Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

me."
ECHOES NUMBER
LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 15, 1955
VOLUME LIV WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1955 NUMBER 17
Revival in Our Time
by Billy Graham
One of the verses that President Dwight D.
Eisenhower quoted in his inauguration message was
2 Chronicles 7:14: "// my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray,
and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
and will forgive their
then will I hear from heaven,
sin, and will heal their land." This is the great re
vival text of the Old Testament. It contains the heart
of the whole divine philosophy of revival. This is the
God-given method for bringing about a revival of re
ligion which is desperately needed in our day. This is
the method that was followed by the church down
through the centuries when great revivals came and
changed the course of history.
FIRST:
The first duty of a people seeking revival is hu
miliation before God. By pride and haughtiness of
spirit we have dishonored and grieved God. The Bible
says before God can come in contact with us, we
must humble ourselves in His sight. The pride of our
hearts is an abomination in the sight of God. God
demands that we bow in humility at the Cross of
Christ and recognize our sinfulness.
SECOND:
Prayer is the second ingredient of revival.
Prayerfulness is one of the greatest characteristics
of a life lived for God. Many prayers sound great, but
there is no life, fire or sincerity. When God's people
beseech Him, as John Knox did when he prayed for
Scotland, "Lord, give me Scotland, or I die!", then
God opens the windows of Heaven and pours out
upon us refreshing showers of His grace.
THIRD:
The Bible says that we must seek God's face.
We must draw near to Him, and then He will draw
near to us. God does not wish to have His children
approach Him as a slave approaches a cruel master,
or as a poor subject presenting his position by proxy.
He wants us to draw nigh to Him as children go to a
loving father. He wants us to come with boldness to
the Throne of Grace. He never intended that His
people should pray to Him as strangers. We are to
seek the very face of God. We are to come into the
Holiest Place and make our petitions known to Him.
When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, the veil in the
temple was rent in twain, and now we come directly
into the presence of God in the name of Christ, the
Great Intercessor, who is sitting at the right hand
of God the Father. God will hear and answer our
prayers if we seek His face in Jesus' name.
FOURTH:
Lastly, the Bible says that we are to forsake our
sins. Until we turn from our wicked
ways, God will
not answer our prayers. The Bible says, "If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear Sin
is the only thing that can separate us from God or
induce Him to hide His face from us. It dishonors
Him. With it, He can have no fellowship. No matter
how small the sin is, it can shut out our prayers from
the ears of God. If there is sin in your life forsake it,
turn from it. The first demand that God places upon
the human soul is that of repentance. We are to turn
from our sins, forsake our evil ways, our lying, pride,
gossiping and the sins that we are guilty of, as
Christians and sinners alike, and then, the Bible says,
God is going to answer our prayers.
Four things we must do: Humble ourselves;
pray; seek His face; forsake our sins. Then the
Bible says, we are ready for the great and mighty
revival that God will send.
After we have met God's condition for revival,
God promises that He will hear from Heaven, that
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