Author: Dave Butts - Harvest Prayer Ministries Author: Dave Butts - Harvest Prayer Ministries

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

Then His people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and His people–where is He who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who set His Holy Spirit among them…” (Isaiah 63:11).

“Recalled” is a powerful word. Especially in this situation, the recollection of what God had done in the past led to a revival among the Lord’s people. It is so easy to forget the amazing works of God. That is never more true than when we get caught up in our own desires and ways. Forging ahead in our self-centeredness and sin, we forget all God has done in the past. So it was with the nation of Judah in Isaiah’s day.

Now, however, God stepped in to punish their sin. Disaster ruled the day. The presence of God seemed far away. Sin did not seem so fun. Bit by bit, they began to remember that things used to be different. There was a time when God had led them through the godly leadership of Moses. There was a time when the Holy Spirit was present and made a real difference in their lives as individuals and as a nation.

Remembering past moves of God can be powerful. It can stir us to repentance and longing for a renewed sense of the presence of God. What are you remembering today?

Father, thank You for the gift of memory and for stories that have been passed down through the generations about the ways You have moved in the midst of Your people. Thank You for stories of revival from the Great Awakening in the United States and beyond. Lord, would You use those stories to stir within our hearts a desire for similar awakenings? Help us, Lord, to remind each other of Your work in days past, and of our great need today. May we recall those things that You would have us meditate on and pray over.




DWELLING IN GOD’S HOUSE

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

There are many definitions for revival. For the Christian, they all revolve around experiencing the Presence of Christ in a fresh, new way. My friend, David Bryant, has often said that the Second Coming of Christ will be the greatest revival, because it will be the clearest expression of the Presence of Christ. Until that time, though, the Spirit of Christ will continue to stir us up to pray for an even greater longing for His Presence.

One of the many ways that Scriptures speak of the Divine presence is through the imagery of the House of God. Over and over in God’s Word we see the promises of His people one day dwelling with Him forever in His House. Certainly there is this firm promise of someday in the future enjoying the pleasures of the Lord’s presence in His own dwelling place, but the Bible also strongly teaches of the possibility of dwelling in His House while still in the midst of this life.

We often think of the event and corporate aspect of revival and that is a very valid and profitable viewpoint. What, though, of the possibility of personal revival as a continuous way of life, as we learn to live daily in His House? There are so many passages of scripture that speak of this exciting and transformative lifestyle of dwelling in the Lord’s House.

A number of years ago, the Lord grabbed my heart through Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; gazing upon His beauty, seeking Him in His temple.” It is apparent that David was not talking about heaven by and by, but a current experience of God’s presence. For years now, I have made this a daily prayer.

I have to confess, though, that for the first couple of years, I had to add on something. After I had prayed Psalm 27:4, I added, “And, Lord, help me to understand what I just prayed.” What does it mean to live in the House of God in the midst of everyday life? As we begin to learn the answer to this and experience it in our own lives, we will be walking in a revived life in the Spirit.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries




BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

No matter how long I teach on prayer, I don’t think I’ll ever plumb the depths of the teaching of Jesus on prayer through what we call The Lord’s Prayer. In its simplicity it is packed with practical guidance for effective prayer. I believe that the focus of this prayer is the heart of Jesus’ other teaching as well…the Kingdom. Jesus’ lifestyle and teaching focused on the Kingdom of God. So it shouldn’t surprise us that when he teaches on prayer, he points us to pray about the Kingdom.

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Those simple, familiar words should both motivate and populate our prayers. As I hear those words I am motivated to pray for the advance and eventual triumph of the Kingdom of God over all other pretenders. I know I will someday see Jesus crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords, and I want to see Him acknowledged as such in the here and now of everyday life. I long to see all of creation begin to understand what it means for Jesus to be Lord.

As Kingdom praying begins to dominate my daily prayer life, I find that I have shifted from the “gimme” prayers that used to be pervasive, to a deeper desire for what pleases the Lord. The prayers seem to be “bigger” and less selfish. Even if the prayers deal with my own needs, they are now couched in yearnings that deal with Kingdom values.

Perhaps a good place to begin is to ask the Lord what is happening in heaven that He wants to see occur on earth. That is, after all, the way he phrased this prayer for us. From Scripture it appears that heaven is most of all, a place that is overwhelmed by an awareness of the Presence of God. The continual worship seen in heaven is the natural response to the Presence of God. Praying for an increased awareness of His Presence brings heaven to earth and can result in an amazing revival for the Church!




LET GOD MAKE UP THE WORDS

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

I had just finished preaching on prayer and was approached by a Sunday school teacher from the congregation. She had a great story for me. Knowing that it was a weekend focused on prayer for their church, she had taught her group of 6-year-olds about prayer that morning. When she finished, she invited them to come pray at a little altar she had set up.

She was listening to them pray when she was surprised to hear one little boy reciting the alphabet. The boy next to him leaned over and asked him why he was saying his abc’s. The first little boy answered, “I don’t really know what to say, so I thought I’d just give God the letters and let Him make up the words.”

It’s a cute story, but more I thought about, the more profound it became. Lots of times I find myself in prayer situations like that little boy, just not knowing how I should pray. To be honest, I’ve never been quite so clever as the child who recited the alphabet, but I believe he was on to something good and biblical. Romans 8:26 tells us that when we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us. We don’t always need to have the right words. We don’t really even have to give God the alphabet. As we bring situations before the Lord who knows our hearts and the situation better than we do, we can have confidence in the Lord who promises to hear our prayers even before we call out.

That assurance gives me peace as I pray. I don’t have to always have the right words. I don’t even have to ask the right things. I just want to have the Lord step in and do what He desires and what brings Him glory and advances His kingdom. After all, when I pray, it’s ultimately up to Him as to how and when He answers my prayer.

Read other articles on revival from Dave. “A Biblical Model for Revival Praying” is one of his most popular.




INVITATION TO INVASION

WHAT ARE YOU REMEMBERING?

I believe that one of the most powerful, transformative prayers that can be prayed in any circumstance, is the heart of the Model Prayer: ” Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done.”  As I was praying this one day over a particular situation, I sensed from The Lord that this was an invitation for an invasion. An invasion of the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of my own little world.

We all have a strong tendency to serve as rulers over our own kingdoms. We make our own rules and set up our own boundaries. Of course, our little kingdoms are a wreck. The problem is bad leadership…and yes…we are each the incompetent leaders of our individual kingdoms. Sometimes the best thing that can happen is a benevolent invasion.

Years ago I was visiting in the totalitarian nation of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In a fascinating conversation with a Burmese taxi driver, he said he wished that the United States would invade his country.  He said they would be much better off under our leadership.  Quite apart from the morality or rightness of such an invasion, it was a very revealing statement. This taxi driver saw the suffering of his people under bad rulers, and wished for a beneficent invasion.

Perhaps we need the clarity of that Burmese driver regarding our own personal kingdoms. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us we are blessed when we recognize that we are spiritually poor.  With the humble awareness that we are miserable rulers of our own kingdoms, perhaps we will begin to pray for a new ruler of a new kingdom. We will offer an invitation to an invasion as we pray in each and every situation of life, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”