It is easy to become so consumed in self and family that we
lose sight of the needs of other people. This happens among all kinds of
Christians all over the world, with one exception: Those among whom God is
reviving his work. When God’s Spirit is poured out upon an individual, a
family, a congregation, a town, or a region, there will be a considerable
increase in love shown to other people. That is the theme that runs through the
first four of eight duties to which God calls his true people in Isaiah
58:6-14.[1]
Let’s look these requirements so they can direct us in how we pray for revival.
Pray That We Will Set
People Free
In Isaiah 58:6 we read: “Is not this the
fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the
yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?” Then, in verse
9 it is repeated: “If you take away the yoke from your
midst….”
When our lives are taken captive by God, a
great desire of our heart becomes that of setting other people free. Consider
how Paul envisions the Christian life in Romans 6:16-18: “Do you not know
that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves
of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience,
which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to
God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart
to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have
become slaves of righteousness.”
The greatest chains we face are the ones that come from our sin (see
Isaiah 59:2). As a result, the greatest freedom we can bring people is the
freedom from the penalty and power of sin—a freedom that one day will include
freedom from the presence of sin. In other words, we preach the glorious good news
of Jesus Christ so he can set others free (Galatians 5:1). This is especially
true under the New Covenant. Now that we have the more permanent and powerful
presence of the Holy Spirit in us, one of the great effects of that is that we
proclaim the gospel to others (Acts 1:8; 2:4; 4:8, 31; 13:9). This is also one of the
marks of a special movement of God throughout history. Wherever God has revived
his church, there has been an awakening of evangelistic and missions zeal. Pray
that God would move among us to proclaim his Word to the ends of the earth and
to make disciples of all peoples.
Consider the need around the world and in
our own country. The population
of the world is 6.8 billion. The number of people who live as part of an
unreached people (less than 2% evangelical Christian) is 2.75 billion. We also
see that 1 out of 3 adults in the United States is unchurched—i.e. they have
not attended church in the last year. Certainly, a far larger percentage is
lost. We all know that around us in our school, our community, our family, or
on the job we are surrounded by people who have never received and rested upon
Jesus Christ for salvation. The chains are everywhere.
Yet, there are also physical and political
chains to loose. Lest we lose track of the physical needs people have, consider
the following: Every year more
than 3 million child abuse reports are made in the United States, involving 6
million children. A report of child abuse in the U.S. is made every ten
seconds. Five children die daily as a result of child abuse in our own country.
Additionally, 2.5 million people at any given time are in forced labor as a
result of human trafficking through the world. That includes 1.2 million
children annually. None of us can address all the need throughout the world or
even in our own community. Yet, every one of us can address some of the need.
Pray that in your own life, as well as that of your church, that God will
deepen our love for others, will embolden our actions, and move us to get
involved in some way.
This leads to our
next three duties to which God calls us, all of which can be summarized under
one heading.
Pray That We Will Meet Basic Needs Of Others
In Isaiah 58:7 we
discover the next three requirements for godliness that God blesses: “Is it not to
share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your
house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your
own flesh?” We feed the hungry, house the homeless, and cloth the
naked/underclothed. As followers of Jesus Christ, we do not conclude that physical
needs are unimportant just because the Bible prioritizes our need to be right
with God over these (Mt. 16:25-26). The Bible also makes it clear that
addressing the physical needs of others is a sign we have been truly converted
and are followers of Jesus Christ (Mt. 25:31-46; James 1:27; 2:14-26; 1 John
3:16-18). Such is a foretaste of the physical restoration, health, and
provision we will experience in the age to come because of salvation in Jesus
Christ (cf. Mt. 8:17; Rev. 21:4; 22:1-5), as well as the perfect love we will
express and experience in heaven (Heb. 12:23; Rev. 21:7-8, 27).
Every great awakening throughout history has been marked by
a resultant expression of mercy shown to others by the church. This began with
the early church. Notice how Luke said the church grew powerfully in Acts
4:32-35: “Now
the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one
said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had
everything in common. 33 And with great
power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of
lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it
was distributed to each as any had need.”
Let’s join together in prayer that God will so move among
his church that he will revive among us a love for others that is expressed in
chains-breaking, needs-meetings, gospel-proclaiming words and deeds!
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