Seven Characteristics of an Authentic Move of God (part 1)

Recently, I have been diving deeply into the early chapters of Acts. I feel I have been plunged into the journey, not by some external force or by mere internal discipline, but by a sense of desperation I feel in my heart ... desperation both for the nation in which we live and for the church that holds the key to God’s deliverance.

Authentic moves of God originate in hearts that are desperate for God and His glory. That was true of the early disciples as they gathered in a secluded room.

Surely they contemplated the dramatic absence of Jesus’ physical presence. They had heard the promise that a great season of effective ministry was ahead, but increased resistance by religious leaders and government officials must have created a spirit of doubt and despair.

In that context, Pentecost burst forth with a most glorious display of God’s power ... power that not only birthed the church but established and propelled it into the most fruitful season of dramatic transformation ever witnessed.

Echoes of that visitation have occurred throughout the centuries since that extraordinary launch. The characteristics of the explosion are many, but seven of them seem vital for us, in the midst of the doubt and despair of our day. I want to share those in a series of blogs, beginning with this one, because understanding characteristics of an authentic move of God turns doubt into hope.

1. Movements begin . . . by not moving.

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:12-14).

We live in an amazing time of church activity. The proliferation of programmatic options can easily paralyze the average pastor who wonders what God’s plan is for an accelerated work of God.

Daunting challenges exist even in the best of economic times, but those same challenges can be demoralizing or even debilitating when the resources are scarce or absent. Programs cost money ... except for the program modeled by those gathered in the upper room preceding the model move of God!

Our own ministry is in the final stages of completing a ministry-wide directional plan; each major outreach division has developed an integrated strategic plan for the purpose of igniting a movement of authentic Christianity. While knowing that such a movement is totally dependent on God, and knowing that we are to be stewards of information and gifts graced to us by Him, we feel it is important to seek the Lord and ask Him to lead us forward with intentionality and specificity on our part.

However, our tendency, especially staff like me who are driven to get things done, is to see how quickly we can implement an appropriate plan. Let’s get out of the gate quickly. Let’s get going! Let’s see if it will ignite something really viral!! This was not God’s way in the early church.

The group in the upper room ... some must have wondered how could they “just pray.” I am full of curiosity as I contemplate what the environment and subsequent conversations must have been like between the time of Christ's ascension and the Holy Spirit's divine visitation.

Every angle to counter the ferocious opposition and to multiply the story of Christ and His glorious redemptive plan must have been deliberated. Tactical plans on how to innovatively market and then sufficiently fund the strategy were surely a central component of the agenda.

Yet, instead of a rush to get things done, there was a hush to get done the one thing that could spawn more than what human effort could ever attain. The one thing that created an unprecedented movement ... was “not moving.”

Three quotes have stirred my heart recently regarding the value of praying before moving ... if we want to see a widespread movement:

“When the Church sets itself to pray with the same seriousness and strength of purpose that it has devoted to other forms of Christian effort, it will see the Kingdom of God come with power.” – The Edinburgh Missionary Conference

“When the prayer life of the people of God comes to be the dominant feature of Christian experience, the power of God will sweep the earth with the victories of grace.” – Howard Agnew Johnston

“The power of prayer has never been tried to its full capacity in any church.” – James Hudson Taylor

Rev. Bill McLeod, in whose church the Canadian Revival of the early ’70s was birthed, told me that he began a mid-week prayer meeting in his church. He informed his people of his belief that when more people attended prayer meeting than Sunday morning worship, then God would send revival to their church.

Sure enough, that day came. Shortly thereafter, the Lord broke loose throughout their congregation, community, and ultimately, the nation. It was genuine. It was Spirit-empowered and Spirit-led. And it accelerated and multiplied as much as any revival in Canada in the past century.

My friend Rev. McLeod believed and lived as if true movements are birthed by not moving. Authentic movements mirror the original. That is why Rev. McLeod and theologians today can define revivals as merely echoes of Pentecost.

Recently, I have reflected on several college campus revival movements in my lifetime. Whether at Asbury, Wheaton, Liberty, or more recently at Taylor, they all began with students who decided that quiet moments in prayer are where true movements begin.

I just returned from a church that is located in the middle of the mega-church world. This pastor’s congregants know that the area churches have the latest and the best of techniques, humanly speaking.

But this pastor has chosen to set aside extended time doing the opposite ... just seeking the Lord as a congregation, with much faith and vision, expecting God to move through the hard but effectual work of praying and fasting.

He is expecting great things. So am I.

My next blog is entitled, “Movements are experienced before they are exported.”

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