We are pleased to reproduce the latest Newsletter of Rev Tony Higton’s, Network for Revival.
Please go to networkforrevival.co.uk for further details or contact Tony at email: tony@higton.info
Network for Revival November 2019
I am currently dealing with three major foundations for prayer for Revival. In the last two issues I dealt with Praying in Holiness (http://networkforrevival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Prepare-13-August-2019.pdf) and Praying in Faith (http://networkforrevival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Prepare-14-September-2019.pdf). In this issue I deal with In-depth Intercession. The Lord has taught me so much since I have been praying for Revival and I want to share it with you. I’m sure he has a lot more to teach me later but I’m concentrating on these three for the time being.
Going deeper in intercession is a pilgrimage and we are at different stages. Some will be spending a brief time of prayer for revival – perhaps daily. Others will be spending a longer time – perhaps daily. Some will be praying sincerely with real concern for revival. Others will be seeking to plumb the depths of intercession. I want to encourage you where you’re at – not give you challenges you might not be ready for. Let’s all move forward in prayer for revival at the pace God sets for us.
For those spending a brief regular time praying with real concern for revival
You might find the following prayers helpful:
O Lord, come in Revival – to heal the grief and remove the dishonour which you experience because of the failings of the church and the widespread godlessness of society; to requite your ignored, rejected love; to make the church radically obedient to Scripture in the power of the Spirit and effective in ministry and outreach; to bring many unbelievers to faith in Jesus, saving them from a lost eternity; to hasten the return of Christ. Come to bring an overpowering sense of your presence; a glimpse of the worship of heaven and inspired worship, deepening the faith of believers and bringing many more to faith. Come now, Lord.
Lord, come in revival, bringing:
– a profound sense of your presence,
– an overwhelming awareness of your holiness,
– an awe-inspiring revelation of your power,
– an inspiring sense of worship,
– an in-depth conviction of sin,
– a glorious joy in forgiveness,
– a fundamental restoration of the church,
– a massive turning to you by unbelievers,
– a widespread transformation of society,
– hastening the return of Jesus.
For those seeking to go deeper into intercession for revival
Obviously, you can use the above prayers, if you wish, but I’d like to share with you the principles of prayer the Lord has been teaching me, on which I base my intercession for revival. You might need to embrace them a few at a time, as the Lord leads you.
1. Plead the nature of God, asking him to act in accordance with his love, compassion, faithfulness, power, holiness. He has a covenant of love with the church and also does not want any unbeliever to perish (2 Pet 3:9; 1 Tim 2:4). (I personally find it helpful to use repetition in prayer e.g. saying “Keep your covenant of love” three times. Repetition can be used in other aspects of intercession).
2. Plead with the Lord to honour his name. I pray: Lord, the enemy is mocking you and us your children and saying “Where is your God?” (Ex 32:9-14, 32; Isa 37:14-20; Psa 74, 80, 123). Come to make your name known to your enemies (Isa 64).
3. Plead with the Lord to bring his kingdom. Think of hindrances to the kingdom coming and pray “Your kingdom come.”
4. Plead the blood of Jesus. This is a new emphasis in my experience but the special nature of Holy Communion shows God wants us to focus on the blood of Christ. Think of ways in which the blood of Jesus is being ‘trampled underfoot,’ which grieves and offends the Lord. This includes sin the church and also sins in society e.g. godlessness, materialism, unbiblical religion, occultism and spiritual blindness. It also includes ‘false gods’ (things, not necessarily wrong in themselves, which heavily dominate people’s lives) such as money, sex, power, sport, entertainment, electronic communication, elevation of evolution (treating evolution as almost divine).* We can plead the blood of Christ against the effects of human weakness and demonic attack. Also the shed blood of Christ is the basis on which God answers our prayers, defeats the devil and removes sin from penitent sinners’ lives (Eph 1:7; Heb 2:14; 9:4; 10:19; 1 Jn 3:8; Rev 12:11). (*This list of sins can also be used in sections 7, 8 and 9 below).
5. Plead the promises of God to answer prayer. I dealt with this in the September issue but here are the promises again. NOTE the conditions we must fulfil.
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Mt 21:22).
“Everything is possible to the one who believes” (Mk 9:23).
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you receive it and it will be yours (Mk 11:24).
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Mt 7:7).
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my
Father in heaven” (Mt 18:19).
“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (Jn 14:14).
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn 15:7).
God wants us to take his promises seriously. He has promised to answer prayer and so he has committed himself to do so (in writing!). He wants us reverently to remind him of that commitment, which he has bound himself to keep and therefore must keep.
6. Plead for the needy. Many churches are in desperate need. And Jesus himself spoke of persistent unbelievers heading for a lost eternity. Plead for God to meet those needs with deeper commitment and salvation.
7. Plead for God’s powerful angels to overcome human weakness and demonic attack. We are not meant to be obsessed with the demonic but we need to remember our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).
8. Take up the shield of faith. Intercession is a priestly ministry. We pray identifying with those for whom we pray and on their behalf. Paul writes “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16). This raised the question in my mind ‘Can we do this on behalf of other people?’ The Lord reminded me that prayers for the demonised in the Gospels were said for people who didn’t co-operate or perhaps even ask for such prayer. I find it helpful to imagine I’m actually holding the shield.
9. Resist the devil. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).” We can firmly resist the devil and strongly rebuke his demons. Again, this is a priestly ministry – we are doing this on behalf of others: the church and the nation. (Again, I find it helpful to use repetition in rebuking the demons).
10. Offer the priestly burden of intercession to the Lord. I find it helpful to imagine myself entering boldly, by the blood of Christ, into the Holy of holies (Heb 10:19), as a priest (as all believers are), bearing the burden of intercession for revival on my shoulders as an intercessor, sprinkling the blood of Jesus towards the Ark of God’s presence and asking God to take these burdens from my shoulders onto himself. I complete this section by looking at a detailed list I have written of sins in the church and society and asking the Lord’s mercy on them.
11. Affirm faith in the Lord’s victory. Declare that revival will come, by the grace of God.
12. Receive revival by faith. Jesus promised “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24). So I say before God that I receive and see revival and believe he is saying “Yes” to the prayer. But he will use our continuing prayers to bring revival ‘visibly.’
God bless you
Tony
PS:
I have edited and updated my Christian Teaching Resources website http://www.christianteaching.org.uk/ which includes 200 articles, 7 training courses and 4 books. I aim to provide a wide selection of practical, user-friendly resources for clergy, ministers and lay folk which may be downloaded and used free of charge. Most of them are at popular level but some are a little more academic. It has articles on
1. Apologetics – defence of the Faith,
2. Biblical Resources – biblical content and biblical teaching on many issues,
3. Church Development – how to build a church on biblical lines, effective in fellowship, worship and outreach,
4. Church Issues – teaching on controversial challenges facing the church,
5. Devotional Resources – biblical teaching on the Christian life,
6. Eschatology – teaching on the End Times,
7. Evangelistic Resources – aids to evangelism,
8. Interfaith Resources – guidance on relating to other faiths whilst being loyal to Jesus as the only Saviour,
9. Pastoral Resources – teaching about pastoral issues and helping people facing problems.
Call the Nation to Prayer 