REVIVAL! By Team Member: Laura Cobb
When we hear the word “revival,” most of us, if we are honest, think of a set week where a minister has been called in to preach. While that is “a revival”, it is not revival. We can gather together and plan to have a meeting with God, but if we are not in revival personally, it is not true revival. Revival starts in our hearts. It starts in our personal prayer closets. When we become desperate for God, desperate for our family to be saved, desperate for healing, desperate for our city to be changed, then we are ready for revival. God is looking for people who are desperate for Him.
When I think of revival the first thing that comes to mind is the early church in Acts. Acts 2:1-2 says, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He told His followers that the Holy Spirit was going to come to them, so they gathered, prayed, and waited. Waiting is not something we like to do. We want God to move when we think it is time, to the point where sometimes we are willing to “create” a move of God or a revival. But, wait we must. When the church of Acts waited, the Holy Spirit came to them and they were all filled. They became witnesses and thousands were added to the church daily.
Today, in America, we have an entire generation being wiped out because of abortion. Thousands of teenagers are becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol daily. The divorce rate is sky rocketing. We desperately need a move of God. If we are going to see change in our country, revival is a must.
It is going to start in you and me. As our team leader tells us, “You are a carrier of revival!” So, let’s get in our prayer closets, meet face to face with the Holy Spirit, and be filled so that we can carry the revival that our nation so desperately needs. To catch fire for God we must spend time with God. There are no short cuts to revival. We need to move from enjoying the flames of His fire to abiding in His fire, even when it’s uncomfortable, so that we are filled with His fire. Catch and carry this fire that makes all things new!
“Revival, no matter how great or small in its ultimate scope, always begins with individual believers whose hearts are desperate for God, and who are willing to pay the price to meet Him.” - Del Fehsenfeld Jr.
As a young girl at my local church in Norfolk, Virginia, I remember the anticipation that came approaching the months of March and October. These months were the designated times for the World Mission Drive in the Church of God of Prophecy and provided the opportunity to connect with and bless mission ministry around the world. Developing my culinary skills, I would begin baking chewy and wonderful chocolate brownies and transitioned to sales girl in my neighborhood to raise funding and to be a part of that effort.
