Dear Believers of the body of Christ,

A vast majority of Christians think a revival is that meeting when a traveling evangelist hits town, whips up people's emotions and revs up a church.

That is not what a revival is, although people call it one. That would actually be tantamount to equating a tornado with a hurricane. A tornado might be powerful and its force awe-inspiring, but it only affects a very small geographical area for a very short time. Although its destruction can be pretty significant, it's still very limited.

A hurricane, on the other hand, is a monster. It will cover a vast region for a comparatively longer period of time, and its destruction is widespread and unimaginable. Its force and power is just mind-boggling.

Revivals, both in the New Testament and in church history, began when Christians spent a season in prayer -- usually lasting several months or years. (For examples of revivals in America, see my article "A Thumbnail Sketch Of Revivals in America" on this website.) Then God answered those prayers and rolled back the forces of evil. Record numbers of people were saved in the shortest period of time with the least amount of effort. The day of Pentecost, which was the beginning of the first New Testament revival, saw 3,000 people born again in one day.

Whole nations have had crime dramatically reduced as a result of a revival. Bars and houses of prostitution shut down for lack of patronage. In Wales, between 1902 and 1904, several judges either quit their jobs or wore white gloves because there were no cases to try. Everyone was living right, apparently. Even the prestigious annual soccer tournament had to be cancelled; that would be equivalent to canceling the Super Bowl here in the United States. There were no fans to go participate in the national hysteria.

Both the Old and the New Testament carry God's promises for revival. 2 Chronicles 7:14 has served as a timeless gem: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Like every promise in the Bible, this verse comes with a condition: "If My people . . . ". We have a part to play. It is not up to God alone.

As things stand, we wouldn't expect a revival to break out in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is 100 percent Muslim. Yet God is as powerful there as He is in the U.S. or other "Christian" lands. There are no people to pray in that city.

Since 1740, there have been a total of six national revivals in the United States. There has been a national revival in the U.S. approximately every 50 years. The last revival came in 1959. If no revival breaks out in the U.S. at this point in time, this generation of Americans will go down in history as the only generation since 1740 that never experienced a revival on their watch.

America, it's time for revival!

Lawrence Banda

Pastor of Johnson County Revival Fellowship