2020.05.03 - Praying For A Nation In Need Of Revival (Isaiah 63:18-65:8)

Text: Isaiah 63:18-65:8 Opening Statement: We might say here is Isaiah’s hope and prayer for his nation. The portion we have read is a prayer. It guides us in our attempt to pray for our nation which stands in need of revival. Here is our only hope and prayer for our nation today. I want you to see four principles to guide us in praying for revival. Recognize the Desperation of our Situation (Isaiah 63:18-19) Isaiah’s tone is reminiscent of the Psalmist’s tone as revealed in Psalm 42:1-3 The reason for the Psalmist’s desperation is the apparent “absence of God.” “While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” This must indicate the mockery of the watching world. Doesn’t our world do that today? The watching world continues to ask, “Where is your God?”  My fear is that we will not desire revival until we become desperate about our situation. This virus has caused us inconvenient, difficulties and even painful moments but what it has not caused is for us to be desperate for God. We must come to that place where we say, “God, unless you show up, there is no hope.” Now, that’s desperation. Jonah 3:5-10. Recognize the Definition of Revival(Isaiah 64:1-4) We might conclude this simple definition of revival: Revival is God coming down! In a figurative sense, we need the Heavens to open and God come down. Here’s what God says in 1 John 4:1 Revival is Isaiah hearing from heaven Isaiah 6:3. Revival is Isaiah then saying 6:5. Revival is Isaiah then hearing the Lord say, 6:8 Recognize the Demand for Repentance(Isaiah 64:5-8) Here is the hard truth: We will never experience revival until there is repentance. A.W. Tozer hit the nail on the head when he wrote this over 60 years ago “Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late–and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work.” Our first task is to search our hearts and repent of sin. Joel 2:12-13 & Psalm 51: