“PRAY FOR A WORLD-WIDE DIVINE AWAKENING.” These were the words that I heard in the night after a time of deep, heart-felt prayer and reflection. I had awakened in the night with a deep concern in my spirit. My concern was, “I don’t want to spend the remainder of my life “spinning my wheels” doing good things that are not at the very center God’s will and my own divine destiny. Sue was fast asleep and so I quietly lifted up my heart to the Lord telling Him that I wanted to be in the center of His will, doing that which is strategic for His kingdom. I eventually fell off to sleep and later awakened with a sense of peace and buoyancy in my spirit and the words, “Pray For A World-Wide Divine Awakening” resonating in my heart.

Why We Must Have An “Awakening”

The Church and the world need to be “Awakened” because they are spiritually asleep. When someone is physically asleep, they are not aware of their surroundings. People can be nearby talking about them and even to them and they do not respond because they are asleep. Danger can lurk all around them and thieves can steal from them, but there is no response because they are asleep. The neighborhood can be burning all around them and there is no response on their part because they are asleep.

In a similar way, the world and the Church are spiritually asleep. The great realities of the eternal world such as heaven, hell, righteousness, judgment to come and God’s redeeming love in Christ are all around them but there is little or no response. They are asleep. These things have become so familiar and common that they no longer make an impression on their hearts and minds.

But when God, by His Holy Spirit, awakens the consciousness of the multitudes, suddenly these realities are pressed upon their minds with great force. Suddenly the eternal realities of heaven and hell and salvation only in Jesus become more real than even their physical concerns. This is why, during times of genuine Holy Spirit revival—Awakening—there is often much weeping and crying out to God for mercy as people are awakened to their precarious state. It is also why there is also great rejoicing as people are awakened to the wonderful salvation God has offered the human race in Jesus Christ.

Why It Must Be “World-Wide”

This Awakening will be world-wide, i.e., it will not be sectarian. No one preacher, church or group will be able to own or claim this revival. Revival has, too often, been sought for personal and selfish reasons. In his Lectures on Revival, Charles Finney tells of the many invitations he had received from churches and pastors wanting him to travel to their communities to promote revival. In many cases, however, he found their motives to be self-serving. Some wanted revival in order to raise their social status and influence. Others wanted revival to increase the numbers attending their meetings, which in turn would enable them to build new and larger buildings. Finney said, “When I came to weigh their reasons, I have sometimes found every one of them to be selfish. And God would look upon every one with abhorrence” (Hyatt, Revival Fire, 156).

Human nature has not changed and we must remember that God does not send an Awakening to advance our own religious programs and agendas. This Awakening is not coming to promote a particular preacher, ministry, church or nation, but to advance His purpose and His kingdom in the earth. This will be a “World-Wide” Awakening and all will benefit.

Why It Must Be “Divine”

This Awakening will be Divine, i.e., it will not be man-made. I am reminded of the words of R.A. Torrey (1856-1928) concerning the state of revival in his day. His words are also relevant for “revival” in our day. He said,

The most fundamental trouble with most of our present-day, so-called revivals is, that they are man-made and not God sent. They are worked up (I almost said faked up) by man’s cunningly devised machinery—not prayed down (Hyatt, Revival Fire, 114).

This means that this Awakening will spring forth apart from all the paraphernalia that has become associated with revival in our day. Our well-planned, orchestrated “revivals” will have to take a back seat as the Holy Spirit spontaneously breaks forth with the people and in the places and in the manner of His choosing. This Awakening will not be managed, manipulated and marketed. This will be a “Divine” Awakening.

Why We Must Pray

Jonathan Edwards once said that when God purposes to do a particular thing in the earth, He first sets His people to praying for the very thing He has purposed to do. I know God is getting ready to send a fresh wave of His Holy Spirit to this earth. Will you, therefore, join me in praying for a “WORLD-WIDE DIVINE AWAKENING?”