Today as I was waking up, the Spirit of God began talking to me about the spirit of revival and causing me to ponder the real meaning of what it takes for revival to come.

I was then reminded of the story in John 5:1-8, where Jesus came to the man at the pool of Bethesda who was “impotent” as the Bible described him. He had been waiting in that state for over 38 years for someone to come along and help him be first to get into the pool when the angel came to stir the water and receive a miracle of healing. How interesting.

The church today appears to be doing the same thing. We go to church and passively sit back and wait for God to show up and drag us into the Spirit to experience some magical manifestation to cause us to be excited. When Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be made whole, all the man could do was whine with the excuse that no one would help him.

How many times do we miss out on a real miracle from God because we are focusing on ourselves instead of seeing the Hand of God being extended to us? Revival, is comparable to the angel coming to stir the water. We talk about when revival will come, but we do nothing to be a part of its arrival. We are too focused on looking at our daily problems. We act like we know it’s coming; we just don’t know when.

When God sends revival, it is always in direct response to the condition of the heart and where there is a cry for more of God. The main result of revival is to stir the hearts of the people to cause them to draw near to God and turn from their carnal living. What does it take for revival to be poured out?

Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

First of all, God will speak to His prophets in order to cause them to prepare the people. He used Jeremiah, Jonah, Ezekiel, and many others in the Bible to forewarn of His plans.

There are many people today who are very quick to call themselves a prophet, to draw attention to themselves, not counting the cost of such a calling that will strip a person of all pride and ego, in order to be worthy of such a calling.

The second thing is that when the people receive the Word of the Lord, they respond with immediate penitence from a humble heart. The man at the pool of Bethesda received his miracle after he received the Word of the Lord, to stand up and take up his bed and walk.

That meant, he had to be obedient to act in faith, and then change his living conditions accordingly, by picking up the one thing he had been bound to in impotency. We have to be willing to walk away from everything that holds us captive to the old things not of God and run toward God’s miracle provision.

That means first and foremost letting God renew our minds to drive out doubt and unbelief. When we become willing to let the Word of God and nothing else be the guide for each day of our lives, that is when revival has fully come because that is the only thing that will release the presence of God for total revival.

God wants the world to see His miracle power to cause them to glorify His Great Name. Are you hungry for a true visitation of God to show forth His power in your life?

~ Jeanne Hibbard Bowen

Jeanne Hibbard Bowen

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