Prayer Summary for September 12

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The following excerpt is taken from In The Day of Thy Power by Arthur Wallis:

THIS IS THE PURPOSE

“This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?” (lsa. 14: 26).

God has always worked by means of revivals. Since the dawn of human history His purposes have progressed by sudden and mighty movements of the Spirit. “The world of mankind has not advanced by evolution but by revolution; that is, by violent upheavals of society. Many changes have taken place rapidly, changes that make the ordinary events of history appear commonplace by contrast. Eden, the Flood, the Exodus period and the Captivity era are Old Testament illustrations of these revolutionary epochs, while Pentecost is the conspicuous New Testament example. Our Christian era is marked by many such times of religious transformation. The Renaissance and Protestant Reformation in the fifteenth century changed the whole thought and life of Europe. Modem history dates from them” (P. V. Jenness).

While all must acknowledge this principle in the workings of God, some may ask, “Why has God chosen to work in this way? Would it not be more satisfactory for the work of God to progress quietly and steadily, without the stimulus of such excitement and upheaval as are produced in seasons of revival?” It should not be necessary to justify the ways of God before His people; nevertheless, in doing so, the underlying reasons for revival may perhaps be more clearly set forth. Revival as a method of God’s working may be justified from the standpoint of divine strategy, first to counteract spiritual decline, and then to create spiritual momentum. Then revival may be justified from its results, by examining its effects in relation to the saints, the sinners and the Godhead. Firstly, let us see its place in divine strategy.

Counteracting Spiritual Decline

If the work of God could have been maintained and extended down the centuries in steady spiritual power, revivals would have been unnecessary as a counteracting agent, but this, as we know, has been far from the case. “A revival of religion presupposes a declension” (Finney). Decline and decay are inherent in fallen nature and are not confined simply to the physical and moral realm, but invade and influence even the spiritual. This is writ large not only in the history of Israel, but also across the pages of the New Testament and the subsequent history of the church. It has leased God to counteract this deadly tendency to departure by working at special seasons and places in extraordinary power.

It is a well-established fact that when the Spirit of God is working powerfully the spiritual results are usually deep and abiding. Souls saved or blessed in powerful revivals are, on the whole, more likely to continue steadfastly than is the case at other times. There is more connection between the manifestation of God’s power and spiritual steadfastness than some have realized. The history of Israel in the time of the Judges illustrates this very vividly. “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord, that He had wrought for Israel…and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel. And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim” (Judges 2: 7, 10, 11).

It would not be good for these displays of God’s power to be other than occasional. It would not make for spiritual health that the Lord’s people should live on them. Nevertheless, in times of spiritual declension there is perhaps nothing more calculated to stay the rot, wean the heart from earth and attract it to heaven, and produce spiritual steadfastness than to experience such a mighty work of God. Again and again spiritual situations and conditions that seemed beyond recovery have been transformed by such a working of the Spirit. One recalls the pithy definition of revival as “the inrush of the Spirit into a body that threatens to become a corpse!” (D. M. Panton). If “counteracting spiritual decline” was the only purpose achieved by God in such seasons, His method would be abundantly justified. It is after all but the sound military principle that the best method of defense is attack.

Creating Spiritual Momentum

There is another well-known military principle known as concentration of force, according to which a commander will husband his reserves, concentrate them at a strategic point, for a vital blow at the crucial moment. He will thus hope to break through the enemy defenses and so produce momentum or advance where all was static. A powerful thrust of this sort may well achieve what routine patrolling, skirmishing, or harassing tactics could never effect. It is thus with revival: it is designed to achieve what the quieter workings of the Spirit do not.

…In response, however, to the prayers of a burdened remnant God has been quietly heaping the flood. The watchful eye has seen “a cloud as small as a man’s hand.” The listening ear has caught “the sound of abundance of rain.”

What God has said of a coming time of judgment and revival for Israel and the earth, is in measure true of all such displays of God’s power: “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun: for He shall come as a rushing stream, which the breath of the Lord driveth” (lsa. 59: 19). Thus does God see fit to use revival to create spiritual momentum, to accomplish in days what could never otherwise be achieved in years of normal Christian activity. We must not, however, in our zeal for revival disparage what is achieved in the quieter seasons, for God has His purposes in these times also. The patrolling and the harassing and the limited advances are all essential to the big offensive. “The day of small things” (Zech. 4: 10) is preparatory and supplementary to “the day of [God’s] power” (Ps. 110: 3), and we must not despise it.

We should not be surprised to discover that it has been in times of spiritual revival that most of the forward movements of the church have been born. The great missionary advance of the last century derived its momentum from the widespread revivals that blessed America and Britain during those years. Ever since the light was almost eclipsed in medieval times, God has been working to recover the situation, and to restore to the church the light, the purity, and the power which are her birthright, and which characterized her in the first century. The affairs of God’s house must be re-established as He instituted them at the beginning. The ways of apostolic Christianity must be recovered, or the church of the latter days will never ride the storms that already threaten to engulf her. God has used revivals to this end.

The Saints

Clearly it is the saints, not the sinners, that are primarily involved in revival. The quickening of the saints is the root, while the saving of the sinners is the fruit. Therefore, to see the primary effects of revival we must look at the church. Isaiah sounded a reveille call to the people of God in the familiar words, “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city” (52:1 ). Revival marks the awakening of the church; indeed such a time is commonly termed “an awakening.” When asleep one is out of touch with the world of reality. The church asleep is out of touch with the world of spiritual reality, and needs to be awakened.

The argument in favour of an awakening grows stronger as the end of the age approaches, for Paul himself said, “knowing the season, that now it is high time for you to awaken out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Rom. 13: 11). Here is the primary effect of revival – the church awakes, casts off the works of darkness that have blanketed her in her slumber, and puts on the armour of light.

“Awake, awake …put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city.” The church asleep is not only denuded of power but also of holiness. Only when the people of God are awakened are they clothed with the beautiful garments of practical righteousness. Is there not a need of holiness today? Is there not a downward tendency on the part of individual believers seen in lukewarmness toward the Lord, compromise with the world, and complacency as to themselves? Then there is an undoubted need of an awakening. Holiness is not optional but obligatory. God demands it. Without it no man shall see the Lord (Matt. 5:8; Heb. 12: 14). But revival is a time when God comes and rains righteousness upon us (Hos. 10: 12). If there is no revival of righteousness, there is no revival at all.

If you would like to purchase this book, please contact Living Word Bookstore online or call (763) 315-7015.

Prayed…

Father, we are looking for the Church to be ignited!
Our eyes are focused on Your holy written Word
Father, we are not interested in a little fix here or there
It was Your design for there to be a complete transformation
We pray to be steadfast through the months and years
Supernatural power to be transformed
Father, we are looking for an ignition in those who have been in the Church their entire lives
That they would walk and be dispensers of Your glory
We are looking for a dedication and consecration of the youth
Apprehend them, Father!
We plead the blood over all of the facets that would ignite them
Not one part missing, but working together!
Father, You are causing people to hear and respond to Your Spirit
We are looking for a concentration of results all across the nations, churches, and denominations
Calling for witty ideas and inventions
Speak to the pastors and teachers that they may walk in a new way!
By Your Spirit, speak of the last days and Your plans
Applying the blood over the activities behind the scenes
Coming against every deception and stopping blocks!
The Church will not be deceived!
We bust out of every religious tradition that has tried to bind us
Hearing, seeing, and receiving orders from You, Lord!
We pray for the watchers to watch
Father, we leave some things behind and cleave to Your Word and Spirit
All of our sufficiency is found in You!
We still believe that there is a people that is cooperating with You day by day
Moving as sons of God in the earth!
Father, we lift up babies to You—spiritual and natural
We plead the blood of Jesus over them
Declaring, they will live and not die and will proclaim Your goodness
Lifting up the arms of those who hold those babies
Lord, we ask that You would bind every broken heart
Let the Spirit of forgiveness flow over the Church!
We pray for those whose minds need healing
By Your Spirit, clear out those lies!
Grant us Your strength
Help us to appropriate the miracles in Your Word in our lives today
You supernaturally provide a way where there was no way!
Miracles! Miracles! Miracles!
Nothing is too big for You, Lord!
When our hands are hooked up to the power of God, they are no longer just hands but dispensers of God’s power and glory!
We have a responsibility and it’s time to walk deeper in the things of God!
Lord, we pray to break out of old patterns
To continually walk in Your love!
Thank You for this day!

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