Pastor's Blog

“God's Way to Revival”
Walter Beuttler

The Need for Revival

Although the term revival is not found in the Bible as such, the experience is there and so is the idea. This concept is also found in an impressive variety of more or less synonymous expressions employed in prayer and promise.

“Will You not revive us again?” Psalms 85:6; “Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,” Habakkuk 3:2; “They shall revive as the corn,” Hosea 14:7; “To revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones,” Isaiah 57:15; “When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord,”Acts 3:19.

In these and other expressions the idea has to do with bringing one to a previous state in, or relationship with God by some form or measure of divine intervention.

Strictly speaking, there should be no such need. Whenever we speak of the need of revival, we indict either ourselves or others, frequently both, as having backslidden at least to some degree. Nevertheless, where such backsliding has actually occurred, this indictment constitutes a desirable confession of failure as an initial requisite to restoration. It should be obvious to everyone that God’s plan is not a continuous cycle of sinning and repenting, backsliding and restoration, but a steady growth in God and a constant walk with God on an ever-ascending path.

However, since fallen nature with its innate propensity to gravitate away from God is what it is, this ideal is unfortunately not the experience of a multitude of people as amply evidenced by the history of Israel and the Church. Israel’s apostasies in a many times repeated cycle of sin, judgment, repentance, and restoration were due to her failure to keep her covenant relationship with God.

Therefore, a new revival, so-called, was the only means to arrest Israel’s drift away from God and to restore her to divine favor in whatever possible degree for however temporary a period. Even so, Israel was still gravitating toward national disaster, a course which these revivals only temporarily interrupted but did not ultimately prevent.