Pray for Renewal, Then Revival

November 3

My friends and I know we need Jesus. We’re broken people, seeking renewal in him. That’s why I love Wednesday night prayer meeting. It’s real, raw, sometimes painful. We share where God has us, why it hurts, and how deeply we need Jesus to refresh our hearts.

Last Wednesday, my friends and I tried to answer the question of how we can better pray for revival in our city—how we can pour ourselves into witnessing to our lost neighbors.

And we realized we couldn’t. Not by ourselves. A vessel can’t pour living water until it’s filled.

But lately, I’ve found myself trying. I close my Bible after a mentally muddled reading and sit down to spin an article for someone’s encouragement. It’s no wonder I come up dry.

My neighborhood, city, and nation are aching for revival, but it needs to start in my heart. In your heart.

That’s why prayer is vital, because empty vessels are useless vessels. Pray to be brimming so you can be poured. Pray the words of David:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me… Restore to me the joy of my salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit (Ps. 51:10, 12).