What Is A Revival & Why Do We Need It?

thecouragecatalogue

Jan 104 min read

"Revival isn’t just a moment in history—it’s an undeniable move of God that transforms hearts, communities, and nations. 🌍🔥

by Leslie Aryeh

**Apostolic Faith Mission, Azusa Street, Los Angeles, 1907**

Revival is more than a spiritual buzzword or a fleeting moment in history. It represents a powerful movement of God's presence that transforms individuals, communities, and nations. Throughout Scripture and church history, revivals have marked turning points where hearts were set ablaze, lives were restored, and the Holy Spirit moved in undeniable ways. But what does revival truly mean, and why do we need it today more than ever? In this series, we explore the anticipation and fruits of revival, the prerequisites for experiencing it, and the profound transformation it brings. Join us as we unpack what revival means and how it can renew our walk with God and our impact on the world.

Revival; the why

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land" - 2 Chronicles. 7:14

We may have heard the term revival either from a discussion, a conversation with a friend from church or even from a sermon your pastor preached. What is a revival, why do we need it, what are the conditions for a revival and what are the results from a revival? You may have asked these questions inwardly."

We need revival because we need God's presence, collectively. While it is great to seek after God, individually, and to find him and walk with him, our daily interaction with the world in its current state leaves us assaulted mentally with all forms of ideologies which can make even the strongest foundations weary. We sometimes need an otherworldly reminder or a moment of refreshing that reaffirms our faith. And the more people who can attest to the same strong encounter, the stronger the affirmation.

A revival is an experiential reminder of the tangibility of God's presence and power amongst His people.

It creates a core memory of something we have witnessed together that etches a mark that can be held on to for a lifetime and its life-changing impact can be told and felt for generations.

It also provides a collective boldness with which we can stand on the truth of God's word and not be swayed by the seemingly persuasive situations around us. It creates a sense of reverence and awe, that words cannot entirely capture; if you have been speaking to someone; your sibling, child, spouse, friend or whomever and they are not entirely convinced, sometimes all they need is to be personal witnesses to an atmosphere of revival and there will be no more need for words.

God's presence in that atmosphere, also brings conviction, which leads to salvations, radical transformations and an overflow, both externally to other physical surroundings and internally to creating a depth and a thirst for more.

The Azusa street revival

The Azusa street revival started in 1906, when William Seymour, an African-American pastor was invited to shepherd a small church in Los Angeles. He had heard and personally believed preachings about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that led to the speaking of "tongues" which was a human unintelligible language divinely given through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Although many at that time did not believe and even locked him out of the church he was pastoring, Seymour's strong conviction led him to start organizing bible studies and prayer meetings in the house of one of his church members. And so it began as many poured in daily to listen and be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to the point where the front porch of the house caved in, forcing them to move to a new location.

Stories of the revival spread wide and this was one of the few places, in a time of heightened racism, that you could find blacks, whites, latinos and people of all races and ages gathered together in unity and praying and seeking the face of the Lord. This remarkable unity embodied Galatians 3:28, where Paul declares, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Eyewitness accounts describe how this unity defied cultural norms, creating a foretaste of heaven."

The Asberry home on 214 North Bonnie Brae Street. The house where he held his meetings..

Many pentecostal movements were borne out of this revival that lasted for years. Can you imagine how a revival of this nature would help transform the current state of our world, with all the tensions of war, racism and a deep sense of self entitlement? Oh that we would all pray for a revival to break out, where we do not need long debates and arguments to prove that we are right but the power of God would just flood homes and places of gathering leaving people on their knees, convicted that they cannot be the definers of righteousness but crying out for God to fill them and set them on the right path.