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!
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