Lausanne World Pulse – Prayer and Revival

August 2006

By John Godson

In the history of the Church there have been times of supernatural visitations that have led to multitudes repenting from their sins and Christians rededicating their lives to God in radical obedience and deeper intimacy. When we look at the history of revival we notice one common denominator: there was some person or some group of people praying, agonizing to birth the revival. These are the Daniels, Simeons and Annas who had an understanding of the times and were willing to pay the price in fasting and prayer.

Conditions for Revival
Second Chronicles 7:13-14 clearly shows us the road to revival: “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

When we look at the Church in many parts of the world it may seem like the heavens are closed. There is drought. In nature, when there is no rain, agricultural activity is very difficult. The soil is dry and almost impossible to till; there is dust and a lack of clarity. Seeds sown do not sprout for lack of moisture; those that sprout dry up and do not bear fruit. The ones that grow up bear very little fruit. The solution is rain—abundant rain.

What is the state of the Church today? In so many ways it reflects the picture above. We sow much but reap little. We labor, but our efforts bring meager results. God has given us a solution. God says that when we find ourselves in the above situation, if we do four things he will act.

If we:

  1. Humble ourselves
  2. Pray
  3. Seek his face
  4. Turn from our wicked ways and sins

Then he will:

  1. Hear from heaven
  2. Forgive our sins
  3. Heal our land

For there to be a revival we must humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s face. We must repent, turn from our sins and ask God for forgiveness. God is merciful and faithful; he will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We need to seek him with all our hearts. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”

God wants to send his visitation, a mighty outpouring to his Church in this generation. A great harvest is coming; lands that have been closed shall open. Regimes that have been in opposition to the gospel shall fall. The knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth as the water covers the seas.

Joel 2:28-32 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

John Abraham Godson, a native of Nigeria, has been serving as a missionary in Poland for the past thirteen years. He is international director of Pilgrim Mission International. Godson also serves as chair for the Lausanne Intercession Working Group in Eastern Europe/Eurasia and as international facilitator for the Network of Nigerian Missionaries Overseas.