PRAYING

… for fresh fire!

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17).

God, so many of our churches are decades old, planted by a revival long forgotten. Some stories still circulate among us. Others have been lost. Our grandfathers told us of the days when a Pentecostal pioneer came to town with a fresh message. City elders and religious leaders conspired against him, but their threats failed. Pioneer preachers heralded the gospel through cell bars, preaching to a handful of hungry hearts. Then You moved among them. With faces buried in fervent prayer, unschooled preachers wept and pleaded, “Let a cripple walk out of this place whole tonight!” And they did. Whole cities were set afire. Where little tents were erected, a permanent church now stands. Instead of a handful, You compelled the whole city to inquire. You were the talk of the town. Do it again, God. Rattle the city with Your glory. You are not an enemy of education. You don’t despise our stain-glassed windows and well adorned sanctuaries. But when You were all we had, we wept, we prayed more fervently, we cried out in desperation. Bring us again to simple dependence on You. Do it for the city. Do it for our children who have only heard the stories. Give them a story to tell their children’s children. Revive us again in the midst of the years. Amen.