Last month we explored what revival looks like. I’d like to continue with the revival theme this month, since this is what’s on my heart. But I want to look at it from another perspective … not so much the WHAT and WHEN but the HOW. How can we help bring revival to our oh-so-thirsty souls and oh-so-needy world? Are there ways to speed up its arrival … things we can do to prepare for and move towards the coming of the Lord?

As I mentioned last month, an outpouring of God’s Spirit is not random. It comes when God’s people begin to ask for it and seek His face, not once in a while or casually but fervently and consistently. We cannot just hope for it. We must pray it in.

Leonard Ravenhill in his book Why Revival Tarries writes: “We will write about prayer-power, but not fight while in prayer. A title, undeniably true of the Church today, would be ‘We wrestle not!’ We will display our gifts, natural or spiritual; we will air our views, political or spiritual; we will preach a sermon or write a book to correct a brother in doctrine. But who will storm hell’s stronghold? Who will deny himself good food or good company or good rest that hell may gaze upon him wrestling … leaving in answer to his travail, a stream of blood-washed souls?”

As I’ve pondered this question – how does revival come? – I’ve been prompted to look at John the Baptist. As the forerunner for Christ’s first coming to earth, can he show us how to “make straight the way for the Lord” (John 1:23)?

What did he do, and what can we learn from him?

1. John took his God-given task seriously. It wasn’t a part-time pursuit … he gave himself fully to accomplishing it. It meant separating himself from the everyday pleasures and comforts everyone else took for granted and being willing to be different. Matthew 3:1-4 tells us he lived alone in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey, and wore clothing made from camel’s hair … not a candidate for GQ modeling, obviously.

Today, we aren’t likely to mimic John’s lifestyle choices, but are we willing to forego some frivolous pursuits to focus in on what’s far more important? How seriously are we seeking God for what the world needs most … His manifest presence? Are we willing to fast from some things we currently enjoy to ready ourselves and the world for His coming?

It’s interesting that in Isaiah 40 – where John the Baptist’s role is prophesied – it tells us something about the process involved in building the highway on which the King would ride in.  Valleys would be raised up, mountains and hills made low, rough ground would become level, and rugged places would become a plain. In other words, things would be turned upside down! Only then would “the glory of the Lord be revealed” (v. 5).

Like His first coming to earth, Jesus’ appearance in revival resembles something we’re all familiar with … road construction. In the spiritual as well as the physical world, much has to be torn up and discarded before progress can be made. In the process, the traveler will be inconvenienced for a while before he benefits from the changes being made.

When John the Baptist emerged from the desert, his message to the multitudes was simple: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). Anyone willing to confess their sins was baptized, but when the Pharisees and Sadducees approached, John roared, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (vv. 7-8).

Not exactly a Chamber of Commerce kind of welcome! But John’s no-nonsense approach was important. It would test hearts and challenge the status quo … raising the valleys and leveling the rough ground. The religious leaders couldn’t hide behind their rabbinical education, tasseled robes, phylacteries, and important seats in the synagogue. To receive God’s blessing they would need to repent and confess their sins, just like everyone else.

2. John was willing to speak the truth without worrying about how it would be received. His orders came from God, not from the culture’s self-appointed rule-makers who thought they knew better how things should be. John’s fear was for God, not mere men.

Again, we aren’t likely to stand by a river and preach repentance to everyone who walks by, as John did. But are we willing to share truth with others without worrying about how they’ll respond? If we want to usher in the Lord’s appearance in our day, we can’t cower before those who would intimidate or try to silence us. We must proclaim God’s Word without apology, sharing it with others out of our loving concern for their souls. Our proclamations should be like Jesus … full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

3. John’s dependence was on God, not on himself. He obeyed God and didn’t let his ego interfere with his purpose. As we know, John had tremendous popularity at first, but as Jesus began His public ministry, John’s audience dwindled. It would have been easy for Him to resent the shift taking place, but he knew “The bride belongs to the bridegroom … He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:29-30).

Are we humble enough to give ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever God asks of us, without worrying about how others see us? Are we willing to decrease that Jesus might increase? How dependent on God are we? It will be evident by how consistently and fervently we pray. Only those dependent on Him will see prayer as a wise (vital) investment of their time.

David Platt writes in his book Radical, “Our great need is to fall before an almighty Father day and night and to plead for him to show his radical power in and through us, enabling us to accomplish for his glory what we could never imagine in our own strength.”

Maybe the pandemic we are currently experiencing is a gift to reorient our lives, to do some road construction that will prepare the way for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit. Ushering in His coming is worth every inconvenience or sacrifice we might be asked to make in the process.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!