WHEN GOD SHOWS UP
WAKING UP TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR MIDSTLesson 4: A Model for Revival Praying
In Lesson 2, you prayed through Psalm 79 to gain a burden for revival. We hope that using Scripture was a powerful tool, and that you have been praying more fervently for and about revival since then. Now that you have a better understanding about the importance of seeking God for revival in the Church and nation, and have learned how confession and repentance are key to living holy and pure lives (so that God can pour out personal revival in us), it’s time to take our prayers to the next level.
In Lesson 4, we will take what we have learned and go even deeper by using Psalm 74 as our model for revival praying. You will see some familiar themes and be able to reinforce the practice of praying Scripture in order to pray “with” God about the things that are on His heart. So often, prayer is about us and our own concerns without considering what God desires us to pray about. Psalm 74 opens with the realization of the need for revival, followed by the obvious results of God’s apparent absence from His people. The Psalm continues with an awareness of the God to whom they were praying and the request for revival that is focused on concern for God’s glory.
As we pray God’s Word back to Him, we will see once again the similarities to the situation in our day. Psalm 85:6 says, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Let’s focus our attention on learning to pray in such a way that God will hear and answer this prayer! As you prepare to go through Lesson 4, set your heart upon asking God to “do it again” – to move in power in response to the prayers of His people: “Rise up, O God, and defend your cause” (Psalm 74:22).
In this lesson you will learn:
• be given a model of how to pray for revival using Psalm 74.
• gain a realization of the need God’s people have always had for both personal revival and revival in the church.
• gain insight about the spiritual battle we are in as believers, as the Church and as a nation.
• learn to pray for what God may be desiring to do in our day.
• consider the strength of your relationship with God.
• gain an awareness that things we are concerned about in our nation are largely because things are not right in the relationship between God and His people.
• realize how we need to be crying out to God to remember us and return to us in the midst of this season of struggle.
• recognize that it only takes a small number (even 2 or 3) of people to cry out for revival, such as in the Hebrides Revival of 1949-1952.
Reading:
• When God Shows Up – pages 50-52 (The Revival in Psalm 74)
• Psalm 74
Watch Video for Lesson 4
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe that praying through God’s Word, or using His Word to inspire your prayers is a valuable way to learn to grow in your prayer life? Why or why not? If you have practiced prayer in this way before, share with others what it has meant to you.
2. After listening to Dave pray through Psalm 74, have you been inspired to pray in this way to seek God for revival? Explain your answer.
3. Have you ever experienced a time that seemed like God was awakening you spiritually? Describe it. Or, perhaps you had a sense of God moving in your church at some point. What was that like and what were the circumstances that led you to feel that God was present in an extraordinary way?
4. Psalm 74 talks about times when sin is accepted among the people of God and the consequences are felt. Do you think God could be absent from His people in our nation because of our sin? If God is not absent, what shows us that His presence is in our midst?
5. Was there ever a time in your life when you felt the absence of God? If so, and you feel comfortable sharing, explain how this felt.
6. Why do you think the sins of God’s people are of more consequence to God than the sins of unbelievers?
7. What are some of the sins that the church is guilty of and which have opened the door for the devil to come in and do damage? Why is the enemy interested in being in the very place where God meets with His people corporately – the church?
8. How did the story of the Chinese believer declaring his astonishment over how much the Church in America has been able to accomplish without God affect you? Do you believe that the underground church in China experiences more of the presence of God in her midst than we do in our nation? Why or why not? How would you feel if your church had to exist “underground”? How would you pray differently than you pray now?
9. What are some ways that God is mocked in our nation today? How do you feel about that? What could you do about it?
10. Dave mentions in your reading that “A movement of prayer, however small, is essential for us to see revival.” If indeed God stirs up people to pray before He “shows up in our midst” what keeps us from praying for revival continually?
Watch Dave’s Summary Video (2-3 minutes)
Spend Time in Prayer
• When God Shows Up – pages 35-39 (A Model for Revival Praying from Psalm 74); using this short chapter as a guide, pray through Psalm 74. Pray the prayer written on page 39 in unison.
Next Steps:
• Dave mentioned that he has often used passages of Scripture such as Psalm 80 and Isaiah 63-64 to pray for revival. This week, consider choosing one of these passages to pray through. Go slowly and take time to listen to God as you ask Him to speak and reveal more of Himself to you. Allow a burden to experience personal renewal, revival in the church and Spiritual Awakening throughout your community and beyond to take root in your heart.
• Write a prayer from your heart about what you want to see God do in you, in your family, in your church, and in your community and nation. Or perhaps use your creative abilities to draw/paint a picture of what revival could look like in one of these areas if God showed up in His full glory. Use whatever creative expression comes to you.
Supplemental Material for Lesson 4:
• Revival Praying from Psalm 107 – When God Shows Up – pages 53 – 57
• Prayer Exercise: Meditation on Psalm 107
Download PDF
• Hebrides Revival (12:08 minute video)
https://youtu.be/6jVRUyvlSco
• The Intercessors of the Hebrides Revival – David Smithers (article)
Download PDF
Optional Consultation/Question-Answer Session
With every PrayerU course, there is an option to have a one-hour Zoom session with your instructor(s). This is your opportunity to engage your instructor(s) on a personal level with either a question-answer session, a deeper level conversation about the course content, or both.
There is an additional cost for the consultation session and scheduling is subject to availability.