This is What Revival Looks Like

Yesterday I caught a glimpse of revival. It left me awestruck. It rendered me speechless. It filled with me with wonder and a craving for more of God.

Revival at a women’s retreat

The theme was “Fearless and Free.” The sessions addressed several rampant fears: the fears of the storms of life, of inadequacy, and of facing the ghosts of our past. The fourth session focused on the Scriptural truth,

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

During that session, we examined the Truth not only as the written and spoken word of God, but as the person of Jesus Christ who declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” We talked about the importance of knowing Him intimately, and looked at practical ways to pursue that friendship.

As the teaching time drew to a close, I sensed the Holy Spirit say,

“Don’t close this time with prayer for the women. Instead, invite them to pray—to offer short, sentence prayers of worship to Jesus, the one who came to give freedom.”

They prayed aloud despite their fear

Over the course of the weekend, many of these women had admitted to being afraid to pray in public. Asking them to pray now, despite their fear, meant calling them to put into practice the truths they’d heard throughout the weekend. Would they respond? Or would they allow fear to continue to hold them in chains?

They responded. One after another, like popcorn, they stood to their feet and prayed. They seemed to forget about others in the room. They didn’t seem hampered by a perceived need to impress with spiritual-sounding words. They poured out their love for Jesus with words of thanks, and they cried to God for a greater passion for Him.

Awe and wonder filled the room

Tears flowed, and a reverential awe fell across the room. Together, with only our voices, we sang “Jesus Loves Me”—a sweet offering to the Lord for loving us and calling us His daughters. How can I adequately describe that time except to say, “God visited us.”

“God, send revival,” I’ve prayed for years.  “We, the North American church, desperately need You to stir our hearts to passionate intimacy with You.”

This weekend, I experienced an answer to that prayer. I can hardly wait to see how God is going to draw the women from this retreat into greater intimacy with Him, transforming and using them in amazing ways as they learn to walk in freedom.

“Go, God! Send revival. Change Your people from the inside out by giving us an unquenchable desire for You and Your ways.”