WHEN GOD SHOWS UP

Spend Time in Prayer

Leaders: There are three options for your prayer time. Choose one or two to lead people through. Encourage people to utilize these options during the upcoming week as they pray for God to pour out personal revival into their lives:

• Praying Psalm 79 is a way to build a burden for revival according to Dave Butts. Obviously, the situation the Jews were in when this Psalm was written, is not the same as what is taking place in our own nation; however, there are many prayer principles that can be shared from their experience as they began to seek the Lord during captivity.

Here are some brief notes about Psalm 79 to help you relate to the spiritual climate of our nation today and to help inform your prayer time. If you have additional time to pray, dig into the 5 Step Outline for Prayer that follows.

Notes: Likely written by the psalmist (Asaph) during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, Psalm 79 is a song of lament from the Israelites:

Ps 79:1-4: The Jews were complaining that ungodly nations had desecrated the Temple and destroyed Jerusalem (587 B.C.), killing many and enslaving the rest. Recognizing their current desperate situation, the Jews began to cry out to God.

How can we relate within the current climate of our own nation? Perhaps this is the beginning place of prayer. Express to God your concerns about our nation and ask Him to enable you to trust Him with your lives in the midst of difficulty and uncertain times.

Ps 79:5-12: The Jews realize and admit that their own sins brought about their current circumstances. They ask God how long the withdrawal of His favor will last, and remind God that His honor is at stake before nations who do not call upon His name and who look unfavorably on God and His people.

What sins of the Church and of our nation are robbing God of His glory? Allow the realization of our brokenness and sinfulness help you to cry out for revival – not for our sakes but for His, because we want to see His name honored.

Psalm 79:2, 4, 11: The Jews tell God that they, His servants, have “become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those around us.” They let God know that they are suffering.

How are God’s people suffering today? Our nation is certainly not experiencing the same persecution as our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, but what are you noticing about your “neighbors” within this current culture? Pray for those who are persecuting others (perhaps even you) and ask God to draw them to Himself and change their hearts.

5 Step Outline to Pray through Psalm 79: Adapted from page 23 of When God Shows Up this outline can supplement the material above, or it can simply be used as a prayer guide on its own:

Step 1: Recognize your current situation. This is a critical place to begin. Until the church today arrives at a place of desperation as Israel did, we will never develop a full-on burden for revival. Tell the Lord your current situation individually and corporately. Admit to Him the sinfulness of God’s people and what has happened on our watch.

Step 2: Get serious about the glory of God. “Where is your God?” Perhaps you have heard this from unbelievers, or you have been appalled by the complete disregard for Jesus in our culture. All prayer should be about the glory of God and making Him known. Focus your prayers so that God will become known to those who mock Him, don’t yet know Him, or who are simply aloof to His existence.

Step 3: Pray for mercy, deliverance and forgiveness. The first two steps have led us to focus on the need for our restoration into the favor of God. Name the sins of the Church in our nation in a posture of repentance (such as kneeling) and ask the Father for His mercy, deliverance and forgiveness.

Step 4: Ask God to enter into our current situation. “God, You answer the accusations of your enemies that have happened because of the sad condition of Your people.” The issues we face are not because of those who do not believe, but because God’s people have not demonstrated Christlikeness to and within the culture. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Again, in a posture of humility, take this verse to heart as you pray! If we ask God to come into our situation rather than trying to “fix it” ourselves or depend on government or other people to take care of our situation, He will “heal our land.” Perhaps He will be pleased to pour out revival when we rely on Him alone.

Step 5: Praise and worship God. As we trust God to work in response to our prayers, the next step is honoring Him through praise and worship, and a commitment to pass our reverence for God on to the next generations. Spend time worshiping the Father and proclaiming His greatness! Give Him thanks that He has heard and is in the process of answering!

• Listening Prayer (individual): Quietly read through Psalm 79 slowly and notice what phrases or words jump out at you. Write these down and ask God what He wants to show you. Allow a few minutes to listen for His response. If you wish to share what God has shown you, take time for this. Talk about how this process of praying through Psalm 79, and listening to God through it, felt to you. Was this a meaningful experience? Explain. Has this experience given you a greater burden to pray for personal revival and revival in the Church and our nation consistently? Why or why not?

• Write a Psalm of Lament (Individual or Group Prayer): Another valuable prayer experience would be to write your own psalm of lament based on Psalm 79, reflecting your individual experience of life in this moment. Or, as a group, write a psalm that considers the corporate spiritual climate in which the Church and/or our nation currently finds itself. When you are finished, pray this psalm as a prayer to the Lord, individually or corporately.