Should We Pray for Revival?

Excerpt from "Should We Pray for Revival?" by Alvin Reid

When do you think the following observations were made?

• Ministers today seem more concerned with political power in society than spiritual fervency in the church, while pop culture contributes to the moral decay among the youth.
  
  
• While marked by an increasing ethnic diversity and various religious beliefs, the nation’s established religious groups–-particularly Protestants––demonstrate a sterile spirituality. One pastor bemoans the obsession with gambling and rudeness, while churches are attended at convenience.
  
  
• College campuses teem with students chasing after the latest philosophies, the more unbiblical the better. The more educated a person you find, the less likely you are to discover a Christian. Meanwhile, churches are filled with people who listen to pastors preach then contradict the sermon by the way they live.

You may think these descriptions came from the blog of some concerned Christian commenting on our time. But the first one comes from Great Britain just before the preaching of John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and others who were used by God to lead a great revival there. The second comes from the American colonies prior to the First Great Awakening. The final came around 1800, with college campuses in the newly formed United States influenced by Voltaire, Rousseau, and others, at the dawn of the Second Great Awakening.

Ours is not the first generation to recognize the spiritual declension among us, or to see the need for God to awaken his church and touch our land. From the saints of the Old Testament to leaders in our time, prayer for revival has marked believers who understand the need for the Spirit surpasses our ability and intelligence.

Read the rest here: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/should-we-pray-for-revival

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Article: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/should-we-pray-for-revival by Alvin Reid

When do you think the following observations were made?

            ▪          Ministers today seem more concerned with political power in society than spiritual fervency in the church, while pop culture contributes to the moral decay            among the youth.

            ▪          While marked by an increasing ethnic diversity and various religious                     beliefs, the nation’s established religious groups –– particularly Protestants ––             demonstrate a sterile spirituality. One pastor bemoans the obsession with             gambling and rudeness, while churches are attended at convenience.

            ▪          College campuses teem with students chasing after the latest                            philosophies, the more unbiblical the better. The more educated a person you               find, the less likely you are to discover a Christian. Meanwhile, churches are

            filled with people who listen to pastors preach then contradict the sermon by the

            way they live.

You may think these descriptions came from the blog of some concerned Christian commenting on our time. But the first one comes from Great Britain just before the preaching of John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and others who were used by God to lead a great revival there. The second comes from the American colonies prior to the First Great Awakening. The final came around 1800, with college campuses in the newly formed United States influenced by Voltaire, Rousseau, and others, at the dawn of the Second Great Awakening.

Ours is not the first generation to recognize the spiritual declension among us, or to see the need for God to awaken his church and touch our land. From the saints of the Old Testament to leaders in our time, prayer for revival has marked believers who understand the need for the Spirit surpasses our ability and intelligence.

Read the rest here, http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/should-we-pray-for-revival