PREPARING THE HEART for ReviVal

Revival is the sovereign work of God. He chooses when and to whom He sends it. It is also true, however, that there are things we can do to prepare for revival in our lives.

The following questions are designed to help you see specific areas which God wants you to be aware of while you prepare your heart for revival. Answer each question as honestly as possible based on what God reveals to be the current condition of your heart.

  • Read the Bible passages.

  • Agree with God about each area of need which He reveals.

  • Confess each sin that He exposes.

  • Praise Him and thank Him for His awesome love and power to forgive.

  • Don’t be in a hurry. Give God time to speak and give yourself time to respond.

Genuine Salvation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

  • Was there a time in my life when I placed my trust in Jesus Christ alone to save me?

  • Was there ever a time in my life when I completely surrendered to Jesus Christ as the Master and Lord of my life?

  • Was there a time in my life when I genuinely repented of (turned away from) my sin?

God’s Word

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it. Psalm 119:97, 140

  • Do I love to read and meditate on the Word of God?

  • Is my personal time with God consistent and meaningful?

  • Do I apply the truth of God’s Word to my everyday life?

Humility

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15

  • Am I quick to recognize and agree with God through confession when I have sinned?

  • Am I quick to admit to others when I am wrong?

  • Do I rejoice when others are praised and recognized but my accomplishments go unnoticed?

Obedience

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22; Hebrews 13:17

  • Do I consistently obey what I know God wants me to do?

  • Do I consistently obey the human authorities God has placed over my life?

Pure Heart

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

  • Do I confess my sin by name?

  • Do I keep “short sin accounts” with God (confess and forsake as He convicts)?

  • Am I willing to give up sin because I love God?

Clear Conscience

So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. Acts 24:16

  • Do I consistently seek forgiveness from those I wrong or offend?

  • Is my conscience clear with every person?

    (Can I honestly say, “There is no one I have ever wronged or offended in any way and not gone back to that person and sought his forgiveness and made it right”?)

Priorities

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

  • Does my schedule reflect that God is first in my life?

  • Does my checkbook reflect that God is first in my life?

Values

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience… Colossians 3:12

  • Do I love what God loves and hate what God hates?

  • Do I value highly the things that please God?

    (giving, sharing Christ with the lost, studying His Word, praying)

  • Are my affections and goals focused on godly values?

Sacrifice

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:7–8

  • Am I willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to see God move in my life and my church?

    (time, convenience, comfort, reputation, pleasure, and so on)

  • Is my life characterized by genuine sacrifice for the cause of Christ?

Spirit Control

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:18–21

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22–25

  • Am I allowing Jesus to be Lord of every area of my life?

  • Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to fill (and control) my life each day?

  • Is there consistent evidence of the fruit of the Spirit being produced in my life?

“First Love”

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. Philippians 1:21, 23

  • Am I in love with Jesus as much as I have ever been?

  • Am I devoted to Jesus, filled with His joy and peace, and growing in my love for Him?

Motives

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

  • Am I more concerned with what God thinks about my life than with what others think?

  • Would I pray, read my Bible, give, and serve as much if nobody but God ever noticed?

  • Am I more concerned about pleasing God than I am about being accepted and appreciated by others?

Moral Purity

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:3–4

  • Do I keep my mind free from books, magazines, or entertainment that could stimulate fantasizing or thoughts that are not morally pure?

  • Are my conversation and behavior pure and above reproach?

Forgiveness

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12–13

  • Do I seek to resolve conflicts in relationships as soon as possible?

  • Am I quick to forgive those who wrong or hurt me?

Evangelism

And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:47–48

  • Do I have a burden for lost souls?

  • Do I consistently witness for Christ?

Prayer

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people… 1 Timothy 2:1

  • Am I faithful in praying for the needs of others?

  • Do I pray specifically, fervently, and faithfully for revival in my life, my church, and our nation?

Excerpt taken from Seeking Him by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Tim Grissom. You may reproduce this content for personal or church ministry use.