While I agree that prayer is A key to revival, we should bear in mind that it isn't the ONLY key. Peter, you'll remember from
Matthew 16:19, was given "keys" (not a singular KEY) of the Kingdom. And note, it isn't "Keys TO the Kingdom" as it is often quoted, but it is the "Keys of the Kingdom". If in fact prayer was the only key to revival, then every Pentecostal church in the world would be expereincing revival, for they all pray, to some extent, for revival. So prayer, simply put, does not bring a revival . The first two chapters of Acts clearly points out just what KEYS are needed to bring about revival.
1.
Obedience. Jesus urged his disciples to return to Jerusalem to await the Fathers promise. He urged them to
"...tarry ye in ... Jerusalem until ye be undued with power from on high". (Luke 24:49) They didn't quite understand what it all meant, I suspect, but they obeyed the Lord and returned to Jerusalem. The Bible tells us in
Acts 2 that they were filled with
".... the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." Acts 5:32)
2.
Prayer and supplication: To get an idea of just what "prayer and supplication" means, we should go back to the Book of Joel. Afterall, Pentecost was, according the Apostle Peter, a direct fulfillment of
Joel 2:28. But we should bear in mind that if we are to have a
Joel 2:28 experience, we must first have a
Joel 2:17 experience .THAT is what "prayer and supplication" is about. Joel speaks of the need for weeping. fasting, repenting- things seldom heard of in many churches today.
Joel 2;12 speaks of our need to turn to the Lord
"...with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning". The church will never experience revival without this type of prayer and supplication. A 15 minute prayer for revival might give us about 15 minutes of feeling good that we prayed for revival, but it won't produce the power that fell at Pentecost.
3.
UNITY: The fact is, the unity of the saints is the most often neglected and ignored component to Pentecostal Revival. I find it amazing that is so often overlooked. I suspect I know why it is overlooked: The unity of the Spirit is often confused with man-made "ecumenism". But the two simply cannot be prepared. To speak of unity we may be labelled "a compromiser". But... just look back in history. No REVIVAL in history has ever come about without UNITY. There would have been no Azusa Street Revival without unity. There would have been no UPCI or ALJC without a UNIFIED effort to faciliate the mergers. And, there would have been no Pentecost if the disciples had not "...continued with one accord, in prayer and supplication...."(
Acts 1:14). And notice that UNITY broke down ALL walls just as Jesus had intended. No class distinctions hindered the move of God, women prayed right along with the men. Uneducated ex-fishermen prayed with ex-tax collectors. All were one in Christ.
The fact is, in order for us to experience the same results, we must follow the same path. UNITY was a fact before (
Acts 1:14), during (2:1) and after (2:42) the Holy Ghost was poured out. If we ever hope to achieve similar results, we'll have to follow the same bibilcal approach. Our "middle partitions" of denominationalism, organizational loyalties and doctrinal differences will have to come crashing down.
One final pont...God rarely does what we expect Him to. The disciples thought with this coming "power" that God would at last restore the kingdom to Israel. That was not to be, for God no longer dealt with Isreal collectively or on a national basis, but rather as individuals. Don't look for a "Oneness" or "UPC" revival. But rather look for a revival of individuals, people who have spent time at the altar. people who have no credentials other than having been with Jesus. Revival didn't come thru Solomons temple, but rather to a non-descrept upper room on some back street. Revival didn't come to the well established, well organized churches of LA at the turn of the 20th century. It came to a dilapidated, broken down warehouse. The spokesmen at Pentecost wasn't a well educated and polished religious leader, but rather the unlikliest leader of them all, an ignorant and unlearned fishermen who, not too many days before had even denied ever knowing the Lord. Azusa Street was led by the black son of a former slave who spent his time with his head in an orange crate praying, "Lord, break me".
Thats revival. And if thats what we want, thats what we'll have to do to get it. And if we don't have it, well, maybe its because we just don't want it...enough.
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