Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
People used to pray.
I mean seriously and fervently pray for revival when special meetings were scheduled at church.
Recently I read an amazing chapter in To China and Back by Anthony Bollback, titled “God Moves In.” In this chapter a new church had recently been established in 1943 by Anthony, in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, and revival meetings were being held.
The meetings lasted two weeks and after the first week, nothing special had happened.
Today, we might be too busy to attend revival meetings, let alone pray! We neglect to pray for special meetings because we are a generation too busy to pray for revival.
Are you too busy to pray because of:
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TV
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Movies
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Social media
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Texting
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Games
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Other empty pursuits that pull on our soul to the point that we cannot give them up?
None of these things are wrong in and of themselves, as we are able to keep up with the goings on of relatives, friends and use these avenues for ministry.
But we find that we often can’t do anything without our phone and our Facebook connections, and the time spent scrolling down through our feed for the umpteenth time could have been spent in prayer.
We need a dose of balance.
When Nothing Significant Happens, PRAY!
“After a week of meetings where nothing significant had happened, they gathered around the altar to pray for the salvation of people and the quickening of Christians. People forgot the hour as prayer continued long into the afternoon” (p. 16, To China and Back by Anthony Bollback).
If you don’t quite know what is meant by quickening, it means to bring to life. They were praying that Christians would wake up!
Today, we have become apathetic.
Maybe we have become apathetic because we have continually, through the years, seen little response to the gospel. People are increasingly more disinterested in God.
When we hear an announcement in church to call and invite friends to upcoming special meetings, we do little if nothing about it. We have tried before but no one came.
I was amazed as I read the next few lines in this chapter:
“Mrs. Furman, a godly woman … received a great blessing in the morning service [remember they had prayed?] She went home and began calling all of her friends on the party line. The news of the morning service spread rapidly, for even those she didn’t call were listening in!” (p. 16, To China and Back by Anthony Bollback).
That whole section of town was moved toward God and about 25 people rode to church standing in the back of a truck.
Tomorrow might never come. Today might be our last chance to invite someone to a revival meeting.
Just recently a man was killed in a tragic airplane accident, a driver was killed when he ran out in front of oncoming race cars, and a celebrity committed suicide.
I would challenge you to turn off whatever noise is breaking the stillness of God’s voice and stop and pray.
Close the tabs on email, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
Close the lid to whatever business you have at your fingertips and disconnect long enough to pray for the salvation of your neighbors and the quickening of your Christian friends.
Expect much from God and wait on Him to do wonderful things.
Be a generation too busy praying for revival that you don’t have time for these other distractions.
Are you willing to commit to prayer for Sunday services and revival in your home church and missions around the world?
If so, I’d love if you’d leave me a comment sharing your commitment to pray. {eoa}
Judith Knowles lives in the beautiful Pocono Mountains with the most amazing husband for the past 35 fleeting years. She has been blessed with seven wonderful children through birth, adoption and tubal reversal. When her oldest was 5, she quit her job on the night shift and homeschooled for over 25 years. God has taken the imperfections of her life and keeps turning them into something that can be used for His glory. She writes in her spare time over at Whole Hearted Home to inspire and equip women for holy living with joy-filled hearts.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
