Contending for Revival

“Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of armies.”
Isaiah 6:5 NASB

I am an intercessor who is contending for revival in my state of Rhode Island, my region of New England, and my nation of America. Recently, my thoughts and studies in the Bible have been gravitating on the stories where people had a visitation or encounter with God which caused them to see their sin and repent, and to commit to follow God wholeheartedly and live according to His will for their lives. This is exactly what is needed! This is God’s heart for His people. This is revival! Revival unto reformation! Much of my time is spent contending to see revival which I do by praying prayers regularly in the secret place, praying prayers in small groups, and also in larger groups, such as within my church family, state, region and nation. After studying God’s Word and learning from personal experience, I now see the importance of praying a particular prayer—to ask God to give people visitations, or manifestations of Himself, like that of Isaiah, Moses, Peter and Paul. I too had an encounter with Jesus that led to my salvation 43 years ago!

At age 16, I went to a teen retreat and was told to imagine what I would do or say if Jesus walked into the room. Suddenly, in my mind’s eye, I saw Jesus walking straight over to me. I immediately ducked my face into my lap and begin to weep. At that exact moment, I became keenly aware of my sinful state, which caused me to hide my face from Jesus. I felt shame arise in me and this led me to ask God to forgive me of my sins. This moment was pivotal for me; it changed my life. After returning home, I made it a point to pray each morning and to get involved in my local church. Interestingly, I stopped rebelling against my parents, which caused the almost-daily screaming matches in our home to cease. These are only a few examples that reveal the encounter with Jesus was real and it led me to follow Him and make life decisions that were pleasing to Him.

One day while reading about the encounter that Isaiah had in chapter 6, I began to weep. I thought, “This is what the unsaved need!” Seeing God on His throne, Isaiah responded, “Woe to me…I am a man of unclean lips.’ …Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin’” (Isaiah 6:5-7). In the following verse God asked Isaiah to be a messenger for Him and Isaiah replied with a yes (Isaiah 6:8). The late theologian Alexander MacLaren comments, “For such experiences…do influence the will, mold the heart and make it a delight to do God’s commandments; to execute His purpose and to be the ministers of His great Word.”¹

There are other stories like Isaiah’s, such as when God manifested Himself to Moses in the burning bush. This encounter led Moses to say yes to God when asked to be a messenger for Him to Pharoah (Exodus 3). When Jesus manifested Himself to Peter in the miracle of the abundant number of fish found in his net, “He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, 'Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!'” (Luke 5:8). In verse 11, we see Peter and the other disciple’s response to this miraculous encounter, “They left everything and followed Him.” Last but not least, in the book of Acts, we learn of the supernatural encounter that the apostle Paul had, which turned him from a murderer of Christians into a man who was willing to follow Christ unto death.

MacLaren makes 3 points in light of the account in Isaiah. I feel that they are worth repeating, pondering, and applying to our prayers as we contend to see revival. 1—If we see God, we shall see our sin. 2—The sin recognized and repented, is burned away. 3—The purged spirit is ready for service.²

Notes
1. Biblehub.com Commentaries/MacLaren’s Expositions
2. Biblehub.com Commentaries/MacLaren’s Expositions

Contending for Revival Prayer 

Oh God, would You manifest Yourself to pastors and leaders in the Church who are knowingly or unknowingly living in sin? Would You reveal Yourself to the prodigals and cause them to run back to the Father’s house? Would You release angels to carry Your purifying fire and purge the Body of Christ? Would You visit the youth in the night like You did with Samuel?
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Oh God, would you manifest Yourself to the unsaved? Would You purge the ones who are rebellious towards You? The witches and satanists; the gangsters and mobsters; the pedophiles and human traffickers; the antisemites and radical Islamists; the crooked politicians and powermongers. Oh God, release a spirit of repentance that leads to lives of holiness and purity. Make us holy as You are holy. Set us apart for You. To be used by You. Amen.

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