Dear Revival Family,"It's like a blowtorch--we can't get in front of it."
"If we had the entire army, we still couldn't stop it."
"Wind is king here; it's dictating everything we're doing."
These statements were used to describe the ferocity of the recent wildfire near Los Angeles. But they also reflect what many are feeling about the events of the last month, in which the American banking system almost collapsed, major companies failed, and the stock market lost nearly 50% from its peak value.
Genuine fear swept the country as we tried to comprehend the crushing loss of our retirement savings and the mind-numbing cost of the government-sponsored bailout of our financial system. Many still worry about the security of their jobs, not to mention the future of a country saddled by massive levels of personal and national debt.
Even more troubling than the financial crisis, however, is the moral disintegration it exposed. Stories of calloused corporate greed and widespread political corruption betrayed our public trust and undermined our confidence in those in power. Congressional approval ratings bottomed out at only 11%, and a cry for credible leadership echoed across America.
But most disturbing of all was the fact that at the height of the crisis, when experts were wildly scrambling for solutions, not once did President Bush, John McCain, or Barack Obama--professing Christians--suggest that we stop to pray! The candidates did not even end their debate speeches with the historic phrase "God bless America." Apparently, as far as our leaders are concerned, God isn't part of the solution at all.
The Urgency of Now
The absence of God-consciousness in our society today is what makes this such a critical moment for America--so urgent that I feel compelled to stop everything I was doing in order to send you this special edition of Revival Report. In my lifetime, our nation has never experienced a more dramatic wake-up call with so little public acknowledgement of our need for God.
Regardless of whether the worst of the crisis is now over or whether it proves to be a precursor of even more turmoil in the days to come, there is a vital spiritual lesson we must not miss: God uses times of crisis to call people and nations back to Himself. Times of uncertainty, financial or otherwise, are divine opportunities to recognize the futility of our idols and to embrace the true hope that is in Jesus Christ alone.
Prayer in Times of Uncertainty
The prophet Hosea lived in times very similar to ours. Pervading winds of wickedness and unbelief swept over the people of God. Lust and greed dominated the political and religious landscape as worship of Baal filled the land.
The hope of Hosea's day must be our cry today: "It is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and rains righteousness on you" (Hosea 10:12). In times of crisis, our hope is Jehovah God! No matter how dark the hour or how insurmountable the problems, there is no limit to God's power.
A. W. Tozer echoed this belief in the all-reviving power of God in an article entitled "Revival: No Limit to What God Could Do."
There is no limit to what God could do in our world if we would dare to surrender before Him with a commitment like this:
"Oh God, I hereby give myself to You. I give my family. I give my business. I give all I possess. Take all of it, Lord--and take me! I give myself in such measure that if it is necessary that I lose everything for your sake, let me lose it. I will not ask what the price is. I will ask only that I may be all that I ought to be as a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen."
If even 300 of God's people became that serious, our world would never hear the last of it! They would influence the news. Their message would go everywhere like birds on the wing. They would set off a great revival of New Testament faith and witness.
God-sized change is possible for America today. But it is critical to recognize that every revival in history has been birthed, cradled, and nurtured in prayer. That's why now is the time to seek the Lord as never before. WE MUST SEEK HIM! The wind of evil can be overcome by the wind of the Spirit of God, but believers must repent, and we must pray!
Ripe for Revival
As strange as it may sound, I believe the crisis and uncertainty that America now faces are part of God's providential plan to invite America to spiritual awakening and revival. While I grieve over the hardships many are now experiencing, there is a sense that this is the season we've been waiting for--an opportunity for believers everywhere to express their confidence in God and to testify that Christ alone is the true hope of America.
The connection between crisis and spiritual revival is part of American history. In 1857 the stock market dramatically crashed amid loss of confidence in the American banking system and U.S. economy. Five thousand businesses failed within a year, and thousands lost their jobs. Yet in the midst of financial calamity, thousands of businessmen turned to prayer, and the great prayer revival of 1857-58 resulted in almost a million conversions!
The same situation is true today. The change we need in America will not ultimately come from the politicians in Washington or the market leaders at the Treasury or Federal Reserve. According to Scripture, real change begins in the hearts of God's people and is empowered by God's Spirit (1 Pet. 4:17; Zech. 4:6).
That's why I am eager to report that a passion and hunger for God to send a sweeping revival appears to be growing. God is working now in the lives of His people:
Even as I was writing this letter, a pastor called asking what I thought about him starting "prayer clubs" in his county. God had given him this burden: "If we have local Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, and book clubs, why not have local prayer clubs for revival?"
Over 6,000 women gathered in Chicago to seek the Lord for personal renewal. Most signed the True Woman Manifesto to become agents of change through living out biblical womanhood. (Go to www.TrueWoman.com to read and sign the manifesto.)
Sixty churches gathered for a Send the Rain conference in Douglas, Georgia. For the first time in the city's history, God broke down ethnic and denominational barriers. When asked why 3,000 adults felt compelled to gather and seek the Lord in a town of only 11,000, they replied, "We are desperate. Our marriages are failing, our kids are rebelling, and our churches are dying."
A thousand people attended a prayer meeting for revival in a small community northwest of Atlanta. It was followed by an all-day Heart-Cry for Revival pastors' conference marked by unusual hunger for God.
I spoke during the Sunday morning service at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, the weekend their movie "Fireproof" was released in over 800 theaters. Only God could cause a movie saturated with core revival truths to garner a national release and exceed box office expectations.
Sixteen Life Action revival summits and THIRST conferences have taken place in local churches so far this fall, and 40 more communities will be reached by the end of spring. In each location there have been vivid demonstrations of life-change--the kind of life-change that multiples, like in this family from Alabama:
Wow! That is about all I can say. Wow! Fifteen days ago my husband and I had two family members that we didn't have a right relationship with, and he was very hardhearted about what happened between them. After the sermon on forgiveness, my husband woke up and spent one hour with God. He then called his granddad at 6:00 a.m. It has changed him. After 7 ½ years of marriage and going to Sunday school and church services at least once a week, we have found God in our marriage. Fifteen days ago, we were playing mom and dad, husband and wife--now we are becoming a godly family.
Just as this family experienced radical change, God can also take a hardhearted nation and transform hearts, homes, churches, and communities. Widespread revival has happened before--let's urgently pray for God to send the sweeping wind of His Spirit to America again!
Thank you for sharing that vision with us. Our hope is in the Lord. And the time for revival is NOW!
Seeking Him together,
Byron Paulus and the Life Action Staff
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