“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)
Revival happens whenever God satisfies the thirst and hunger for righteousness among His people in answer to their fervent and unrelenting prayers. God initiates revival by making believers become aware of their need for it. When God awakens in His people the consciousness of their spiritual needs and unleashes in them the burden to pray for spiritual awakening, revival is close by. God wonders at why people spend their resources on what does not satisfy. The Prophet Isaiah pleaded with passion: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance” (Isaiah 55:1-2). The price for revival, moral and spiritual, includes some fundamental adjustments in the people concerned to align with God’s ideals and standards. Paul outlined them as follows: “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:25-28).
Deal with whatever blocks the way for the Holy Spirit in your life and He will satisfy you fully.
Such ethical and moral adjustments and observances are imperative for revival. There must be a total turnaround from all forms of unrighteousness if one must experience personal revival. I recall praying for a sister for baptism with the Holy Spirit, and nothing seems to be working. I then decided to engage the sister to hear her story and probably get a leading as to why she has not been baptized in the Spirit. It turned out that she had nurtured deep rooted bitterness against her father. I told her that unforgiveness is what has been blocking her from receiving the Spirit. I demanded that she forgave her father unconditionally in line with our Lord’s command. I reached for my Bible and read Luke 6:27-28 to her: “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” After reading the passage, I said to her as lovingly as I could muster. “Sister, this is God’s word to you now. What would you do with it?” Shockingly, she said to me, “Give me until tomorrow to give a response.” Bitterness and unforgiveness are sponsored by powerful satanic principalities. They don’t give up easily. I obliged her and asked her to call me when she is ready for me.
I spent a good part of that night interceding for her asking God to grant her total freedom from the demons of bitterness and unforgiveness. She called me about noon the next day. The moment we got seated, she burst into moaning. Forgiving her father was not easy for her at all. When she finished crying, she recapped the humiliation and unnecessary hardship her father had subjected her and her mother. I agreed with her that the man was mean but reiterated my earlier request that she forgave her father unconditionally. She wiped her tears and looked me straight in the eyes and uttered those words I had been waiting to hear. “Daddy, I forgive my father.” As those rolled out of her, a new vista was opened for her in the realm of the Spirit. She was instantly filled with the Holy Spirit accompanied with speaking in tongues and clear gifts of prophecy. She experienced a personal revival when she dealt with moral blockages making way for the Spirit of God to take control and move freely. Unforgiveness and bitterness block the flow of the Spirit in personal revival. They blunt the sharpness of our hunger and thirst for righteousness. Deal with whatever blocks the way for the Holy Spirit in your life and He will satisfy you fully in Jesus name.
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