40 Days of Revival: Lent Day 24: Graced with POWER - FAITH-FILLED

One can not study the revivals of history without being struck by stories of great faith - men and women with a Hebrews 11:1 kind of faith who were confident in what they hoped for and assured of what they did not see.

Phoebe Palmer, for example, was a bold evangelist and writer in the 1800s and was considered one of the founders of the Holiness Revival in America and the United Kingdom. Greatly criticised for speaking publicly as a woman and for addressing mixed crowds, she was so assured of her calling and confident in relying on God, that she was not shaken from her hard work and persistence. As a result, thousands of men and women came to know Christ under her teaching.

If faith comes from hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17) and faith without good works is dead (James 2:17), then let us today take God at His Word and do something!

Write down the name of someone who you would like to share the message of Jesus with. Do something to actively build the relationship or strengthen your friendship with them - it is relationship that will make a way for you to share Jesus with them! What other areas in your life are you believing God for breakthrough?

40 Days of Revival: Lent Day 11: The Conversation of PRAYER - HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE PRAY?

In Acts 1 Jesus has just ascended to heaven and left the disciples with the instruction to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. While waiting for Jesus' promise, they prayed; they prayed together and they prayed constantly. The disciples knew that they were living in pivotal times and sought God through prayer for what He was about to do.

Meeting in the same place, at the same time with a shared love for God, they were united in belief and their prayers were also. These were a people passionate about spreading the Gospel and they grew quickly in number.

Paul's letters to the early church also upholds the importance of persevering in prayer, with him instructing the church in Thessalonica to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5.17) and again encouraging those in Rome to be 'faithful in prayer'.

As we consider Paul's instructions on prayer today, it would be inconsistent with what he writes about the unmerited nature of God's grace, for us to take them too legalistically. Rather, let us allow Paul's words to encourage us to develop an attitude of prayerfulness that is characterised by persistence and consistency, and that comes from pursuing a personal relationship with God and being in His presence throughout the day.