Draw a Circle

It's a challenge Life Action has issued repeatedly to men, women, teens, and even children. It's a simple expression of a heart prepared for God's work—and no matter how many times it's done, it keeps illustrating something critical about the revival we are praying and pleading for God to send. It involves a simple piece of chalk.

This piece of chalk represents a turning point, a moment of surrender, a change of heart. It marks the difference between those who would pray, "Lord, change them" and those with the humility to plead, "Lord, change me!"

It is a piece of chalk with which we kneel and draw a circle around ourselves and then look to heaven expectantly and pray, "Lord God, send revival, and begin it right here in this circle!"

This practice (traced back to the English revivalist Gypsy Smith) puts into action something we all know in our hearts: For any revival to sweep through our churches, or for any great spiritual awakening to blaze through our communities, the work of the Spirit must begin in individual hearts. It must begin in us. The old spiritual got it exactly right: "Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer."

The stories we've discovered from revival history, along with countless testimonies of God's work we've witnessed over the past four decades as a ministry, give powerful evidence that revival isn't a result of human ingenuity, or dependent on superstars. Instead, it often starts in the hearts of average people whom God prompts to pray, repent, obey, take risks, and make sacrifices.

Revival spreads through unlikely people and unheard of prayer warriors; through housewives who counsel and businessmen who pray; through dads who get serious about God and through children who seek Christ's kingdom with simple faith. It begins when someone somewhere gives their heart fully to the Lord; when someone falls in love with Jesus all over again.

It begins when the circle is drawn, and like at the altars of ancient times, a repentant believer stands in that sacred place and offers himself to God afresh as a living sacrifice. "Lord, send revival to this circle! I confess my need for You. I confess my sins to You. Please, God, begin Your work in me today!"

One thing we've noticed in proclaiming the message of revival for over forty years is that the call to "make it personal" is always relevant. None of us has arrived or can rise in prayer to God and say, "Finally, Lord, You have completed all Your work in me. Now I am fully equipped to share this message with others." On the contrary! The more we learn about revival, the more we cry out like the tax collector, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

There is no "arriving" at revival. Revival is the soul's craving to see a touch of heaven on earth; to see our Lord honored in glory and power. This cry isn't a methodology or a pat formula for spiritual success. Instead, God blesses an attitude of heart that retraces the circle, steps inside, and cries out, "Please, Jesus, come! You are our only hope. We know that Your Word offers great and precious promises. Begin Your reviving work here, for Your glory! Jesus, start revival in this circle!"

From that position, on our knees, we've witnessed God at work in restoring broken lives, healing distressed families, freeing addicted captives, breaking through the most hardened of hearts. We've seen what we call "little 'r' revival"—the revival that is personal. And this has whet our appetite and intensified our passion to see "big 'R' Revival"—the sort that transforms cities and nations and cultures.

God has done it before. And like the psalmist, we cry out, "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Psalm 85:6).

Could it be that God is ready to answer this prayer again today, blessing us with a new Great Awakening and raining down His grace and power?

There was a time in Israel when things had grown so dark that all seemed lost. The ark of the covenant had been captured, the priests were corrupt, and battles were being lost. A hopeless mother named her newborn son Ichabod, meaning "There is no glory" (1 Samuel 4:21). And yet, when the people cried out to God, threw away their idols, and devoted themselves afresh to serving God alone, revival came from heaven! The glory was restored!

Or think of Nineveh, a city so lost and so wicked that God decreed for them the same fate as the flooded ancient world and the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet the prophet Jonah lifted up his voice in that evil place, and everything changed. The whole city repented and turned to God!

With all of our hearts, we are praying for revival in the church (the restoration of God's glory) and for spiritual awakening among the lost (the rapid expansion of His kingdom). Could it be that you have a part to play in setting the stage for such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Could it be that God wants to use your life, your obedience, and your prayers? Are you willing?


Begin with humility.

Revival never comes to proud hearts, or to those who refuse God's help. Admitting our need for Him and our desperate hopelessness is part of what the Bible calls having a "broken spirit" (Psalm 51:17). This attitude of brokenness before the Lord is absolutely a prerequisite for His work to begin. Forsake self-sufficiency, and renew your absolute trust in God. Pray through James 4:6-10.

Get honest about your sin.

God cannot bless with His presence those who are holding onto their sin. Open your heart to the probing of the Holy Spirit; let Him reveal what aspects of your life need to change and what sins need to be confessed. Renounce all of your sins; hold none of them back. Let God's cleansing power forgive, restore, and transform you. Pray through Isaiah 59:2; Psalm 51; and 1 John 1:9.

Repent!

Repentance means turning from everything I know to be sin today and anything God may show me to be sinful in the future. In other words, repentance is a thorough and complete change of mind about the sin in my life; and it is a full surrender to Jesus Christ as the Lord of my decisions, thoughts, behaviors, and priorities. Repentance requires that I make a clean break with sin; that I rid my life of sinful influence and instead pursue absolute, uncompromised purity in the power of the Holy Spirit. Begin by uprooting the sin God has brought to your mind first. Pray through Ezekiel 18:30-32; Psalm 139:23-24; and Acts 26:20.

Embrace and extend forgiveness.

Revival involves more than dealing with our sin before God; we must also clear our accounts on earth. Clear your own conscience by seeking forgiveness from everyone you have offended, and make restitution wherever possible. Then extend free forgiveness to anyone who has wronged you, as difficult as that may be. Jesus commands that we forgive! When we do, we will see His freedom and power released in our lives. Pray through Acts 24:16; Matthew 6:14-15; and Ephesians 4:31-32.

Align your life with God's Word.

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16); immerse yourself in the Scriptures. Study the character of God; seek His face. Consider carefully the commands of Christ; follow in His steps. Heed the warnings the Bible issues. Submit to God as your King, and love Him as your Father. His law is perfect and will revive your soul. Pray through Psalm 119.

Pray fervently for revival.

Demonstrate your desperation and desire for revival to come—plead, fast, grieve, seek, pray! Pray for your church, your city, your nation; pray alone, pray with others. Let your heart be broken for the things that break God's heart. Pray for repentance, restoration, forgiveness, truth, and a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Pray through Isaiah 64 and Joel 2:12-32.


However far from God you have strayed, however much sin and bitterness have accumulated in your heart, we believe that revival is just as possible as the sun rising tomorrow morning, so long as God is on His throne. And we believe that no one is outside the reach of His grace, power, love, forgiveness, and truth. Simply take up your own piece of chalk and draw a circle on the ground; step into it, and pray with passion, "Lord, send revival, and let it begin in me!"