirit? Will God include the GLBT community? Will he fill the churches responding to the cry of the outcasts, the disenfranchised, the hated and despised?

How can we all prepare for this visitation? How can we say, “come by me Lord?” How can we become a part of this great move of God? It all begins with repentance. God is calling us all to repent of our selfishness, our rebellion, our failures, our uncleaness. He who comes into the house of the Lord must come with clean hands. Wherever we have trespassed against love, against righteousness, against justice and mercy, we must examine ourselves and repent. We are called to be a holy people, set apart unto God, separated out of this world.

Let us all pray that this revival will touch all of our lives and bring into the House of the Lord all the ones we care for, all the outcasts who are outside the fold, all the lost and dying who need God’s unfailing love for whosoever will call upon the name of Lord.

Let’s prepare ourselves to be touched and changed by this coming outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, his great love and his great admonition. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And this is the commandment of the Lord: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and love thy neighbor as thyself. Do good and not evil and let’s pray for the winds of revival, the holy fire, to come into our midst. Let’s drink deeply of the cup of the Lord, and let our roots go down deeply into Him, his love, his strength, his power. Let us Let go and let God transform us into his image and likeness, for one day, we all know, we shall be like Him.

When you pray, believe that ye shall have it, and you shall have whatsoever you ask.