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Intention

To take responsibility for our own hearts, letting awakening begin with us as we return to our first love.

Scripture

“O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

– Psalm 139:1, 17–18, 23–24 (NLT)

Reflection

Gypsy Smith (1860–1947), the British evangelist, was once asked, “How do you start a revival?”

He answered, “If you want to start a revival, go home, and get a piece of chalk. Go into your closet and draw a circle on the floor. Kneel down in the middle of the circle and ask God to start a revival inside the chalk mark. When he has answered your prayer, the revival has begun.”

This was the essential message of yesterday’s devotion by my good friend Werner Nachitgal, the founder of Global Outreach Day. As he wrote:

“Sometimes we pray for revival, longing for God to move, to awaken our hearts, and to transform our communities. But the story of awakening has already begun… We can live awakened because of what Jesus has already done. But to live awakened, we must continually return to our first love.”

All the devotions over the past 30 days have been good, but I felt that Werner’s devotion called “We Love because He First Loved Us” was brilliant because of its simple challenge and its achievability.

I have been working with Werner for many years organising Go Month in May each year, even though I only met him in-person three years ago.

I was keen to talk with him, so I went to an outreach in Western Sydney to meet him and take him out for breakfast. I grew annoyed when he insisted on witnessing to our waitress about the love of Jesus instead of spending time with me.

Reflecting on my coldness of heart, I feel I must pray yesterday’s prayer from Werner’s devotion again:

“Dear God awaken my heart again. Let me never take your sacrifice for granted. Fill me afresh with your Spirit and let your love compel me. Give me your compassion for those who do not know you. Open my eyes to the people around me and give me courage to share the gospel. Show me whom I should pray for, speak to, and reach out to today. Amen.”

General William Booth (1829–1912), founder of the Salvation Army and a contemporary of Gypsy Smith, said, “I’m not waiting for a move of God; I am a move of God”.

This is the challenge. If we pray for the Church to experience an awakening, we must begin to experience it first. As a great man once said, “We must become the change we seek.”

My friend Kurt Mahlburg and I are writing a new book on revival. We previously wrote a history of revival in Australia called Great Southland Revival: Tracing the Spirit’s Flame from Acts to Australia. Our new book will be called, The God Who Revives: Revival Around the World Today, and How the Bible Teaches Us to Pray for It Here.

In many ways this is a sobering process that will require great honesty and humility as we research what God is doing in the nations of the earth. After much reflection on awakening and revival, I have come to the conclusion that Werner Nachtigal is correct:

“Awakening begins when we remember the love that awakened our hearts in the first place. And to live awakened, we must continually return to our first love.”

Video

Prayer

Father, forgive my coldness of heart. Cleanse me of my secret sins — the sins I commit unknowingly and those I am too afraid to confess. Heal my brokenness and cleanse me through the blood of Jesus, and let me return and walk in my first love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thank You and Invitation

We thank you for joining us in prayer for these 31 days of prayer and fasting for the Church to experience awakening. Together we believe God is answering our prayers!

We invite you to join us on Zoom this Saturday night for a special celebration and sharing at 8 pm (AEDT). You are most welcome to continue with us in prayer as we return to our usual pattern of meeting at 8 pm (AEDT) on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays, beginning on Sunday, 1 November.

Author Bio

Warwick Marsh has been married to Alison since 1975, and they have five children and eleven grandchildren. He is a family and faith advocate, social reformer, musician, TV producer, writer and public speaker. Warwick is well known in Australia for his advocacy for prayer, children, marriage, manhood, family, fatherhood and faith.

Prayer Points for October 2026

We are praying for the Church to:

1. Awaken to her first love for Jesus (Ephesians 5:14; Revelation 2:4).
2. Awaken to evangelism so that millions will trust in Christ (John 3:16; Proverbs 11:30).
3. Awaken to her prophetic voice to the nation (Isaiah 52:1; Matthew 14:4).

We invite you to support this campaign to multiply prayer in Australia for revival and see millions come to faith in Christ. 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.

Sign up to receive daily devotions during October in your inbox (and find extra info) here.

Join Us for Our Nightly Zoom Prayer Call:

DATES: Every night from Thursday, 1 October to Saturday, 31 October

TIME: 8 pm AEDT; 7:30 pm SA; 7 pm QLD; 6:30 pm NT; 5 pm WA

ZOOM URL LINK: zoom.us/j/776881184

ZOOM TUTORIAL: youtube.com/watch?v=pAMDxH_H_Cs

View all October 2026 Awaken devotionals

Daily devotions are brought to you by the Canberra Declaration.

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