A National Imperative: Spiritual Awakening Series

JESUS said, “Repent and believe” (Mark 1:15).

1. The world is falling apart, nations are crumbling, people everywhere are confused and fearful. Such things reveal our human limitations. Our problems are clearly beyond the scope of our human abilities. But thankfully, nothing is too hard for the Lord God Almighty. It is time to pray to God for a spiritual awakening. Such an awakening must begin with you. You must be spiritually awakened before you can effectively pray for others to be awakened.

“I cried out to Him [GOD] with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer” (Psalm 66:17-19 NIV).

2. Prayer is not religious chants or vain repetitions. Prayer is talking to Holy God. If you want to pray effectively, first make sure that you are spiritually attuned to the Lord. “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4 NASB). The Apostle James reiterates this, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8NKJV) This is not about geography, it is about spiritual intimacy. When you are born of the Spirit, you become one with God through your union with Christ. Therefore, you can’t get any closer to God than you are in Christ. However, the outer man of the flesh may at times need to be cleansed of sin, while the inner man of the spirit needs to be purified of double-mindedness. You must have an open line of communication with a clear channel between Heaven and Earth for prayer to be effective.

The old hymn says it well, “It's me, it's me O Lord, standin’ in the need of prayer.” Therefore, you should address your needs first. “It is time for judgment to begin with God's household” (1 Peter 4:17 NIV). This means God must first work in you before He can work through you. He will show you what is hindering you, not to put you down, but to pick you up. That’s what God’s grace is all about!

3. Before you talk to God about your personal needs or the concerns of others, be sure that you have talked to Him about your personal relationship and fellowship with Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to awaken you to any area of your life where you have been deceived. This is not necessarily about exposing some vile wicked sin. It is simply about your having a clean vessel, fit for the Master’s use. However, any sins He may show you are only symptoms of your real problem: fleshly dependency.

Your fleshly dependency will always quench the Holy Spirit, thus hindering the Lord from working in and through your life. Therefore, Paul exhorts us to “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19 KJV). It is because of our fleshly dependency, which is quenching the Holy Spirit, that we need a spiritual awakening.

4. Spiritual awakening is a work of God’s grace from start to finish. “If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25 KJV). Spiritual awakening begins with repentance. Jesus stressed the importance of repentance when He said, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:5 NIV). Jesus made it clear that repentance is essential for everyone.

5. What is repentance? Repentance is a change of thinking that results in a change of actions. You were wrong, you were going the wrong way. God alone is right! Therefore, you must turn from your faulty thinking and turn to the Lord so that you can go God’s way with your life. God grants repentance by revealing your erroneous ways, wrong ideas, and faulty beliefs. Then, He causes you to acknowledge the truth so that He might enable you to go the right way—His way with your life. Repentance enables us to recognize that we are going in the wrong direction so that we can turn from it, and then acknowledge what is right so that we can turn to it. For example, if you make a wrong turn while driving an automobile, as soon as you realize it you immediately turn around and begin going the right direction again. Likewise, God gives us repentance by showing us we are headed in the wrong direction and enabling us to turn around.

God giving repentance is in itself a work of God’s grace. Grace means God gives something to us or does something for us. Furthermore, what God gives is undeserved, unearned and unattainable by us. In this case, God gives us the ability to repent. Thus, even repentance is a gift from God—the grace of repentance.