America on the Brink: Why We Need a Nation-Transforming Revival NOW!

You have had the finger of God pointed at you.

You are marked for special use. I believe you have responded to that call or you wouldn’t read on. Now we get down to business about showing God we mean it.

You are about to pray as you have never prayed before in your life. You are going to enter another world where answers come and light floods your hungry soul. The first step has been taken; we have declared ourselves to be the chosen people of God. We have made known our intention to be set apart, to willingly depart from anything that blocks our way to having power with God.

You stand before the greatest door in history. Beyond this door lie the most precious gifts of God. Beyond this door you will find the keys, the secrets of heroes of faith who have gone before you. They shook their generations, they shut the mouths of lions, and they established justice. And they stood, at one time, where you now stand.

Before you rap flippantly on that door, beware of the words of Jesus, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). God sends His signal to come and receive to many people, but He opens the door to few. I am not speaking here of salvation but of obtaining revival.

This door is not opened by an attitude. The psalmist asked, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? …He that hath clean hands…who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity” (Psalm 24:3-4 KJV).

So then what is this attitude that gains entrance? Shouldn’t we just pray and believe God for revival? Absolutely not! You can’t just shake yourself and be transformed instantly from a sedentary Christian and casually waltz into prayer and demand a revival from a holy, awesome, all-consuming God.

To pray before uncovering our hindrances is like a priest rushing a sacrifice onto the altar of God. Not only is it futile, but it offends God.

But it is so much more than that! When God says, “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray,” it’s like a loving parent at the bedside of an inebriated teenager. He is waiting for the stoned child to come down off the drug. In effect, God says, “If My people will sober up and realize what they have done and what they must now do…”

In Luke 15:17, Jesus illustrates the return of sanity to the prodigal son. “He came to himself,” Jesus says. The prodigal’s attitude is precisely what I believe gains entrance to God. He realized that although he was a full-fledged son, his father’s servants were eating better than he was! His temporary insanity gave way to fiery resolve. “I’m going home,” he determined. “I am willing to do anything for my father.”

True humility has many vital features, the first of which is a deep realization of need. We must experience the full agony of what we have lost and what our true condition is in the sight of God. Proverbs says, “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11:22).

America is a nation that has been baptized in blessing. She is beautiful beyond compare. Our bristling seacoasts are the world’s finest; our mountains crown our nation with unequalled majesty; our rivers, valleys, and forests adorn us with a splendor like no other nation on earth. Upon this glorious land God placed a people. In 1776, those New England farmers flexed their military might and drove a world power back home to England. Not since the Jews walked through the Red Sea had a nation been born so supernaturally. A constitution followed that has become the greatest source of government in mankind’s history.

Can it be possible that this great nation that crossed an ocean to stop Hitler, that opened its arms to the destitute worldwide and sent more missionaries out than any nation in history, that forged great institutions to dispense liberty and justice for all—can it be that this priceless pearl of freedom, this jewel that once gave light to the whole world should now be in the filthy jowls of a swine?

We have believed the unthinkable lie and insane contradiction that we should save the whales while we have performed over 65 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. Our justice system protects criminals and ignores their victims. Marriages are shattered; the family faces extinction; teenagers take their own lives in record numbers; alcohol and drugs are choking us to death; gonorrhea, syphilis, and AIDS are spreading to millions.

We have witnessed the dawn of techno-barbarians, people who are reduced to savage instincts in a computer nation. They are numb from chemicals, ignorant of God, and glued to monitors and smart phones. They are the new Americans and, unless God helps, they could be the last Americans. The final test of a civilization is how they treat their children and, as if to add insult to injury, American children lucky enough to have avoided abortion will end up being molested, abused, and even killed in record numbers.

I want to enrage you, I want to sicken you, I want your heartbeat to quicken, your stomach to churn, your jaw to quiver from anger and grief. I want you to see a mud-wallowing, slobbering, slime-covered swine wearing America on its snout.

Rock videos scream it, pornographers print it, and movies glorify it. The message is clear. Bury the rules, put it to the limit, and grab all the pleasure you can. Innocence is beaten senseless; truths are lied about while lies are truthed about. All the while, Satan stands out back by the filth pump laughing with delight.

Whoever knocks on the door of God must pound it with the convincing force of someone who has seen the tragedy and can’t bear to let it continue. Let me reiterate: the first quality God looks for is someone who has seen the tragedy and can’t bear to let it continue. Someone who has been sobered and humbled by sorrow. Someone who has a conviction for which there is only one source of relief—revival.

Humility brings about a determination to act. We must not arrive in the holy presence of God empty-handed. We have come with our best. We have laid before Him our talents, time, and priorities. To our shame, most prayer has become a time to negotiate with God. But there is no compromise with a King. When Paul declares that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, he means to give God something that is alive. This is best resolved before going to prayer.

Paul calls this unconditional surrender our “reasonable” act of worship. It is totally justified and it has been reasoned out before we dare ask for an audience with the King. This does not mean that we can’t admit to our heavenly Father that we are having a struggle with habits or desires. Certainly we are to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. What we must not do is come before Him defending our sin or thinking God doesn’t know all about it. This is the double-minded man James described: “Let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:7).

The revival person arrives saying, “I am ready.” If there is no plan to change or place for revival to go, God will not consider that prayer to be serious. A church must count the cost before they pray. What would a citywide takeover entail? To pray for a river means to consider where it is going to flow. To sit down and calculate the total consequence of spiritual awakening shows God that you are serious.

Humility means knowing your place and knowing God’s place. He must be treated like a King, and He insists on being approached by those who know He is able to do what is asked.

Hebrews says, “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). That verse actually says two things about God that must be known by the person who is going to draw near to Him in prayer. Again, these are preconditions for prayer.

First, we must believe that He is! Is what? Is the “I AM” who can do mighty things. It is a recognition of His glory and omnipotence; it is, in fact, worship and intelligent praise. The psalmist was correct in saying, “[I will enter] His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).

The second condition is to expect reward for diligence; more accurately, we must know God is a rewarder. That is why planning for revival goes along with praying for revival. If we ask for something that we can’t possibly accommodate, it can only mean we didn’t expect it. Expecting it means we train counselors to handle a sudden influx of new converts. It means pastors read accounts of past revivals to look for potential dangers and prepare a congregation to absorb and sustain revival life. It can even mean that meeting halls are secured and strategies for mass evangelism, including advertising, literature distribution, and organized prayer, are studied carefully.

For leaders, it means something that is possibly very painful. Preparation for revival means an attitude of cooperation among leaders, a repenting of exclusivity and competition. Some leaders will be terrified by revival when they have to face the difference between revival and “successful” church building.

Human charisma can attract a crowd, but that is not revival. A high-powered church program can bring in new people, but that is still not revival. There is even the reverse psychology of a laid-back approach, where churches grow because they are not trying to. People are attracted by the low-key style simply because it is different, but again, this is still not revival.

There is much to be said in favor of large churches, and many are powerful centers of God’s Spirit. But merely because a church is large does not mean it is involved in a move of God. Even when a large church is in a move of God, it is imperative that its resources be placed at the disposal of the Holy Spirit for the next great step—a citywide impact. When leaders tell God that revival is their gradual goal, they deny the urgency of the Spirit who is calling for immediate action.

I am convinced that most fears of revival are unfounded. This is no appeal for the squandering of years on some spooky, fanatical scheme. It is the courageous act of offering back to God His people and declaring their availability for whatever is on God’s heart for the city.

Pastor David Yonggi Cho in Seoul, South Korea, epitomized the successful pastor who died to self and became a revival leader. At his death, his congregation numbered more than 830,000 members.

I believe that American pastors with congregations in the thousands don’t know that revival will explode them into the tens of thousands. What we must change are our priorities. Instead of large churches, let’s go for strong people. Instead of an audience, let’s make disciples and then release them to make a powerful impact upon the city.

Now we come to the final key in gaining entrance. It is so simple and obvious that it can be overlooked. The Bible says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). David, while repenting in prayer, said, “Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6). Harbor a secret sin and you will not be heard. Jealousy, lust, bitterness, gossip, pride, you name it. You must make it right prior to entering God’s presence for revival.

Of course, Satan can run you in circles with guilt and condemnation, and God doesn’t require that we enter His presence without any weaknesses or faults. But we must not be actively practicing or harboring sin. Wherever you are convicted by the Holy Spirit, you must make it right. Go see the people God puts on your heart and, if necessary, make restitution.

As I said before, you stand before the greatest door in history. You’ve heard the truth, and you know what will give you entrance. Go ahead, knock on it. God sees your heart. I can see it opening before you. Now we’re going to do the most awesome thing we can ever do. We are going in to stand before God and ask for a true nation-transforming awakening.