Awakenings and Quiet Times

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39) 
 
The First Great Awakening occurred at Pentecost. God did an amazing thing that had never happened before. It was the beginning of when the Spirit of God began to permanently indwell the lives of the followers of Jesus; He would never leave them again.  
 
Our country has been spiritually bankrupt for quite some time. We desperately need another Great Awakening.  
 
I want to see an awakening happen. I don't want to end my ministry without seeing the Spirit of God move across our generation once more. I don't want you to miss out on this. Many of you have never experienced that. I was fortunate to experience that in my student years. I saw just a sprinkling of the power and movement of the Spirit of God. It ignited a passion in my heart to want to be part of that.  
 
I want you to understand how all of this happens. Allow me to give you some key characteristics about how great awakenings of God happen. 
 
Great awakenings always begin in private devotions. They begin in personal quiet times and worship. When God decides to move upon a generation, He first starts a movement in the heart of an individual. Don't wait for the church to give you revival. It first must happen inside your heart when you cry out, “Oh God, do something in my life. Do something in my church. Do something in my city. Do something in our country. Do something that can only be explained by Your Hand upon it.” That's when an awakening can be birthed. Let me give you a couple of examples of what this looks like.  
  
Evangelist Gipsy Smith was an evangelist of yesteryear. He was once asked how to start a revival. He said it like this, “Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor, draw a chalk mark all around yourself, and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When he has answered your prayer, the revival will be started.”  
 
D. L. Moody once said, “The world has never seen one man, totally and completely sold out for God, and I will be that man!” The Spirit of God fell upon him, and he touched two continents for the Kingdom of God. During his lifetime, he watched powerful movements of God. He saw God doing things that could only be explained by God's Spirit. He was willing to seek God privately and personally before he expected God to move publicly.  
 
Awakenings begin in quiet times with the Lord. We must make time with our Heavenly Father a priority. Spend quiet time with Him in prayer and study God’s Word every day.