Attitudes that accompany revival

My friend stopped by for a chat last night. We were talking about what’s going on in current events and the huge need in our nation for massive revival.

She then whipped out a section of Scripture (James 3:13-16) from the Message Bible that blew me away. We had been discussing the fact that prayer alone won’t bring an awakening, but that it must be accompanied by humbling ourselves and true repentance. What she shared was an illustration of how that might look. Here are the verses—buckle your seatbelts!

“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.”

Verses 17-18 go on to say, “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results ONLY IF YOU DO THE HARD WORK OF GETTING ALONG WITH EACH OTHER, TREATING EACH OTHER WITH DIGNITY AND HONOR.”

Mercy, humility, integrity, and compassion must be built into our lifestyle and accompany our praying and bold stance in the Word in this strange age. As we relinquish arrogant pride and the need to be the smartest, the wisest, or the most important, God can back our words, our prayers, and our lives, flooding the earth with what may be the last great outpouring from Heaven.

Dorothy