I recently read Leonard Ravenhill’s Why Revival Tarries. In it, he laments that only a few people are truly praying for revival in the Church. He writes that there are two prerequisites for dynamic Christian living: vision and passion, and that both are born in the prayer closet.
His words made me stop and ask: What about us?
Are we praying for revival in our church? Are we faithfully praying for our ministries? Are we seeking God to accomplish His plans for Bethesda Chapel rather than our own?
Prayer is our way of acknowledging that we cannot do God’s work in our own strength. When we pray, we are saying, “Lord, we need You. Lead us. Guide us. Build Your church through us.” God hears our prayers and sees our hearts. He desires to be at the centre of all we do, leading our ministries, decisions, and every step we take.
Too often, we treat God as a silent partner – someone we turn to only when our plans have failed or when we are stuck. But God never intended to be our last resort. He desires to lead us from the beginning.
Ravenhill also wrote: “In the matter of effective praying, never has so many left so much to so few.”
Those words are both sobering and challenging.
If we truly believe that prayer is important, that God hears our prayers, and that He is able to do mighty and wondrous works to bring revival in His church, then let us come together to seek Him.
I encourage you to join us every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. on Zoom for our church prayer meeting. Let us bring before the Lord the needs of our church, our ministries, and one another. Let us pray for revival, for the salvation of the lost, and for God to accomplish His purposes for His glory.
Revival has always begun with God’s people on their knees. May it begin with us.
“If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves, and pray and seek My face… then I will hear from heaven.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14
Deacon Ryan Loveday
