An Ancient Pattern for Revival

By Dan and Melissa Jarvis

If you knew God only wanted you to do two things before blessing you with a revival of His presence—would you do them?

What if they required real sacrifice? A rearrangement of priorities? What if you’d have to give up things in your life, your household, your relationships, and even in your future?

The Bible is full of such calls to absolute commitment: “deny yourself and follow me,” “give up everything you have,” “sell your possessions and give to the poor,” or even “pray without ceasing.” So what if the road to revival is paved with the same kind of surrender—radical, full-life obedience?

Old Testament history reads like a textbook for revival. We find many examples of wayward souls returning to God, from individuals to an entire nation. And, upon study of these spiritual transformations, a pattern emerges—not a “formula,” not “revival in bottle,” but a pattern that holds true 100 percent of the time.

Every time God moves to restore His people, every time there is a fresh wind of blessing and power in their midst—two components emerge. Grab your Bible and journey with us through seven revival moments in Israel’s history. You’ll quickly see the biblical pattern.

Revival #1:  No More Tricks

God called Jacob to go to Bethel (Gen. 35:1–15) to worship. Jacob immediately turned to the members of his household: “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing” (v. 2, NLT). God gave Jacob’s band of family members and servants a special umbrella of protection so that they could safely return to this special place. Jacob built a new altar to the Lord, and it was also here that Jacob was renamed “Israel,” beloved of God.

When God called Jacob to worship, it wasn’t enough to bow in prayer, or even to lead his household in praise. No, he needed to do something before the worship could begin. He had to get rid of the idols. Once those were gone, once his household was purified, the real blessing and power of God showed up in force, even sending “a terror” upon Jacob’s potential enemies.

Revival #2:  Changing the Game

When a prophet approached King Asa, he brought a message of mixed news from God (2 Chron. 15:1–15): “The Lord is with you when you are with Him” (v. 2). Clear enough. Asa immediately “took courage and removed the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin . . . He repaired the altar of the Lord, that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple” (vs. 8).

The people obeyed God and “entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul” (v. 12). God’s blessing descended upon them, just as the prophet promised. Scripture tells us, “They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side” (v. 15).

Revival #3:  Refreshed Covenant

Jehoiada the priest seized the moment after a coup against an evil queen (2 Kings 11–12). He anointed a new king (Joash, a child just seven years old) and he “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people” (11:17). This priest meant business. He led the people to demolish the altars dedicated to Baal, smashing their idols to pieces. Then, as the young king Joash grew up, he and Jehoiada arranged to repair the temple so that worship could once again commence in Judah.

Imagine these scenes playing out today: bands of joyful, recommitted followers of God eagerly seeking out and destroying any vestiges of evil in their land, then uniting in great offerings over several years to refurbish God’s temple. For a brief period in this usually dark segment of biblical history, a faithful priest stood up against the evil he saw—and a spiritual revival resulted!

Revival #4:  Faithful in Everything

Hezekiah began ruling in Judah, and unlike so many leaders at the time, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. . . . He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:3–7; 2 Chron. 29–30).

This king went directly to the source of evil in his nation. He removed the idols and shrines dedicated to pagan gods, and he did more—he destroyed them. Moreover, he set out to restore the temple and to reinstitute worship and Passover celebrations. He sent runners throughout the land, announcing the joyful news of God’s presence and blessing. After the seven-day celebration of Passover—singing and feasting and joy—the people were so enthralled with God’s truth that they extended the Passover celebration for an additional seven days. It was written, “There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem” (2 Chron. 30:26).

Revival #5:  Fundamental Change

Manasseh was among the most evil kings in Jerusalem’s history. His son Josiah was the opposite. He pleased God, even though his nation had strayed far from the truth. One day, during a restoration of God’s temple that Josiah had ordered, workers found a copy of God’s Law (lost until then) in the ruins. Upon hearing it, Josiah immediately humbled himself and sought to be a faithful king. He eradicated idols from the land and called on the people to follow the Law of Moses (2 Kings 22–23; 2 Chronicles 34–35).

After reading the Law to his people, King Josiah took his place of authority and “renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:3). He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. Later in the chapter we read, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (23:25).

Revival #6:  Prophets with Good News

When Haggai and Zechariah began preaching a renewed commitment to rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, they immediately aroused the suspicion of faraway imperial leaders. However, upon working through the bureaucracy and history of the matter, King Darius not only agreed to allow the project to continue, but even offered to fund it out of the royal treasury (Ezra 5–6). This pagan emperor ended up decreeing to his regional governor that, “you are to help these elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay, from my taxes collected. . . . May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as a place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command or destroys this Temple” (Ezra 6:8, 12, NLT).

Shortly thereafter, the returned exiles observed a massive Passover celebration. The people once again had a place where they could worship God freely. They repented of their immorality in order to seek God once again. “There was great joy throughout the land. . .” (v. 22, NLT).

Revival #7:  A Month of Transformation

When Ezra stood to read the law, the moral climate of Israel began changing rapidly. With fasting and prayer, the people gathered to confess their sins, separated themselves from the foreigners who had led them into wickedness, and repented toward God. One of their ceremonies involved six hours of Scripture reading and confession (Neh. 9–12). Then, the leaders called out to the people, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting” (9:5).

The congregation of God’s people was filled with a sense of commitment. They made a solemn promise before God to “obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord” (10:29). They concluded their vow: “We will not neglect the house of our God” (10:39).

The Obvious Pattern

So, can you see it? Can you identify the two-part pattern evident in revival movements?

First, something had to be destroyed. Then worship had to commence. From Jacob to Ezra, when Israel was called to return to God’s love and God’s law, they first obliterated their idols. Then they set out to worship with the best of their music, architecture, prayer, and obedience. Revival wasn’t just a theory or a theme or a set of special meetings, it was a new life and new commitment that changed everything.

Can we pray for this sort of spiritual transformation today? Times are different, to be sure. God’s people and God’s plan look very different from the ancient monarchy of Israel. But the principles of revival still ring true, do they not? Are we still tempted to cling to idols, holding back the best of our worship from God? Do we still look for security in earthly things, setting them up as “gods” we hold in high esteem?

Would it not be appropriate for us to “destroy” the idols in our hearts and homes, then return to worship God in spirit and in truth?

Making It Personal

Here is a prayer assignment to help you incorporate this pattern for revival into your own life.

1. Walk through the Scriptures mentioned in each of our seven examples. Pray that God will give you wisdom to equate these ancient accounts with the here-and-now spiritual needs you face.
2. Ask God to search your heart for any idols that remain in your life. If His Spirit reveals an idol, take immediate and drastic action to destroy it. Don’t let anything stand between you and the rich relationship with God you were created to enjoy forever. Jesus must be first place in your heart.
3. Ask God to show you what it would look like for you to rebuild and renew your worship. If you need revival, you may have failed to give Christ the worship of your heart and soul for months, years, or even decades. Like God’s people in ages past, repent and then give your very best to Him.
4. Extend this prayer pattern to your church and your nation. After you have dealt personally and thoroughly with God on these matters, begin praying for your church and your nation to experience the same kind of life-changing, history-altering, joy-inducing revival as the Old Testament reports. If God inspired and empowered that kind of change then, He certainly can do it now.

Let’s destroy our idols, worship God with all we have, and pray for revival!

DAN AND MELISSA JARVIS serve on the leadership team of Life Action Ministries, a group that helps believers and churches seek God for revival. Follow Dan on Twitter @danjarvisus.

Calling the Church to Prayer

In response to our desperate need for revival in the Church and a spiritual awakening in our country, America’s National Prayer Committee, the Awakening America Alliance, and OneCry are issuing a call to believers to join a national Rhythm of Prayer.

The National Prayer Accord was first issued during the First Great Awakening in the United States during the 1730s and ‘40s. This Prayer Accord is now reissued in this dark hour as a simple pattern of prayer we can embrace in unity to ask Jesus Christ to once again pour out His Spirit on the Church.

The National Prayer Accord

In recognition of:

• Our absolute dependence on God
• The moral and spiritual challenges facing our nation
• Our national need for repentance and divine intervention
• Our great hope for a general awakening to the Lordship of Christ, the unity of His Body, and the sovereignty of His Kingdom

We strongly urge all churches and all Christians of America to unite in seeking the face of God through prayer and fasting, persistently asking our Father to send revival to the Church and spiritual awakening to our nation so that Christ’s Great Commission might be fulfilled worldwide in our generation.   We resolve to promote as an ongoing Prayer Rhythm:

• Weekly—one-half-hour to one-hour private or small group prayer
• Monthly—one- to two-hour individual church prayer gatherings
• Quarterly—one- to two-hour local, multiple church prayer gatherings
• Annually—The National Day of Prayer (first Thursday of May), Cry Out America prayer gatherings (September 11).

Coming Next Issue

 In One Accord

As a way to show our support for the National Prayer Accord, Prayer Connect will launch “In One Accord,” a new column starting next issue. This column is designed to provide encouragement and challenge to those who have hearts to pray for revival. It will also provide prayer points we can pray together in unity. We believe revival is desperately needed in the Church today—and that it is God’s heart to pour out an awakening. We encourage believers everywhere to join us in seeking God for spiritual revival.