Beginning Week 2: 

So what is personal revival?  Here’s one definition: a season of your life dedicated to letting God cleanse every area of your life (heart, mind, and body), preparing you to be used for something special that He wants (and needs) you to do! 

Prayer: To spend 30 minutes a day with God for 21 Days…

Of this I’m sure.  We are—each of us—in a spiritual battle for the affection of our hearts and focus of our minds.  If the enemy can steal your affection or attention away from God…he can steal just about anything!  I’m convinced that your prayer life—spending time daily in His presence, allowing Him to search you and speak to you—will protect your heart and mind, keeping you alert (I Peter 5:8).  This, in turn, will lead to (as Oswald Chambers wrote in yesterday’s My Utmost devotional www.myutmost.org) “a series of moral choices.”  And upon living through a series of successful moral choices, you become a sharp utensil for His use (II Tim 2:21). 

For myself…the more time I spend with God, the more certain I am of His voice and the more alert I am to His Holy Spirit’s promptings…and the quicker conviction reaches my heart and His marching orders are accomplished without debate!

Purity:  To keep your eyes and actions pure during this 21 Days of Personal Revival. 

There is a very old but great book by Hannah Whitehall Smith called The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life.  She wrote, “…no surrender is effective until one says, ‘I will not.’”  She added, “Three little words, ‘Jesus saves me; Jesus saves me,’ will put to flight the greatest army of doubts ever assaulted any soul.  I have tried it many times and I have never known it to fail.”  There you go—if/when all else fails…His name will prevail.  Just get yourself to speak His name!

Purpose: To bring one person to Christ during this 21 One Day Personal Revival—to actively share and pray for lost.

Some of you have mentioned that this is more difficult than you anticipated for a variety of reasons:  you aren’t in a relationship with unbelievers, you don’t know what to say when you get to that point in a conversation, you’re not living in such a way where your actions equals your passion for evangelism, or you’re just afraid.  I so appreciate your honesty.  Again, the very best thing to can do “in the moment” or before you leave your home/dorm is to PRAY for opportunity, courage, and for God to bring someone to you!  I’m reminded of Finney’s example—he shared his faith daily with at least one person for many years!  He was intentional in so many aspects of his life and ministry.  We may or may not lead someone to Christ during these 21 days—for example, I’m sharing with 2 girls who’ve resisted the gospel for over 5 years, and yet I’m presenting Christ again to them during this 3 week period.  And if I am faithful to present Christ and they still resist, I’ll have continued to plant seeds and perhaps have the privilege of seeing the fruit in weeks, months, or years to come. 

Another definition of Personal Revival is being intentional with God in the areas of prayer, purity, and purpose. 

Have a great day!