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Intention

That God would send revival to Australia, not to make us feel good but to transform our nation for righteousness.

Scripture

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting…”
— Acts 2:1-2

“But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people… they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too… and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king — Jesus.’”
— Acts 17:5-7

Reflection

Like a bushfire in the outback, revival transforms a landscape. Revival strips away all that has accumulated in the lives of God’s people that hinders us and holds us back. It exposes the preeminent and timeless purposes of God. And in time, a revival germinates new spiritual landscapes whose legacy is enjoyed for generations to come.

Consider that the church’s most beloved hymns and worship songs that are heard all around the world in our Sunday services are the relics of revival. They were written by men and women of God who emerged from furnaces of spiritual renewal and left us a legacy of beautiful music by which we now express the work of God in our own lives.

The same can be said of the church’s many denominations. We often view denominations negatively, and it is true that they have sometimes sprung from petty disagreements or been wielded for unholy turf wars. But more importantly, denominations are the lasting reminder that God visited His people in specific times and places. He so transformed groups of believers that new labels and movements were essential for them to give expression to the new life they found in Christ.

In other words, today’s messy Christian ‘landscape’ is not the result of human planning or human failures — not for the most part. The church’s varied worship forms, our denominations and theological boundaries, our mission organisations, charities, Bible societies and discipleship programs are what have been left behind by powerful Holy Spirit bushfires that have roared through in generations past. By the time God’s next revival fire visits us, the church landscape will have changed again.

God’s revival fires do more than change the contours of His church. They transform the landscape of entire nations. This is what led Rev. Archibald Mackray, a Sydney preacher, to call revivals “those great periodical Religious movements which form the chief landmarks of history”. The eighteenth-century evangelicals likewise believed that “revival is the engine of history, the most powerful gift of God for… the renovation or reform of human society”.

If this is true of any nation, it is certainly true of Australia.

When we pray for revival, we are not merely asking God for a short-lived event that will stir our emotions and make us feel good for a while. A genuine spiritual awakening might have that appearance to cynics or outsiders. But in reality, true revival changes us and changes whole nations — permanently.

What began on the day of Pentecost as a mighty rushing wind and a short-lived supernatural display of power did not end there. It ended with the whole world being turned upside down by the power of the Spirit.

Would that God does the same for Australia!

(The above devotion is an excerpt from the up-and-coming Canberra Declaration book, Great Southland Revival: Tracing the Spirit’s Flame from Acts to Australia, by Kurt Mahlburg and Warwick Marsh)

Video

Prayer

Holy Spirit, come like a mighty rushing wind upon this Great Southland. We don’t care what revival looks like in the short term. What we want is what You want: Australia transformed for righteousness; millions won for Jesus; our lives surrendered to You; and the Lamb receiving His full reward.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Author Bio

Since 2018, Kurt has been the Research and Features Editor at the Daily Declaration. He is also a freelance writer, and a regular contributor at the Spectator Australia, MercatorNet, Caldron Pool and The Good Sauce. Kurt is the author of Cross and Culture: Can Jesus Save the West? (2020).

Prayer Points for 31 Days of Prayer & Fasting for Revival

1. To worship Jesus and give extravagant praise to God. Hebrews 12:28-29
2. Pray that the Lamb who was slain might receive the reward for His suffering. Revelation 5:6-14
3. Pray for Revival for Australia and for millions to find Christ. Isaiah 64:1-2

We invite you to support this prayer and fasting campaign to multiply prayer, to see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and revival and transformation for Australia. Every donation to the Canberra Declaration helps us promote prayer and make a stand for Family, Faith, Freedom, Life, and the Good News of God’s love through Jesus Christ His son.

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Daily devotions are brought to you by the Canberra Declaration.