Pressing into prayer for revival
In July 2017, there was a prayer day arranged by Newfrontiers at Westminster Chapel, London at which Terry Virgo, who, in 2011, handed over leadership of Newfrontiers to a score of leaders worldwide, spoke on revival. In this talk, he focussed in on brief stories of revival and then switched to received prophecy and Ginny Burgin also came to the stage.
Ginny has been part of City Church Sheffield for over forty years and is on staff serving both pastorally and prophetically, training others in both. Ginny has held a long standing expectation to see revival in the UK and is passionate to see local churches thrive and grow as they experience the work of the Holy Spirit in their midst.
I'm going to focus in on the prophetic within the session:
First of all from Terry:
In the sixties, Jean Darnell preached at the Capel Bible week. She said, "I've seen a vision of England, and over her I can see spots of light. Light. City after city. I believe God is going to raise up an army of light all over the nation." [WOTS - Jean asked the Lord about the vision and had the distinct impression that there would be two moves of God. 1. Renewal In The Church and then 2. National Awakening And World Vision].
In Newfrontiers, we started the journey planting more and more churches - let's see restoration first. So revival kind of stuck on one side because in 1960 the church was so cold, so formal. No one was speaking into your life. There was no community, family, grace, engagement, many hadn't got it. And we've worked hard. Rebuild and restructure. Doing something that will glorify together, that holds together through love and loyalty and common faith.
So I believe God wants us now to pray for revival. To believe God for the coming of the Spirit, to believe that He will yet move. That He will come with power.
I had letter recently from Ginny in Sheffield. She was saved in the 1970s and she was given a vision. And in the vision she saw a map of the whole of England. And she saw pinpricks of light. Pinpricks of light, which grew bigger and bigger, growing bigger and brighter as she looked at them. And she saw as she looked closer they were fires that were bursting into flame like beacons across the nation. She realised that the nation itself was getting darker and darker and darker. But the beacons were getting brighter and brighter and brighter until they flared into one huge burst of flame.
Now from Ginny commenting on the above:
I thought that God promised me that revival would come and that God would give me two confirmations. And I thought they would come in the next few days but I had to wait some years.
Some years later, I turned on the television and saw a helicopter flying up and down many beacons that had been lit across the nation for the Queen's silver jubilee. And as I saw this on television, that's what I saw in the vision. All these lights burning and then I had to wait a few more years. A few more years later, I saw another of these television programmes and it was 50 years on from V.E. day and they were lighting beacons all across the nation. And I felt these were the two confirmations that God had promised me.
And then some time later, I asked God to give me some encouragement to remind me again of the things that God would do. The following morning, at the morning service in the middle of the worship time, I was told there was a man at the door asking for her. I went to speak to him rather defensively. The man said to me that he'd been working in Leeds and was on his way home to the south of England when God has spoken to him and told him to come and find her to tell her something. He had no idea where she would be or what church. But God would direct him, street to street, to find the church. And he arrived at the church in Sheffield and asked after me.
He said that he had tell me what his job is. He didn't know why. He just had to tell me what his job is. He said, "Do you remember the beacons being lit for the Queen's silver jubilee and for V.E. day celebrations? My job is working on the Millennium beacon committee responsible for organising the lighting of the beacons up and down the land. I work directly with the man who gives the Queen starter equipment to light the first beacon."
I truly believe God wants us to anticipate His coming in power. I feel God spoke it to me recently. It's been quite a demanding year this last year, very taxing, very demanding. It's like nearly everything fell through. Why are we going through such tough times? So then one day I set myself to seek God in prayer. And then I knew it was okay. Things would go through. And then I thought, "Lord, why?" And He said to me, "I want you to have this same certainty that what I promised you about revival will come." I want to have that same certainty. And I'm know I'm praying into that. I can't say I've arrived, but I am praying diligently for that so I can say with utter, utter, confidence I know it's going to come.
Again from Terry:
I had a prophecy from one of our people in India recently. "You will see revival in your nation following a wave of national fear." I think the nation is becoming ripe for a move of God. And we, the Church, need to lay up with God. J. O. Frazier says, "Don't be lazy. Don't just keep repeating things. Fight them until you know you've got them."
I was thinking about Elijah the other day. About his servant looking seven times for the rain cloud. Every time he looked, is it now, is it now? No, it's not. About to give up and don't just get into vain repetition. Pray, expecting it's going to happen. I believe it.
I believe multiplying prayer is happening all over, all over. People are gathering, little twos and threes. People are beginning to pray. Churches are holding seasons of prayer. The Church of England is praying for Thy Kingdom Come. There is a growing prayer life in the nation. Let's go with it. Let's believe God, that He will move, that He will break through. Let's believe God for it.
You and your church are a light in the nation. There are existing prayer initiatives which last a short while but can we wrestle in prayer for revival in our villages, estates, towns, cities, families, workplaces until we see it happen?
It may take a while but in small groups, in gatherings, can there always be regular, sustained, believing prayer for revival in the UK? There's the challenge!
Retweet about this article:
-