Revival is glorious, exciting, and compelling. It is sparked, fanned, and flamed because of believers who believe in it, hunger for it, and are available for it.
By Pastor Ong HuiEn
In the past month, God has been stretching my faith to believe that we – His children – can ask Him boldly, and He will answer.
About a week ago, I was at a bus stop and prayed, “Father, I’m feeling tired and need rest. Since I believe I am divinely favored and You hear me, I ask for my bus to come now…” A couple of seconds later, bus no. 3 came driving around the corner! I gasped, astonished that the Lord answered me so quickly!
I realized what little faith I can have at times, and it revived in me a desire to have more faith in a God who loves me, knows my needs, and does the unthinkable.
Ever since the release of God’s prophetic word through Pastor Dominic at Watchnight Service last year, I have witnessed an acceleration of God’s restorative power in many areas of physical health, spiritual hunger, and salvations throughout the pandemic (testimonies will be linked at the bottom of this article). For Trinitarians like Eugene Phua, faith was the key to a complete 180-degree turn in his health, leading to a revival in his heart.
This challenged me to wonder: What if the Church really believed in God’s ability to ignite widespread revival across the nations and prayed to that end? If we truly believe in His power and pray with simple faith, will we not see it?
What exactly is revival?
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? (Psalm 85:6)
In biblical accounts, the word ‘revive’ was directed towards the condition of a person’s spirit, heart, or well-being (Psalm 85:6, Psalm 80:18, Isaiah 57:15, Hosea 6:2). The word “revive” (chayah in Hebrew) means “to live (prosperously),” “to cause to grow and have life” – it refers to the godly restoration of life and well-being into God’s original design.
Revival was always about cold hearts being lit aglow and transformed as they encountered the love and goodness of God, with manifestation of signs accompanying it by the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, revival could be seen on different levels. Here are some examples:
· Personal
Jacob and Saul – both had a divine encounter with the Lord that brought redemption and transformation in their lives (Genesis 31; Acts 9).
· Family/Community
The Samaritan woman’s village and the royal official’s household had encounters with Jesus that led to bold proclamations of faith and many salvations (John 4).
· The People of God
During the time of King Hezekiah, the Israelites experienced renewed devotion and wholehearted worship to God (2 Chronicles 29-32). Likewise, the early church – in a season of great hunger for God, experienced the power and glory of the Spirit moving amidst them (Acts 2).
· Societal/National
The great city of Nineveh “believed God” (Jonah 3:5) when Jonah proclaimed God’s message of repentance. They fasted, repented, and turned from their evil ways.
What comes to your mind when you hear of ‘revival’?
Revival is always astounding. Many of us have heard or read the modern-day accounts of revival in Singapore – especially the ACS Clock Tower Revival
The Holy Spirit desires to use accounts of past revivals to ignite our imaginations and dreams about how God can miraculously transform hearts and lives. But often times, our pragmatic minds can prevent us from truly believing revival will happen in our lifetime.
When concerning future revivals, we should not assume that God will operate as He has done in the past. God’s Spirit is actually yearning to do even more. The key is to ask and hunger for Him (2 Chronicles 7:14, Joel 2:32, Revelations 22:17).
How can we respond to God’s heart for revival?
1. Remove pre-occupation with self
Matthew 6:19-21 tells us not to be pre-occupied with building up our lives on earth, which will eventually pass away. Seek God for personal transformation which will last an eternity. Pursue the Lord and become kingdom-minded and mission-driven.
2. Be immersed in the body of Christ and grow
The church is God’s divine institution, His ordained instrument to move in great power (Matthew 16:18). Ephesian 4 exhorts us to be built up together, in the “full measure” of spiritual maturity.
Be committed to grow within a Christian community like your Connect Group. Join His Body for corporate prayer and worship gatherings. When we grow together in spiritual maturity and declare that God’s will be done on earth, the Church will walk in victory and be strengthened for greater works!
3. Move in faith and power
God simply asks for our child-like faith and obedience. Revivals in families, workplaces, communities, and nations are sparked, fanned, and flamed because of believers who believe in it, hunger for it, and are available for it. God will use you and me as vessels to pray for it, proclaim about it, and call fellow believers and loved ones to it.
Revival here, revival now
One of Singapore’s very first revivalists said: “We have moved on from the Billy Graham generation…but God is raising up a younger generation to get in there and gather the harvest – to reach out to our nation and region….the next generation will help bring a new wave of revival into Singapore.” – Canon James Wong
I believe that “next generation” refers to you and me, living in this day and age! It’s as if God Himself is saying, “It’s time for revival!” and He wants us to be expectant.
God’s Spirit is yearning to do even more.
The kingdom of God is here and will expand at unprecedented levels when we arise with simple boldness, audaciously asking for God’s love to be poured out in us and our families, communities, and nations.
The latter glory will be greater than the former days, for we will do even greater works by the Lord’s mighty hand (Haggai 2:9). Hallelujah!
About the Author Pastor HuiEn is a vibrant Minister, serving both as Prayer Pastor and a children's pastor. When she's not praying for revival, she loves to enjoy a cup of flat white in a scenic cafe with light music, sharing a good laugh with close friends.
Reflect & Respond
Do you want faith to arise in your heart? Take a moment to acknowledge that God is able to do exceedingly more than what we could think or imagine. Partner with others in prayer at Church Prayer Meetings (CPM) on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Together, we can ask for God’s presence to move mightily among us!
Be the fuel of revival! Unite with the global Church to pray June 27-29, 2022 at the Global Concert of Prayer. For more info on #GCOP2022, follow @gcop2022.
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