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Have you ever been in a spir­i­tual revival? The word “revival” comes bur­dened with great expec­ta­tions and unclear notions of what it actu­ally is. J.I. Packer writes:

“I have wit­nessed remark­able evan­gel­i­cal advances, not only aca­d­e­mic but also pas­toral, with churches grow­ing spec­tac­u­larly through the gospel on both sides of the Atlantic and believ­ers matur­ing in the life of repen­tance as well as in the life of joy. Have I seen revival? I think not — but would I know?” [1]

When it comes to “Revival,” some of us expect too lit­tle when it comes to God trans­form­ing hearts. Per­haps this is due to a lack of faith or the com­fort of low expec­ta­tions. On the other hand, some expect too much drama (for lack of a bet­ter word) from God when we speak of revival. Because of such great expec­ta­tions, we are shy to claim we have expe­ri­enced revival. Packer continues:

“Touches of reviv­ing, I sus­pect, sur­round us, and we are not always aware of them… What is cer­tain, how­ever, is this: God calls us, and wis­dom directs us, to seek for our­selves the full real­ity of reli­gion as [Jonathan] Edwards describes it, and to pray for the fur­ther reviv­ing of reli­gion, by God’s grace and for God’s glory, that all our com­mu­ni­ties have need of at this time.”

To clar­ify expec­ta­tions of what is meant by the word “revival,” J.I. Packer sum­ma­rizes ele­ments of revival as laid out by Jonathan Edwards. I sug­gest we pray for and aim for these in our ministry:

1. God comes down (Isa 64:1)
2. God’s Word pierces (1 Thes 2:13)
3. Man’s sin is seen (Acts 2:37)
4. Christ’s cross is val­ued (1 Cor 1:23 – 24)
5. Change goes deep (Acts 19:18 – 19)
6. Love breaks out (Acts 2:44 – 45)
7. Joy fills hearts (1 Pet 1:8)
8. Each church becomes itself (1 Cor 12:4 – 5; 14:24 – 25)
9. The lost are found (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7)
10. Satan keeps pace (Eph 6:10 – 20)

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[1] Jonathan Edward’s list of ele­ments of spir­i­tual revival is from J.I. Packer, “The Glory of God and the Reviv­ing of Reli­gion: A Study in the Mind of Jonathan Edwards” in A God-Entranced Vision of All Things, Cross­way 2004)