Keys to Biblical Revival

Keys to Biblical Revival September 21, 2024

To “revive” means to bring something back to life. The act of reviving is called “revival” and refers to possessing a renewed interest in or having an awakening of interest in something. It is most often associated with the movement of a group of people who make the decision to rededicate or to turn their lives over to the Lord.

Today we will look at the Keys to Biblical Revival. We will also highlight why revival is needed and what that means for both individuals as well as nations. Finally, we will go through Psalm 33:12, which says: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” and the significance of the promise of these words. At the end of this article you will find a prayer that can you can use to pray for your nation.

Keys to Biblical Revival

 

The Need for Revival

As previously stated, revival refers to a “spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer.” For non-believers, revival points to an emergence of a love for God, His holiness and a desire to know Him. When a person or a nation is spiritually dead or dying, revival is necessary.

How do we know that revival is needed today? Well, America has seen a steady decline in Christianity over the last few decades. Since 2007, the number of adults who identify as Christian has decreased from 78% to 65%. At the same time, the number of adults who claim “no religious affiliation” has jumped from 16% to 26% (Pew Research).

(If you do not believe in God, click here to read “What if God is Real & I Don’t Believe”)

 

Reasons for the Decline in Christianity 

America has experienced this decline in Christianity for a few reasons. First, over the last several decades we have turned away from the Lord and replaced the things of God with worldly things. People today are more concerned with status, material things and monetary gain than the blessings that God promises in His Word.

Secondly, we have tolerated and accepted the complete disregard for God’s standards in a way that has never been seen before. Every day we are expected to tolerate secular views and ideas, as well as sinful behavior, abominations and radical ideals. Those who put their faith in God are often labeled “intolerant” when they speak out against such things. When God’s standards are ignored, both individually and corporately, anything goes.

Lastly, we have decided that we would rather live the way society sees fit rather than the way God demands. This is evident in the removal of God from many aspects of life. A few examples of this are that prayer is no longer in schools, the Ten Commandments have been removed from government buildings and people witnessing and praying in public places are often removed from the area and even jailed.

For these reasons, and so much more, it is obvious that we have turned away from God. If we don’t recognize the state we’re in very soon, it may be too late. In fact, we just may be under God’s judgement as a nation right now.   (To Read More About God’s Judgement Click Here)

 

What is Needed to Start a Revival? 

Before revival can occur, there must be a spiritual awakening. Whether it’s personal revival or national revival, there first has to be an acknowledge of a need for God. Unfortunately, therein lies a couple of problems.

Many people don’t see the need for Almighty God in their lives. In their eyes they are self-sufficient and fully independent on their own. They see little need for a dependance on God. Even when faced with difficulties, they will not turn to the Lord. Instead, they call on friends and family for help or encouragement, bypassing God all together.

Leaving God out of the equation is one thing, but there is another even more tragic result of denying God in your life. Believing that you can do everything on your own without God is a lie from the devil and stems from the sin of pride. When someone refuses to acknowledge God, they are doing two things.  First, they are denying themselves of all the things that God has for them. Second, and the most sad of the two ,they are risking their eternity. (Click Here to Read More About Eternity)

If people only knew that denying God was like playing with fire (both figuratively and literally), revival would occur immediately. If they only knew, they would turn to the Lord, ask for forgiveness and seek Him with all their hearts.

 

Keys to Biblical Revival

In First Samuel chapter seven, Samuel addresses the Nation of Israel. At that time, Israel was deep into idolatry and people were doing whatever they wanted to do with total disregard for the Lord. They had turned their backs on the Lord and were serving foreign gods. As a result, their hearts were darkened. Samuel cries out to the people in verse 3:

“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Verse three gives us the exact instructions and the keys to Biblical revival.

Keys to Biblical Revival

1. “Return to the Lord with all your hearts”

Make God the Lord of your life. Acknowledge your need for Him. Put God in His rightful place as the number one priority. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” When you put your trust in the Lord with all your heart, He will lead you and protect you.

2. “Put away the foreign gods from among you”

Anything that takes priority over God is an idol in your life. Furthermore, anything that competes with your devotion to God needs to be removed from your life or put in its place beneath Him. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” and that is what we all should do.

3. “Prepare your hearts for the Lord”

I promise you, placing God first in your life will stir up excitement. God will work in your life when you live in expectation. Now, God’s work may not be immediately evident but knowing that your heart is ready to receive all that He has for you carries an amazing peace and joy. Follow the example of King David who asked God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

4. “Serve Him Only”

Make God the focus of all you do, no matter what it is that you’re doing. The Bible says in Colossians 3:23-24: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Use all of your energy and effort to serve the Lord and watch how He transforms your life.

Revival begins in the hearts of those who acknowledge their need for God. As more and more people experience a personal revival, it will undoubtedly grow throughout the nation. The light of the Lord cannot be dimmed once it turns on. Choose to be part of something that is greater than yourself and you will not be disappointed. Start by focusing on these keys to biblical revival.

 

What Else Can We Do?

Samuel gives the keys to Biblical revival in first Samuel chapter seven, but he also gives additional instructions further on in 1 Samuel 12:14-15 which says:

“If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.  15 However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.”

These instructions are easy:

1. Fear the Lord.

The Hebrew word used for fear in this verse is “YIR’AHand it refers to being in “awe” of something or to “revere” and “respect.” God deserves all of our reverence and respect simply because HE IS GOD. He holds our lives in the palm of His hand.

2. Serve God.

Do everything as if you are doing it for the Lord. (See #4 above)

3. Obey His Voice.

This is simple – obey the Lord. This means make it a point to understand what His standards are. Familiarize yourself with the things that He despises and avoid them (See Proverbs 6:16-19 and Romans 1:28-32). It also means that if the Lord has called you to do something, do it. Likewise, if He has instructed you to stop doing something, stop doing it.

4. Do not Rebel.

Sin is rebellion. If you are wrapped up in sin, you are in rebellion to God. Ask for forgiveness and repent of your sins. Submit your life to the Lord and see how He works in your life.

What happens if you don’t do these things? Samuel tells us in verse 15: “the hand of the Lord will be against you.” When the hand of the Lord is against us, we must do two things: pray for forgiveness and repent of the sins that we have committed.

 

HOW DO WE GET REVIVAL STARTED?

America, and many countries around the world are currently at a crossroads. The big question is: are we going to continue down this path of sin and destruction or are we going to stand before God with willing hearts to receive all that He has for us?

The truth is, only God can break the hold of a rebellious heart, so we’ve got to make the first move. We start with confession and repentance of sin. Believers must confess the sin and repent on behalf of their countries’ wicked deeds. We have sinned against the Lord in so many ways and that sin has to be acknowledged, confessed and repented of.

We must also pray for revival to occur in the lives of non-believers, while also praying for revival to sweep through our nation. We can get together with other believers and pray for God to work on our behalf. We should also pray for God to soften hearts and prepare them to receive Him. Another prayer is for God to open the eyes of those who refuse to see what’s going on around the country.

Additionally, we can take the opportunity to witness to others about Jesus and His work on the cross. Provide the truth to others about what’s at stake if we continue down this devastating path.

Revival CAN happen. Christians can be the example that non-believers need to see the truth of the Gospel. We must pour out the love of Jesus upon others and be a shining example of all that He represents.

 

BLESSED IS THE NATION…

To truly understand what we are missing out on, we have to look at Psalm 33:12 as I mentioned at the beginning ofPsalm 33:12 this article: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

God is perfect in all His ways. He is our Creator and He is in control. God knows what’s best for everyone, including our nations, because He sees everything – past, present and future. A nation that chooses to put the Lord God Almighty above everything else, to follow His ways and make HIS standards supreme, will surely be blessed. The Bible tells us so.

The only way forward for America is to go back to our roots and put God and His standards first. We’ve tried society’s way and that has failed us miserably.

For example, we now have hundreds of thousands of people who are homeless. We have murdered millions of unborn children and now encourage adolescents that it’s ok if they want to change their gender. What will it take to stop the madness? What limits are we willing to push? None of this will stop or even slightly improve until we PUT GOD FIRST.

 

 

PRAYER FOR REVIVAL 

In Daniel chapter nine, Daniel prays for the Nation of Israel.  At that time, Israel was in a terrible situation so Daniel prays on behalf of his people and his nation who have sinned greatly against the Lord. He makes a confession and repents on behalf of his nation.

The following prayer is one that we all can pray on behalf of our country and is based on the prayer that Daniel prayed.  (You can find Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:4-19).

Heavenly Father, You are great and awesome and all-powerful. Lord, You keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You, and with those who keep Your commandments. I come before you today with a humble, yet troubled heart.

Father, we have sinned against You and committed iniquities, we have done wickedly and rebelled against You. We have even departed from Your precepts and Your judgments. We have ignored those who know You and who spoke in Your name to our leaders, to our fathers and all the people of our country. 

Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but shame belongs to us.  We have been unfaithful and committed terrible sins against You, Father. Our leaders and our people have become idolators, worshipping the creature rather than the Creator.

Lord, You are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against You. We have not obeyed You, Father. We have disregarded Your standards and have created our own. All of [FILL IN YOUR COUNTRY] has transgressed Your commands and standards, and has departed from You. We have placed so many things above You that it is hard to list them all.

I pray, Father God, that You hear this prayer today. Open our eyes to see the error of our ways, to be able to identify our wickedness and let our hearts grieve for what we have done so that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.  

Lord, on behalf of [FILL IN YOUR COUNRTY] I confess our sins – everything that we have done that is an abomination in Your eyes. Now, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from [FILL IN YOUR COUNTRY] and return to us once more.  

Lord God Almighty, hear my prayer today and those who are praying with me for the restoration of our land back to You. I ask that You place a spirit of revival within the hearts of Your people that will move into the hearts of everyone.  I pray that Your face would shine upon us and light our desolate hearts with glorious light.

Father, incline Your ear and hear us; open Your eyes and see our desolations. Today, we do not present our supplications before You because of OUR righteous deeds, but because of YOUR GREAT MERCIES. For we know that You are loving and kind, full of grace and mercy for those who love You.

Lord, hear my prayer!  Lord, forgive [FILL IN YOUR COUNTRY]! Lord, listen and act on behalf of Your people! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, and for those of us who are Your children. Thank You Father. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,

Amy

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please feel free to share your insights, experiences or questions in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

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