Thursday Open Heavens Devotional - Revival Through Prayer!

MEMORISE: After two days will be revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Hosea 6:2.

READ: Hosea 6:1-6.

1.Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2.After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3.Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. 4.O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. 5.Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. 6.For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

MESSAGE
Prayer is a divine mechanism that God gave to Christians as a means of communicating with heaven. It is also a very powerful weapon for spiritual warfare. A man who has a fervent  prayer life walks with God; no journey can be more blessed and productive than the one taken with the Almighty God through prayer. Simple prayers offered for individuals, the local community, the nation and the Church were responsible for much of the great miracles and moves of God in different parts of the world in history. The Bible in James 4:2 says,
“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”. This passage states clearly that we could so much desire a thing to the point of killing for it, but this does not guarantee that we will get that desired thing. The only thing that guarantees our getting a lasting blessing is to ask in prayer.
When we speak of a revival, it must be clear to all that there is never such a thing as a revival if it does not start with prayer. Every revival in history came to be as result of prayer. The great revival under Jonathan Edwards in the eighteen century kicked off with his famous call to prayer. David Brainerd, Charles Finney, the Wesley brothers, the great revival of 1930 in Nigeria, and the one that gave birth to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, all started with prayer. As a matter of fact, every true awakening and revival always begins with prayer. The big question therefore is; do we need revival now?
Taking a cursory look at happening around the world, we will see clearly that what the world needs now is revival, more so when we consider happenings within the body of Christ. Things have deteriorated so badly, both the laity and clergy have departed from the path of holiness and truth. Today, the fruit and gifts of the Spirit are only evident in the lives of very few Christians. Many genuinely born again Christians are not living in sin but they are cold and operating far below expectation. The only solution to the problem of the Church now is revival. We must pray that God should revive us again, break through our self-centred daily routines, and fill us with the fire of revival as of old in Jesus’ name.
God is especially pleased to answer any prayer that is focused on the revival of God’s work and God’s people. In my personal experience, fervent prayers always preceded every great move of God. Even prophecies and revelations of God must be prayed into physical manifestation. Therefore as individuals, we need revival in our personal lives, we need revival in our local communities, and we need revival in our nation. The Church of God also needs revival for renewal, rededication and spiritual empowerment.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please revive us again, fill us with the fire of revival for renewal and spiritual empowerment in Jesus’ name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: MATHEW 25:31-26:68 AND JOB 15:22-35.