Who Starts Revivals, God or People?
God is Looking for a Few Good Men (or Women)
For those seeking a genuine move of God, it must be understood that micro-revivals always precede macro-revivals. Revivals always begin with an individual whom God sovereignly draws and prepares for launching a revival—it is all the grace of God, but God works through people. Nobody will persistently and unrelentingly pursue God for a revival if that person isn’t first drawn to do so by the Holy Spirit.
That singular individual doesn’t take this task upon themselves; it is all initiated by God so that God alone gets the glory for whatever transpires. This being the case, revival always begins in an individual’s heart before it spreads to the masses—it only takes 1 spark. This is a principle to keep in mind while preparing for a revival.
“Methods are many.
Principles are few.
Methods may change.
But principles never do.”
Preparing for revival doesn’t mean we explore and implement the most recent church-growth strategies. During dry seasons, when the presence of God seems far away, and the heavens brass, we attempt many things to bring that presence back, but often we erroneously initiate church-growth strategies as a substitute for proven revival strategies. Instead of programs and church-growth strategies, we must refocus, and come back to the condition of the individual heart, as E.M. Bounds noted:
“The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. If we have the right people almost any method will work.”
Most believers are sitting back waiting for a collective stirring that they would call a “revival.” God is waiting for an individual to be stirred. When an individual is stirred (revived), that stirring will infect others, which will continue until the whole is overwhelmed with the stirrings of God. It takes Only 1 Spark for the entire process to start. Will you be that 1 spark?
