Saturday, October 7, 2017, is marked in my mind and heart as one of the most extraordinary days I’ve ever experienced. That’s kind of funny because it doesn’t involve one of those big, memorable events that so often mark our memories. I was in Washington, D.C. for the Awaken the Dawn days of worship and prayer.

Though there was a main stage and some really great worship leaders and speakers, that’s not what I will carry with me the rest of my life. What impacted me most were 58 tents, one for each state, along with tents for regions and Israel, all of them filled with Christ followers who worshiped and prayed 24 hours a day over the course of three days.

Again and again as I walked through our National Mall, I was struck by the extraordinary nature of unending prayer and worship in the heart of our nation. In the center of our Capitol, where power is often an idol, Jesus was continually worshiped. Most of the time it was a small group with a guitar or keyboard in a small tent, though sometimes a louder and larger group in one of the regional tents grabbed my attention. But wherever I went, it was Jesus who was exalted. It was absolutely overwhelming!

And then there was prayer! Not just in the tents, but all over the Mall. People grabbing each other and asking how they could pray for each other. Prayer circles everywhere. These weren’t part of some leader’s plan, but the work of the Spirit of God prompting the Lord’s people to intercede for one another, as well as for those walking by who didn’t know Jesus. From Friday afternoon through Monday morning, a spirit of prayer prevailed in our nation’s Capitol.

I was also moved by the lack of promotion. You could have asked virtually anyone there, “What ministry or organization is leading this event?,” and you would have gotten a shrug of the shoulders. God gave a vision for this to a young man named David Bradshaw and then God moved many ministries and individuals to come alongside. That made this one of those rare events where only Jesus got credit and was exalted.

So now what? I’m praying that the principle of the tents moves across America. It doesn’t have to be in a tent, but it is the principle of unending worship and prayer that is firmly focused on Jesus. Will this be a lasting movement? Is this the beginning of revival? It certainly can be. It has all the marks of revival. If we can avoid self-promotion and continue to make it all about Jesus. If we keep seeing extraordinary worship and prayer that is unending and Christ exalting . . . we just may be seeing that for what so many have longed, for such a long time: a new Christ Awakening in our nation!

Check out Awaken the Dawn here! The movement continues!

–David Butts (1953-2022) was the co-founder and president of Harvest Prayer Ministries , the chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee and the author of many books on prayer and revival, including When God Shows Up.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

The Lord has amazing timing, doesn’t he? For several months I have been pulling together resources and studying Scriptures to write this devotional. By the time I sat down actually to write it, peace had become far more than just a topic to study. It was becoming an integral part of my life. I had no idea how important that was to become.

I often withdraw to other places to write, and I did so for this devotional. The Holy Spirit was at work and it seemed like the devotionals flowed for several days. Then came the call. It was a call I was waiting for from some medical tests I had done a week earlier. The tests results showed that I had a rare form of cancer called B Cell Mantle Lymphoma. I confess that the writing stopped for two days while my wife, Kim and I scoured the internet to learn all we could of this disease. As we learned, we discovered things we didn’t want to know! This was going to be a full-on struggle to survive! I can honestly say that though we had moments of uncertainty and stress, God’s peace never left us.

Writing a manuscript on God’s peace in an imperfect world was a miraculous blessing from God to prepare me through his Word, with his peace, for the news he knew I would soon receive.

Far more than just an academic topic, his peace is a reality. A precious gift to be received and for which we give thanks.

It is a peace beyond understanding. A cancer diagnosis typically brings much fear and anxiety and I do not pretend that there have not been anxious thoughts. But in a way I do not understand and cannot begin to explain, God’s amazing peace guarded our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I think the keyword is guard. It isn’t that there are not anxious thoughts and fears that arise. But a guard has supernaturally been set upon our hearts through Christ Jesus. This guard is awake and alert and prevents the natural thoughts and fears from gaining a foothold in our lives. Our minds and emotions do not have to be subservient to the circumstances around us. The peace of God is a strong guard that protects us and allows us to overcome a situation with the thoughts that come from him.

Once again, the key to all of this is desiring it and asking for it. You can read Phil. 4:7 and feel good about it but if you do not through prayer and faith accept it into your life, it is simply nice words. God’s peace is available for all followers of Christ if we will ask for it and accept it into our lives. Then we can cultivate his peace through a life of prayer and trust.

My Prayer

How grateful I am Lord, for your timing and the way you prepared me for the news of the medical issues I face. But you had already placed your peace in my life to guard and protect me. I know Lord, you want this for all of your people. Help us to be those who walk daily in your peace as we spend our days with you.

Prayer Point

Ask the Lord to place peace as a guard for your heart and mind.

Because this is a devotional on peace, it is embarrassing to admit that sometimes I have some anxiety. It can especially hit me at night when I am trying to sleep. If I’m not careful it can develop into a full-blown panic attack. I feel like I can’t stay in bed or I’ll suffocate. There have been times when I find myself up pacing through the house in the middle of the night trying to understand how a Christian who walks in peace can experience such an appalling lack of peace.

I’m not a psychologist who can dissect all the possible reasons for this, but in my own life I know that sometimes, I simply have not accepted the peace of God into a place of permanence in my life. I can read scriptures that speak of peace without stopping and praying, giving God thanks for His peace and allowing His peace to settle into the very depths of who I am.

I would also suggest to you that sometimes the lack of peace is an outworking of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us. Jesus described Satan as a thief. One of the things Satan often tries to steal from me is peace. If my peace is only an emotional attachment, then it becomes easy for the enemy to steal it from me with just a bit of physical discomfort or stirring up my mind with thoughts not from the Lord.

So what do I do when I find myself wandering the house at night, unable to sleep because of a lack of peace? I go to the Word of God and begin to pray one of the many passages that speak of the peace of God.

God’s Word doesn’t present peace as simply the absence of hostility or somehow some state of nirvana we have achieved through meditation. Instead, Scripture ties peace to the presence of God Himself. That’s why I believe that walking in peace becomes a clear sign of someone who is experiencing the revival that comes from God’s presence.

One of my favorite Scriptures to pray at night is Psalm 4:8. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” The very ability to lie down and sleep is one of the benefits of peace. Regardless of outward circumstances or inner turmoil, the peace of God gives us the ability to rest in Him. This verse equates peace with the phrase, “for you alone, LORD.” God’s peace is the practical outworking of the Lord’s presence in our lives. He is the one who makes us dwell in safety. This is an amazing gift of God that is to be accepted and embraced.

Note: This is taken from the Introduction of Dave’s 30-day devotional, Prayer, Peace, and the Presence of God. Near the beginning of this writing project, Dave discovered that he had a rare form of lymphoma and that he was already in stage 4! God knew what He was doing! Dave was in God’s “school of peace” as he looked at death’s door. Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God reflects the truths Dave had previously learned that he now had to live out on that journey.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

I love a good rain in the summer–especially after it has been awhile since we have had a downpour. Rain changes so much. There is a fresh, sweet smell that comes with it, a coolness in the heat, and all vegetation perks up and greens up. It makes one feel good.

Rain is also a metaphor for the pouring out of the Spirit in our lives and churches. When our souls become parched and dry spiritually, we need something to fill them with fresh spiritual vigor. We need rain.

What is the rain we so long for and need? Ultimately, it is the Lord’s presence. Jesus Himself spoke of the living water that we would need in our lives. The Scripture speaks of “times of refreshing” (Acts 3:19). Such a time as this is not so much an experience as it is a Person–a waking up to the presence of Christ in our lives. The prophet Hosea spoke of this spiritual rain.

“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hos. 6:3)

“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.” (Hos. 10:12)

Whether we are asking for ourselves, our church, or our nation, Hosea chapter 10 gives us what we need to do to end drought and prepare for rain.

1. “Sow for yourselves righteousness.”

Both Old and New Testaments teach us the spiritual principles that you reap what you sow. If you plant wheat, you do not harvest corn. If you plant immorality, you will harvest immorality. Many people, including us at times, sow greed, pleasure, immorality, and self-centeredness . . . and as a result, we reap the results of that. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for the church, and us as believers, to join with society in reaping the same damaging seed. God’s Word says to sow righteousness–sow right things. We must speak right things, watch right things, read right things, and do right things. The Bible becomes the means for us to see what those right things are. God’s Word gives us a standard for righteousness. Righteousness is not what seems right to a man, but what is right to God.

If you want to move past spiritual dryness, check what you are sowing. If you are sowing damaging seed here and there, stop. Sow right things!

2. “Reap the fruit of unfailing love.”

When righteousness has been sown, we will naturally begin to harvest the fruit of unfailing love. God loves everyone, but the fruit, the benefits of that love, come to those who are moving to establish God’s righteousness as the standard for their lives. There are many unclaimed blessings. One of the most neglected is the fruit of unfailing love. It only comes to those who have sown righteousness in their lives.

As you sow righteousness, you should start to see clear signs of God’s love at work in your life. Recognize them, and praise the Lord for them. Watch what that does to your parched soul!

3. “Break up your unplowed ground.”

Unplowed ground has a hard time receiving rain. Sun-scorched, baked earth forms a hard crust. When rain comes, it simply runs off hard ground rather than soak in to soften it.

Unplowed ground is a picture of the unrepentant life. The rain of God’s righteousness will not soak in and change a life that is hard and unrepentant. So the command here is: “Repent! Change! Go a different direction!”

That is always God’s call to those seeking revival. Today so many who seek revival, the rain from heaven, seem to want just good feelings or nice meetings. However, the good things of revival come only after times of tears and repentance. God’s command is to break up the hard, unplowed ground of your lives before you will see the rain of revival.

Ask God to break up the hard ground of your heart. Repent of those things that keep your heart hard.

4. “It is time to seek the Lord.”

Those in periods of spiritual dryness often go looking for answers in many places. But God’s Word directs us to the only place where we can experience renewal–the rain of heaven–and it is to seek the Lord.

Hosea 10:12 gives great hope to us today. When we have broken up the unplowed ground in repentance and begin to seek the Lord with all our heart, then the promise comes. It is the Lord Himself who comes in response to a repentant, seeking heart, ready to shower His righteousness upon us. It is Jesus Himself in the midst of His people, receiving our worship, and showering upon us the blessings of His Presence.

A simple, but continual remembrance–and practice–of these four steps can keep your heart always soft before Him. You will experience the rain of His Presence on a regular basis in your life.

At a staff gathering recently, I was asked which Bible character was a real hero to me. My immediate answer was Moses, not so much because of his amazing miracles or leadership ability, but because of his intimacy with God. Again and again in Scripture we see Moses in wonderfully intimate conversation with his God. Exodus 33:7-11 is an excellent example of why Moses is a hero of mine.

“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it ‘the tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”

I believe there is much in this story that can help each of us grow in our intimate relationship with God.

The Discipline of a Place

Moses had a regular place where he met with God. He took the time and effort to pitch a tent, which he even called “the tent of meeting,” outside the camp. There are several important items in this passage that might escape our attention if we don’t look carefully. Note the habit: “Moses used to” (v. 7). This was a regular discipline for Moses. He didn’t have an idea to just one day pitch a tent. It was the discipline of having a place to meet with God.

I think it is also important to recognize that he had this tent erected outside the camp. It was not in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life . . . but outside the camp. Walking with God in the midst of all of life is important, but to draw near in intimacy, we will all need quiet places where we can withdraw and spend uninterrupted time alone with the Lord.

The Priority of a Leader

The time that Moses spent in the tent was obvious to the people. They all knew when their leader was going to spend time consulting with God. Moses made this a priority in his life as a leader of the people of God. It would amaze many leaders today to know how much their people desire that their pastor spend much time in intimacy with the Lord. It is of great comfort to God’s people to know that the priority of their leaders is to walk close to God.

The Passion for the Presence

The tent of meeting was a very visible sign to Moses of the fulfillment of God’s promise that He would go with them. Moses had begged God not to send them anywhere apart from His presence. So here, in this very portable prayer room, Moses came to spend face-to-face time with God. Moses was a man with a passion for the presence of God and the visible expression of that passion was coming to this obvious place of meeting.

The Visibility of Power

You can’t hide a life hidden with God. By its very nature, a life of spiritual intimacy and prayer is quiet and doesn’t cry out for attention, but the transformation it brings to an individual’s life begins to cry out with power. Here is an old man (Moses) trudging through the camp to a tent out beyond the others. He’s just going to pray, but the times of intimate fellowship have triggered the power of God in a visible way. As Moses walks into the tent, the heavens open and a pillar of cloud descends to guard the door to the tent. No one is going to disturb this prayer time.

The people are watching. Nothing is done in secret. The power of God has come into their midst because their leader has begun to pray. How desperate the Church is today for men and women of God who regularly come to the tent of meeting! How we long to see the pillar of God’s presence descend into our camps because a godly leader has come to meet with his God!

The Response of the People

When Moses went to talk with God, the people of Israel paid attention. As he walked to the tent, all along the way the people stood, I believe, both in honor and in anticipation. Something is going to happen! Indeed, as Moses goes in the tent, the pillar of cloud descends. As the people in the camp begin to discern God’s visible presence, they begin to worship outside their tents. The prayer of this man of God has prompted great worship among his people toward their God.

We are not Israel in the desert today. Moses’ tent of meeting became the Tabernacle, which became the Temple, which–in awe we say it–which has become us. We are now the meeting place of God. Our very bodies have become His Temple (1 Cor. 3:16). Emmanuel, God with us, has taken up residence within us through His Spirit.

We need to be careful that this truth is present reality in our lives and not just theological belief. In many ways, we have privileges that Moses could not have imagined. He had to walk outside the camp to a tent to talk with God. We have the privilege of talking with God wherever we are. Amazing! Amazing grace of God that He has come to dwell in us!

The challenge is simple. Don’t read a story like this and say, “Oh, wouldn’t it have been great like Moses to meet with God in the tent of meeting?” Today, wherever you go, your tent of meeting goes with you. If we will wake up and realize the amazing gift God has given us through Jesus, we can walk in this great intimacy each day and once again, the world will see the life of God lived out through His (new) covenant people.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries