A pastor from Southern California describes how his congregation conducts prayer gatherings.
Shane Idleman, the lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship, posted on Charisma on Friday that his church started holding services every night at 6 p.m. starting Oct. 25 and would continue to do so for two weeks.
He characterized the setting as follows: "overwhelming-a full altar, dozens of baptisms and countless lives changed, both in person and through livestream. As the old-timers used to say, 'God heard our cries and showed up!'"
Isaiah 64:1 was their most important passage at the time whic reads: "Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence."
Idleman defined the term "rend" as the act of tearing apart. This, he said, inspired the congregation to pray, "Oh God, would you rip heaven open and come down and visit your people?"
Their passionate groaning in prayer was not for nothing as Idleman joyfully reported that God had answered their prayers.
One's heart must be torn apart as a starting point
Using the passage from Joel 2:13, Idleman argued that the prophet Joel exhorted the people to humble themselves and to rend their hearts, rather than just going through the motions of dead religion. He then showed how this idea is utilized in the book of Ezra, which he refers to as "the secret to truly experiencing a spiritual awakening."
"Ezra fell on his knees and spread out his hands to God. He rend his heart, not his garments," he said. "He interceded and God heard his cry: 'Our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens' (9:5-6). He took ownership of the blatant sin occurring in the nation."
The reason for this, Idleman explained, is that Ezra recognized the basic aspect of repentance, particularly in the context of a revival. Sin is a severe matter that comes with a high price. An indication of his desperation was also shown by his tearing his garments.
"The same applies to us; our actions reflect our desperation to meet God or our lack thereof," Idleman pointed out.
Idleman cited additional examples, such as Moses' years in the wilderness as God humbled and equipped him, Joshua's humility, and Isaiah's brokenness as he wailed, Woe to me! ... I am ruined! .... my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty" (Isa. 6:5).
A similar breakdown was experienced by Jeremiah, who exclaimed, "My soul will weep in secret for your pride (Jer. 13:17)."
The reason for this is that humility kills pride, and one cannot hope to encounter God unless he is humbled.
Throughout history, from King Jehoshaphat to King Hezekiah, the hammer of God has crushed the haughty and beaten the proud. Throughout the psalms, one can sense David's grief in his heart. It was also necessary to crush Jesus' followers like olives in order for the anointing oil to flow. True humility was not a characteristic of Paul's ministry until he was blinded by the brightness of God.
A revival is a God-ordained event, not a man-made one
As Idleman explains, a spiritual awakening or revival "can't be worked up;" it has to be sent down from the heavens. He pointed to an example of the glory of the Lord being seen by all people in Leviticus 9:23-24 when God's fire came down to devour a sacrificial sacrifice and burned it.
"God brought down the fire but the responsibility fell on the priests to keep the fire burning. They were to remove the waste but not the fuel," he said.
Nonetheless, Idleman said that when God decides to provide his people a portion of revival even when they are in captivity, their unbroken devotion serves as the fuel that keeps the flame of revival burning.
"Again, although we can't work revival up, God can bring it down if we prepare the soil of our hearts," he proclaimed.
To learn more about revival, listen to Idleman's sermon on "A Measure of Revival in Our Bondage."
