And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

Galatians 4:6

This is one of the most powerful statements of prayer in the entire Bible. It is a wonderful statement of intimacy. You may be aware that Abba is a Hebrew word. That is only partially true. It was, in fact, an Aramaic word. Hebrew was the language taught in the synagogue. It was the language of the Torah, the Old Testament law. But in the days of Jesus Aramaic was the language spoken in the home. Abba does mean father, but it might more accurately be translated, "Daddy." It could be translated, "Dada."

Before our first grandchild was born our family talked about grandparent names. Although I admit it is not as clever as some, I wanted to be called, "grandfather." My wife immediately said, "The poor little thing won't be able to say that." I answered, "I will answer to whatever she calls me." And sure enough, my grandchildren call me, "Gaga."

Abba would have been the first effort of a baby to say its father's name. The significance of Mama, Dada or Abba is intimacy. The baby saying that word is not asking for the car keys. She wants her parent's arms. She is clinging to your neck. The Holy Spirit inspires us to cry out for God's embrace.

Such a prayer is also passionate. You may note that the English Standard Version quoted above follows this statement with an exclamation point. That is because of the force of the word, "cry." The word Abba is only used once in the gospel accounts. In Mark 14 Jesus used this word to cry out to His Father as He sweated blood "with loud cries and tears" in the garden before the cross.

Abba is also used in Romans 8:15 which also says by the Spirit we cry, "Abba, Father." In the same context Romans 8:26 says the Spirit intercedes for us with groaning. We live in a groaning world. Romans 8:20 says creation itself was subjected to pain and frustration. The godly response to this world of suffering must include passionate prayer. And it is crucial to see that this verse is calling us to supernaturally inspired prayer. If the Holy Spirit is present in your life, He will inspire you to cry out, "Abba, Father," to our God. 

Catalyst

So just what is a catalyst? Chemistry students will likely think of a substance that brings about a chemical reaction. But another definition is, a person or thing that precipitates an event. Have you ever experienced a person enter into a room full of hostile and hateful people and seen them thaw out, smile, and enjoy a new atmosphere for a while? This reminds me of a report from the earlier Welsh revival. The revival so vividly transformed the vocabulary of the coal miners, that they had to retrain the mules to understand their new commands.

When a movement sweeps in and overnight changes what comes out of the mouth of a salty coal miner, this is an unmistakable work of God. If you doubt that, just how successful have you been in controlling your own mouth?

But this introduction merely sets the stage for a difficult question. What precedents might have led up to such a sweeping revival that is impossible for men to orchestrate? So in our considerations today of possible factors that have preceded revival, we now ask, “what might be considered a catalyst for revival?” From our beginning definition I’d like to propose that we are looking for a person or thing that precipitates an event. I am going to suggest that a revival catalyst is a person whom God uses through persistent prayer and godly attitudes and attributes to precipitate revival that only God can bring about. What might that list of qualities include?

Listed below are several attributes that seem to capture God’s attention as he looks us all over to find a heart that he can trust.

• Humility
• Brokenness over personal, regional, and national sin
• Hunger and thirst for God
• Obedience, as a way of responding to God’s love
• Keeping our word, especially when it hurts
• Patience and endurance, especially in prayers of humility, repentance, adoration, & intercession
• Integrity
• Holiness
• Passion (Hot; NOT lukewarm)
• Respect, Honor, “Fear,” Worship of God
• Desperation

Please respond in two ways: 1-let me know what qualities are missing; 2- join me in praying for revival beginning with us and moving outward throughout God’s sphere of influence.

For inspiration I have two suggestions: 1-go next week to see the movie War Room; 2- read up on the Moravians who gave up their bickering, gripes, and hostilities for unquenchable round-the-clock prayer that promoted John 17 unity and whetted the appetite for thousands to love and serve God!

What is your passion?

Our friends the Stanley’s, a family of five, left today (1-18-2015) at 5 PM from Dallas on a one way trip to Uganda. To support themselves and their work, they took about 46 luggage bags with them. They have prepared a good while for this adventure, including prayer for praying and financial partners to get behind them, and for in country preparations. They plan to be bringing educational opportunities through school as well as brand-new spiritual life to others when they place their trust in Jesus and his promises.

Last night a large gathering worshiped Jesus, as led by the Stanley’s. We prayed for them, hugged them, wrote encouraging notes for their rainy day reading, and said our goodbyes. The whole family is very excited about this new venture of going around the world as ambassadors for Christ. One of the motivators for the husband was the enthusiastic feedback of a man who walked miles and miles in Uganda on a previous trip to express his appreciation that Floyd shared the good news of salvation and heaven through Christ’s work on the cross.

We each have 24 hours to invest every day. Independent of geography, God can take what we do have, and which we are willing to turn over for His management, and multiply it in the mental, spiritual, physical, and eternal domains.  Martyr Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”  Jesus agreed with that statement by telling us that a man must lose his life in order to find it in Him. We tend to hold onto things tightly in order to try to feel more secure, but the secret is just the opposite; we gain freedom, effectiveness, joy, and eternal success by entrusting all that we have to the Lord. As an example, Isaiah 55 says that God’s ways and thoughts are not ours, just as heaven is much higher than the earth.

So this is a good time for each of us to consider, what is our passion? And also, what is the source of our passion? David was a man after God’s own heart and he was clearly very passionate as we see from his writings in the Psalms. God loves a passionate person to such an extent that he prefers that we be hot or cold, compared to lukewarm. We see Jesus’ rare public display of passion, when his anger and action overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. He explained that the zeal of His Father’s house had eaten him up, or consumed him. He also explained that the correct use of the temple, intended by His Father, was a house of prayer. He had a passionate feeling and expression of this zeal.

We may not have the passion of a Stanley family, a Jim Elliott, or Jesus Himself, but we can rest assured that as we seek God, he will lead us to discover the plans he has for us, and he will enhance it with a passion to see that carried out. Please consider praying about this and listening for His promise to answer. His eyes are searching the entire Earth for people who are dedicated to Him and will take Him seriously and do what He says. May we each be one of those kinds of people.

On the eve of 3-1-15 I am requesting prayer for 2 Stanley children who just came down with malaria, Reagan (teen girl) and Tyler (teen boy with 103 degree fever) in hospital in Uganda.  Thanks!

Whose heart are you praying? It is often a step of growth for a person to move from praying casual prayers to crying out to God with their heart. But it is greater spiritual growth to move to praying God’s heart. Even a new Christian can desire to please God. And you don't have to be a spiritual giant to know the best things that ever happen are the will of God. As we grow in those prayers, We begin to long for those things that God desires.

YOU CAN PRAY FOR THE PURPOSES OF GOD.

Read your Bible daily asking God to show you His purpose and purposes. You can ask God to show you His purposes all around you. You know that God is not willing for anyone to parish. Are you praying for lost people He has brought into your life? You know He desires holiness. It is easy to complain about the wickedness that we see in politics, the media and modern society. But it is more important to pray for God to bring about His holiness.

MISSIONS ARE ON GOD’S HEART.

Are you praying for missions and missionaries around the world? Start with someone you know or know about. Keep in touch with that person. Pray earnestly for God’s mighty hand on them. From there ask God to show you more who take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Ask God to expand your passion for the world that Jesus came to save.

YOU CAN PRAY FOR COMPASSION.

Are you asking God to stir your heart with His love? Ask Him to give you His love for people all around you.

PRAY FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

Spiritual growth can be painful. We often waste our prayer tmes asking God to make us comfortable. You can pray for God to do what is necessary in your life to make you strong. I sometimes find myself in the midst of pain or difficulty praying for God to keep me from missing the blessing or benefit He intends for me out of the situation. “Father, it would be terrible for me to go through this suffering and still miss what you intend to do in my life.” I find this much more satisfying that simply praying that God will get me out of the painful situation.

http://daveswatch.com/

I hope you are doing well today. But if not, there’s a good chance you’ve found someone else to blame for your malaise. 

You know what I mean. You’re in a bad mood, so you blame it on the lack of affection you’re receiving from your spouse. Your bank account is empty, and you’re convinced it’s because your employer is too stingy to pay you enough. Your spiritual life is bone dry, so you claim it’s the result of your pastor’s uninspiring preaching. You don’t like your situation in life, and you say you’re waiting on God to fix it someday.

But perhaps you’re looking in the wrong direction for your spiritual, emotional, or financial revival. The person to blame may be a lot closer than you think…

One day the prophet Isaiah cried out to God in despair: “There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities” (Isaiah 64:7). Isaiah’s observation holds a vital key for whatever breakthrough we seek in our lives today: We must “arouse ourselves” to take hold of the Lord!

While the Bible also commands us to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24 ESV), this is not ordinarily where a spiritual awakening begins. You see, it’s not primarily the responsibility of other people—your spouse, your friends, your employer, or your pastor—to rouse you from your lethargy. Even God Himself won’t bring you to a place of renewal and restoration until you rouse yourself to take hold of Him.

Make no mistake about it: Rousing yourself isn’t a one-time proposition but something you must do on a regular basis. Paul told Timothy to “kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). Other translations say we must “stir up” or “fan into flame” the gifts and callings of God in our lives. 

Before the day is over, I encourage you to spend some time with the Lord to arouse yourself and take hold of Him in a fresh way. And once that happens, you’ll be in a position to also stir up others to a renewed passion for their calling in God. There’s no need to wait for someone else!

I am confident that when most of us ask God for something we're very serious about it. We SO want that person to be healed, a friend's marriage to be restored or someone in our church to receive comfort. We passionately desire our children to be godly, our relationships to be whole and our unbelieving friend to know Christ.

However, there are times when in our praying we may be trying a bit too hard and we start to add some of our own extras that God really doesn't need and that won't get us extra results. Let me suggest a few cautions:

Don't talk louder. Some people even like to yell. I've heard pastors especially in their passion imply that talking to God with higher volume will get a greater response. I doubt it. If anything it just scares people and certainly isn't suggested in the Word. They may mean well or be overcome with concern but perhaps it should not be the norm. I don't want my kids yelling at me when they want something, do you?  Does God?

Don't pray longer.  Yes, we need to spend time in God's presence but I'm pretty sure that God looks at the intent and purity of our heart more than the length of our prayer.  He wants time with us, for sure, but isn't likely interested in long lengthy descriptions of the needs that He knows even before we ask HIm.

Don't use bigger words.  I've heard many pastors who literally change their vocabulary once they start to pray, focusing on five dollar words and lofty spiritual language. But I have a hunch that God views prayer as more of a conversation and won't change his response if we just step up our terms.

Don't demand from God. We love to claim, count on and cajole things from God when prayer is to be more about a conversation with the Father,  coming into agreement and fellowship with Him about what He knows is best. Does God answer specific requests?  Or course, He does, but He also gives us gifts as His children, not as union workers who require a pay raise because we were sure it was promised to us.

Don't bargain with God.   I travel overseas a good bit and know there are places where we can wheel and deal with vendors about souvenirs and gifts. It's OK, normal and expected there. But not in Heaven. God isn't in the bargaining business even though He loves us more than we can know. We're better to "make our requests known unto God," and then rest in the peace of God promised as well in Philippians 4.

Passionate about praying?  Good for you. Don't quit. Just make sure you're not trying too hard to make something happen. That's up to God.

"Every significant outpouring of the Spirit seems to have been preceded by earnest, agonizing intercession, accompanied by a heartbrokenness and humiliation before God... Let no one pray for revival—let no one pray for a mighty baptism of power who is not prepared for deep heart-searchings and confession of sin in his personal life. Revival, in its beginnings, is a most humiliating experience. When one, like Isaiah, sees himself in the light of God's holiness he must inevitably cry, 'Woe is me!' Deep spiritual awakenings, whether in local churches or in whole countries, begin with desperate people." Rick Joyner

There has never been a revival without passion. There is a deep heart-searching and desperation over personal sin and the sin of the people. The Welsh revival had these characteristics—a deep conviction of sin along with intercession and repentance. Many of us find it very hard to add prayer meetings into our already busy schedules—but when a mighty revival is moving—all of this doesn’t seem to matter.

Prayer and getting right with God become all important. 

In pondering such moves of God and seeing our need for passionate prayer and a greater concern for souls, certainly our desperate cry should be for revival to sweep across the nations. We need to search our own hearts and cry out, “God, purify me!” Evan Roberts, the young man who was used so powerfully by God in the Welsh revival of 1904, prayed passionately that God would purify and bend the Church. He prayed that God would break his own heart over the condition of mankind—His heart was set on obedience—Agonizing prayer was his daily life style. Well-known author and founder of Morningstar, Rick Joyner, said this about him: 

"Evan Roberts captured the spirit of the whole revival with the theme: Bend the Church and Save the World. James E. Stewart claimed that this is the secret of every true awakening. Christians must humble themselves and get right with God so that the Spirit can break through in converting power upon the unsaved. There must be no hypocrisy; the Christian must bend to all the will of God for His life in perfect obedience before the Spirit of God is released. When we are bent to the will of God we will be intercessors, because as He 'ever lives to intercede' for His people, if we are abiding in Him we will do the same."

Are we willing to pay the price to actually let God bend us as he did Evan Roberts?   

Characteristics of Revival Passion

It is helpful to look at some of the meanings of the word “passion” in Webster’s Dictionary as we think of the characteristics of revival passion. The word “passion” means “highly excited, expressing strong emotion, with strong feeling, zeal, eager desire.” Great passion and zeal were expressed in the past revivals. This passion was for holiness, for purity of life, and for obedience. 

Those in the revival had strong emotions as they yearned for the salvation of the lost. Because of their great passion for souls, preachers were zealous for a fearless proclamation of the truth and brought God’s Word with deep conviction and mighty unction, bringing sinners face to face with the Almighty God. As a result, multitudes would weep with great agony of soul as they were confronted with the sin in their own heart. These were the characteristics of revivals in the past. This is what we need in our present day. 

• A passion for God’s Word and anointed preaching. Revivals are characterized by a powerful and passionate proclamation of the truth. The preaching is extremely anointed, spontaneous, and fearless. Revival preaching centers on Christ, bringing conviction of sin to all its listeners. The words are spoken with a demonstration of the power of God with a supernatural boldness and unction. People are hungry for God’s Word.
  
  “In the Evans Mills revival, Finney recalls: ‘The Spirit of God came upon me with such power that it was like opening a battery upon them. For more than an hour, the Word of God came through me to them in such a manner that I could see was carrying all before it. It was a fire and a hammer breaking the rock, and as the word that was piercing… I saw a general conviction was spreading over the whole audience.’” Winkie Pratney
  
  "With a demonstration of the Spirit's power" (1 Corinthians 2:4).
   

• A passion for prayer and holiness. Those in the revival had a deep passion for prayer and for getting their lives right with God. There was no toleration of sin. There was humility, an urgent confession of sin, and a holy fear of God. Worldliness was forsaken and large numbers would attend early prayer meetings on a daily basis. People were bent on obeying the will of God.
  
  "Thousands of believers, often unknown to each other, in small towns and great cities, cried to God day after day for the fire of revival to fall. This was not merely 'a little talk with Jesus' but daily agonizing intercession. These were devoted saints who had given their lives to the sacrifice of prayer and worship. They were so jealous for the name of their God that they agonized day and night because of the way Satan was being glorified all around them and they yearned from the depths of their beings to see the Lord's name lifted up in Wales. They constantly reminded God of what He had done in 1859, through the Second Great Awakening, and begged Him to pour out His Spirit again.” Rick Joyner
  
  "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10).
   

• A Passion for the Lost. The concern for the lost during the revival was extraordinary. There was praying with tears and a passion to see souls saved. The joy of knowing Christ could not be hidden. Everyone was a brightly shining lamplight to neighbors and co-workers, powerfully attracting unbelievers to that light.
  
  “There can be no revival without soul-winning. In saving lost souls the Welsh Revival must be considered one of the most intense and effective revivals of all time. This was not a program for a few preachers or a campaign to get church members testifying to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. There were no classes given on how to reach the lost. It just seemed that every Christian in Wales erupted simultaneously with a burning agony for the lost. The joy of salvation simply could not be contained by the believers as every coal mine, tramcar, office, school or ship became a pulpit for the gospel… There was no set pattern of strategy for the witnessing; it was simply born out of an overflowing joy and faith that could not be contained in those who knew the Savior.” Rick Joyner
  
  "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand souls were added to their number that day" (Acts 2:42).
   

Fervent, passionate prayer for revival in our churches will change the messages in the pulpit into ones of tremendous power.

Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, and they decided to go and hear the well-known preacher, Charles Spurgeon. While they were waiting for the doors of the church to open, a man greeted them at the door and asked, “Gentlemen, would you like me to show you around the church? Would you like me to show you the heating plant of this church?” It was a very hot day in July and so they were not very excited about his offer. But they said, “yes” because they didn’t want to offend the man. The young men were taken down a long stairway, and the door was quietly opened. Their guide whispered to them, “This is our heating plant.” The young college students looked through the door in complete surprise. 

In that room were 700 people bowed in passionate prayer seeking God’s blessing on the service that would soon begin in the auditorium above. The guide softly closed the door. He turned to them and introduced himself as Charles Spurgeon.

Passionate prayer was the secret to his powerful preaching. 

Passionate and desperate prayer will be characteristic of the coming revival. God wants to take us deeper in passion and fervency in our prayers. Holy desperation for the presence of God is the key to transformation.

Are we desperate enough to change our life styles for God?  
      
"Both international and local revivals have been distinctly linked to special prayer… The coming revival will be no exception. An extraordinary spirit of prayer, urging believers to much secret and united prayer, pressing them to labor fervently (Colossians 4:12) in their supplications, will be one of the surest signs of approaching showers and floods of blessing." Andrew Murray

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Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
International House of Prayer KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org