It was the American poet and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, who observed that most people "lead lives of quiet desperation".
Humanly
speaking, there is no shortage of reasons for those feelings of
desperation. And in the wake of the blaring headlines that remind us
every day of shattered dreams, broken promises, economic woes, and
international tensions, some people are taking desperate measures to
deal with the stress. Hardly a week goes by that we don't read one or
more people resorting to horrific violence against others and against
themselves.
Countless others, who would not actually pull a
trigger, are nonetheless giving in to despair. Many of them try to
escape or mask the pain by substituting alcohol, drugs, food, sex,
fantasy reading, or improper use of internet for a relationship with the
living God.
There is hope in my heart as I sense His hand
orchestrating circumstances in lives and in our world, so that
self-made, self-reliant people will realize their need and become
desperate for Him. I wonder if we could be experiencing the prelude to
real revival and spiritual awakening.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE GREAT "PRAYER REVIVAL" OF 1857-58 WAS PRECIPITATED BY A COLLAPSE OF THE NATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM?
Just
weeks before the crash, a man named Jeremiah Lanphier had organized a
noontime prayer meeting in a small church near Wall Street. In the wake
of the Industrial Revolution, with people making money hand over fist,
few were interested in stopping to pray during their lunch break.
Affluence has never been a friend to grace.
The first
prayer meeting took place on September 23, 1857. Two days later , the
Bank of Philadelphia failed. On October 10, when the stock market
crashed, people's priorities changed radically and virtually overnight.
As mass hysteria over the nation's financial situation set in, thousands
of people began attending the prayer meetings, desperate for hope and
answers. Historians estimate that as many as one million men and women
came to faith in Jesus Christ within a matter of months.
I
believe that the single greatest thing that qualifies us for a movement
of God in our hearts is recognition of our need. As long as we're doing
fine on our oown (or think we are), we will never cry out to God for
his grace.
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| Cherish your heart!♥ |
So let us rejoice in every evidence that God is
manifesting Himself to the hearts of his people, that Christ is being
exalted, that the Holy Spirit is stirring God's people to seek His face,
and that believers are responding to Him in humility, repentance,
faith, and obedience. I long to see the fulfillment of His promise that
"the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all the flesh shall see it"
(Isa. 40:5). May it be so in our day and in the days to come.. Revive
your heart♥
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