Digging Wells: The Well of Expectation

Igniting the Vision for Revival

Throughout history, there have been moments when God has moved in power—unexpected, undeniable, unforgettable. Could we be standing on the threshold of such a moment again?

“It was in 1904. All Wales was aflame. The nation had drifted far from God. The spiritual conditions were low indeed. Church attendance was poor. And sin abounded on every side. Suddenly, like an unexpected tornado, the Spirit of God swept over the land. The churches were crowded so that the multitudes were unable to get in. Meetings lasted from ten in the morning until twelve at night…” — A.W. Tozer, Out of the Rut, Into Revival

With faith, seek the Lord and expect revival.

Tozer continues:

“Nothing had ever come over Wales with such far-reaching results. Infidels were converted, drunkards, thieves and gamblers saved; and thousands reclaimed to respectability. Confessions of awful sins were heard on every side. Old debts were paid. Mules in the coal mines refused to work being unused to kindness. In five weeks, 20,000 joined the churches.”

That indeed was a great revival. Dare we dream that God will bring revival again? It has been prophesied!

But while revival is something many Christians would love to experience, it is in itself a means to an end. We are about the work of the King and His Kingdom. We want to reach the lost and see them saved. We desire for God’s glory to be seen in our lives and in the life of the church. We desire to display His splendor.

We have two vital ingredients to live in a genuine “pre-revival” atmosphere:

• We own the reality of the coming revival in vision form.

• We have prophetic words from heaven to assure us such vision for true revival is not an empty dream.

However, there is a third essential part. While we cannot see revival by applying formulas, we can:

• prepare our hearts by seeking the Lord and praying in simple faith and expectation for a divine vision of revival to be manifested in our midst.

Let’s remember Daniel, who read Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity for a disobedient people. He did the math and knew the appointed time of release from captivity was approaching. What did he do? Did he stop praying and seeking God because he believed God’s words? He could have said, “I can relax, because I know it will happen. Jeremiah is God’s prophet, so the result is inevitable, and I’ll wait for it to happen.” No, he began to pray with fervor and devotion, and the chapter records one of the most powerful prayers of repentance and surrender in the Bible.

“I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:2–3)

Today, we know the final outcome of our conflict. God wins! But do we forsake the biblical practices to which God has called us? We dare not!

Again and again, God has given us the promises of Isaiah 54, which exhorts us to make our tents larger and to expect God to add to His family. We have heard many times that God is bringing growth. We have seen it in our churches and in the lives of people, but we need to make all the necessary adjustments to facilitate what God is going to do. We are in the midst of change—a wonderful yet vulnerable place to be. So let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and embrace all that He has for us. Let us continue to press in, wanting only His highest purposes to unfold for His glory in the coming season.

How will we prepare? Consider Psalm 32:8: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel and watch over you.” It is God who will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. We need to keep our focus on Him. “Come follow me and I WILL MAKE you…”

We need to position ourselves in such a way that we can be made—stretched, changed, and matured. With this in mind, I would suggest that we once again take a sober look at ourselves and ask, Am I positioned for growth? And are we as a church positioned for growth? Are we preparing for God to move? Do we anticipate His revival power to flow amongst us?

There are many keys that can help us position ourselves for growth, but let me close with one thought: In Hebrews 3:12, the writer, speaking to Christian believers, warned against “an evil heart of unbelief”—not the failure to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but a careless unbelief that prevents us from entering into God’s promises.

In Hebrews 4:2, he goes on to speak of God’s Old Testament people in the wilderness who believed the 10 spies’ doubts and refused the faith-filled report of Joshua and Caleb. He says that they had “good news” preached to them (“the gospel” means good news)—good news of deliverance and victory to enter the land of promise—but it did them no good, because it was not mixed with faith.

We have vision, and, in God’s grace, we have His words of promise. Let us shun unbelief and receive His word with active, receptive faith! Let us ignite God's vision for revival with faith.