I was asked to bring a brief word of greeting at the close of a monthly combined churches "Revival" meeting in the
So I stood up and said, "Today you've sung about revival, you've heard a special number about revival, you've prayed for revival and you've preached about revival. Now – would you like to have a revival?" They looked at me quizzically.
So I explained: "You've spent 40 minutes singing about revival and 40 minutes preaching about revival. Now how about we give Jesus 40 minutes to actually give us a revival!
Did you ever think after all this ado about revival that Jesus may actually have heard you and he may be saying, 'I've heard you – now are you ready for me to give it to you?' " I asked them.
Their faces started to light up. So I continued:
"You would have closed the meeting at this point if I hadn't got up. But what if Jesus was ready to give you a revival? You deliberately planned the others things - like singing, praying and preaching, and it was all about revival – now what about deliberately planning to give Jesus some time in the meeting to actually answer your request?"
So I asked the congregation, having already devoted 40 minutes to singing and 40 minutes to preaching, if they could spare a further 20 minutes to let God move.
They all gladly agreed.
(I knew that by the time He started moving, no-one would mind that it went way over the 20 minutes!)
By this time their faces were beaming with anticipation.
I explained that we were going to sing one song only, then just stay in our seats and welcome the Holy Spirit to come, and then just begin to respond and receive from Him any way He wants to touch us.
We sang just one song, and then I I prayed a short and simple prayer, announcing our availability and welcoming the Holy Spirit to have the rest of the meeting.
After just a short wait, people began to show signs of being touched by the Holy Spirit of the Lord.
There were shakings, tears, laughter, speaking in tongues and people in the Spirit.
Some remained in their seats while others came to the front.
It was obvious there was an outpouring going on in the room.
Others were swept up in the moment. Hallelujah!
God began to visit.
This is it – this is what Jesus wants to do. He wants us to just open the door to Him by giving Him time to move any way He wants, in our meetings.
Just give Him time – its the only requirement to seeing a great move of God.
Well it lasted quite a bit longer than the 20 minutes - and people were so thrilled and amazed at what happened – there were a lot of eager smiles and a look of glory and intense longing and satisfaction on their faces, a corporate knowing that this is it, this is what we've been waiting for.
But you know, if I hadn't lead the congregation in that way, when the next monthly "revival" meeting came around they probably would have had yet another time praying for revival – when all along Jesus had heard and was already ready to answer.
He just needed to be given permission to move in the meeting.
In a similar way, a move of God was experienced in other meetings simply by just letting God have time to move, and it grew from small beginnings into a real revival: bringing laughter, repentance, tears, tongues, interpretations, prophecies, visions, deliverance, and salvations - so much so that often many had to be carried home from the meetings.
Other churches in the city would close down their own services to be part of the meetings, some travelling from faraway distances like other cities and islands.
The church overflowed.
It then spread to schools and universities and other locations.
Once again, the simple key God was waiting for was for us to give Him time in the meetings to manifest His presence.
Waiting for God to send revival is not faith. Faith acts. Faith deliberately makes room for God to move in a meeting and faith receives the move of God.
As Smith Wigglesworth said, "Anyone who is waiting for God has mistaken the position. God is waiting for us to act".
In another instance, in
The elder explained that the couple had just been the subjects of a rather heavy counseling session and by now they were all feeling quite mentally drained – so the elder felt they needed to lighten up a bit before going home, and thought a touch of the Joy of the Lord would be good for them.
I agreed, stretched forth my hand and said, "Receive the Joy of the Lord!"
In that instant my eyes were opened and I saw an angel of the Lord appear in front of me, standing facing this couple, holding forth a golden gift in his hands to give them - their's to just take. I knew that this gift was the Joy of the Lord.
But you know, it took ten minutes before this couple started to receive the joy of the Lord.
When they got it, they really got it – they laughed and were still laughing when they got home. The husband shared about it in his church the following Sunday and laughter broke out in the congregation there too!
So why did it take ten minutes - when the angel had arrived the instant I said "receive", and the angel was there holding out his hands wanting them to take it instantly without need for delay - so why did it take ten minutes to manifest?
Its all about receiving.
And we can learn something along this line that will affect us as individuals, and as a church, and as a nation.
You see, when I laid hands on them and said, "Receive the Joy of the Lord," you know what this couple did? They started to pray. And pray more intensely.
Then they started to pray in tongues.
Then they started getting more intense, almost employing a "spiritual warfare" type prayer. Prayer was a strong-point in their church.
So I said, "Don't pray. Don't speak in tongues. You may speak in tongues all you like when you get home. But right now it's time to receive."
[We can't speak in tongues and do something else with our mouth that God may want us to do, at the same time! So if we insist on speaking in tongues or doing anything else that we are used to doing, we can delay or hinder whatever else God may have wanted us to do, or whatever else He may have wanted to give us at the time. He will patiently wait, like a gentleman.]
When I told them to stop praying, immediately they became really quiet and had a look of waiting on their faces. Still no Joy of the Lord manifested.
I realized what was going on now. Another strong point of their church was prophecy. So when I said "just receive", they assumed I was about to prophesy over them, and were silently waiting to hear my words.
"I'm not going to prophesy over you right now," I said.
[You see, sometimes we block out what God wants to do because we are so used to doing certain things, so used to functioning in a certain way.]
They finally got the message. In fact, the elder I was with grabbed the husband joyfully and said something like: "Sometimes we're so serious. I think God just wants you to laugh!" The elder laughed, instantly the Spirit moved, the husband and his wife got filled with laughter and joy and with the Spirit. Joy bells were ringing. Such refreshing! It lasted quite a while, he was still laughing when he got home and, as I said, he spread it to his whole church the following Sunday.
But it could have happened ten minutes earlier! I don't think angels like delays, they want to just do the errand the Father gives them (the will of God) then get back to His presence.
As with that individual, so with our meetings, and our churches, our cities: often, revival and the things we are desiring, are a matter of receiving it, rather than of praying more - but we keep praying; we experience unnecessary delays. Sometimes we move ahead with our programs. All the while God is waiting for a foot in.
"The pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand."
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