Habakkuk Pt. 6 Habakkuk prayed for Revival.

Good morning to all...

Please continue to pray for the Lord to use His Word contained in each blog lesson that He will lead people to Himself. Also, that He would grant strength and revival to all believers who are weary or overwhelmed. 

2 Thessalonians 3:1  Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

The words "free course" is the idea of an Olympic runner making the maximum effort needed to win. It is the idea of someone running behind you but catching up  and causing you to make an extra burst to win. 

When we sincerely make our best effort to share God's word with others we know that scripture will not return void. Rather, it will do what God wants it to do: save lost souls, transform lives and elevate Jesus Christ.

Habakkuk prayed in response to Jehovah's vision.

Habakkuk 3:1-2  A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2) O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

In Habakkuk 2, the prophet was awaiting God's reply to his cares and concerns that he previously prayed about. When he received an answer from God, he faithfully recorded every part of the vision. Habakkuk was heard by God and was powerfully perplexed when Jehovah showed him what He was going to do and how He would accomplish it.

Yet his faith and trust in God was very strong and he expressed what he knew to be true about God. The last chapter of this book is Habakkuk's response to God's revelation. He is no longer lodging any point of protest with God. Rather, he was engaged in praise and worship to the Living God.

Habakkuk said what we all would say if we were hearing or seeing something directly from God. He expressed his reverential fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. He heard what Jehovah said and was afraid. Not just for himself, but for the sweeping judgment that would fall on Judah. As a prophet, Habakkuk also loved the sheep of Jehovah's pasture and wanted the best for them, which is living in obedience to God's word. 

Habakkuk prayed for Jehovah to revive His people even as they faced certain judgment and exile into captivity. He requested that the Lord would send His mercy while His judgment against sin was being executed. His prayer for revival was specific for the time when Habakkuk lived and ministered as a prophet. 

We live between two worlds.

Galatians 5:16-17  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Why did Habakkuk pray for revival? All the redeemed people of God in every age have a unique dichotomy. We have one part of us that is our old, natural man of the flesh which does not want anything to do with the things of God. We also have a new man in Christ infused with eternal life and indwelt by God's Spirit. 

All believers in every age are believers because God gave them spiritual life. Equally true is that all believers in every age also live with a willful spirit that does not want to obey or follow the things of God. Thus, we live between two worlds. Our old man wants to follow the world but our new man craves the things of God. This is what Paul was getting at in his letter to the churches in Galatia. 

Jesus said that our spirit was willing but our flesh was the weak point for each one of us (Matthew 26:41).

This spiritual reality means that we are all susceptible of falling into a pattern where we drift into spiritual lethargy. We can become indifferent to the Word of God and ignore the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we enter this degraded spiritual state of being, then we become weakened. We become preoccupied with our own desires and wants and the will of God as revealed in His word becomes less important to us. This is why we need God to periodically do reviving work in our hearts. 

Contemplative questions for our spiritual state of being.

Genesis 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 

God used a question to probe the guilty consciences of Adam and Eve after they sinned and were hiding from Him. The following questions are ones that will help us evaluate where we are in terms of our spiritual well being. 

Are our hearts stirred when we sing hymns to God? Are our minds energized when we hear a sermon or study God's word? Do we have a growing desire to do that which pleases God? Do we live a separated life for Christ? Do we greatly anticipate gathering together with our church family for corporate worship, preaching and praises to God?  Do we seek to tell the lost about mankind's only hope, Jesus Christ? Do we see evidence of God changing our hearts through the ministry of the Word and His Spirit? 

If the answer to these questions is "No" then we may have become like the people of Judah and in need of being spiritually revived. 

God knows we need periodic reviving.

Psalm 103:13-14  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14)  For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 

Look at the heart of our God in this text from Psalm 103. He is like a Father who takes pity on His young, sometimes wayward children. Sometimes our grandchildren will have a meltdown for various reasons. They might not feel well or they may be tired and in need of a nap. A father knows his children's temperaments  and knows how much he can reasonably expect from them, in terms of doing chores, learning their lessons or being obedient. 

Our heavenly Father is just like that. He knows our frame that we are only dust and that we will go back to dust when we die. He knew before the first man was created that we would need lots of help and revival is one of His helps for us. 

Habakkuk specifically prayed for revival so what does this word mean? It means to be restored to life or quickened. It also means to be refreshed and brought back to life. 

Think about working outside on a hot, humid summer day. I can only do that for a while and then I lose focus and energy. The only thing that can help me recover from bring exposed to hot, humid conditions too long is to sit and drink water. Only cold fresh water will satisfy my thirst and as I rest a bit, I sense my focus and energy returning. 

A revived heart cries out to the Lord. 

Psalm 80:18-19  So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. 19) Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.  

In Psalm 80, we see that revival (translated "quicken") begins with realizing a need to call upon the Lord to bring you back to where you used to be. The Psalmist announced his determination not to go away or depart from Jehovah. He saw firsthand the heartache and trouble caused by forsaking God's good path and following the ways of the world. 

After confessing his sins and vowing to be faithful to God, the Psalmist prayed for revival. His spirit had gone cold or became calloused toward his God. The fire of his passion for the Lord had almost gone out. He cried out for the reviving, quickening power of God to fall on him. He wanted his zeal back and his passion and love for God restored. He wanted to serve Jehovah in spirit and in truth rather than merely going through the motions. 

What is the outcome of revival in this case? A whole heart engaged in calling upon the name of the Lord. It results in an outpouring of praise to Jehovah for His tender mercies and unending grace. 

Then, the Psalmist prayed for the nation as a whole, asking the Lord to turn their hearts back again to His glory. It was the sign of great blessing to have the face of God shining upon His people (Numbers 6:22-27).

A revived heart seeks the welfare of God's people.

Psalm 85:4-6  Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. 5) Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6)  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 

The sons of Korah were used of God to write this Psalm. It is focused more on national revival. Turn us, O God, he said because they needed to be turned back to the God of their fathers. The anger of God toward Israel for their collective sinning and idolatry is mentioned 3 times in 2 verses. 

The Psalmist asked two rhetorical questions and both require a "No" answer. God will not be angry with them forever. God will not unleash His anger for all generations. If Jehovah was not a God of forgiveness, grace and mercy, then their situation would have been hopeless. 

The prayer for revival in this Psalm is so that the people of God might be filled with joy and rejoicing because of the goodness and long-suffering of God. 

What is God's purpose in reviving us?

Isaiah 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

This text from the prophet Isaiah shows us the heart of God. Yes, He is high, holy and worthy of exaltation. Yes, He is the self existent God who stepped out of eternity in order to bring salvation to all who believe through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

What does He want to do in us? Our high, holy God will dwell with all people who have contrite and humble spirits. These are people who have been revived and turned back to God again. Their zeal for God is hot and the love for Him is deeper. 

Jehovah revives us so that we can respond aright to His word and to increase our sensitivity to His indwelling Spirit.  God wants us to be fully restored in our fellowship with Him. Twice in this text God promised to revive those whose hearts have been made contrite and humble by the working of His Spirit. 

His purposes are to restore our relationship with Him, to infuse us with fresh zeal, to bend our will to surrender to His revealed truth so that we might live for His glory and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. 

Thoughts to Ponder....

Habakkuk has shown us the need to pray for revival. He needed revived and the people of Judah most certainly were in great need of experiencing revival from God. 

We need revival at the individual soul level because we live between heaven and earth. Part of us is natural, earth bound and wants to satisfy fleshly lusts. The new man we received from Christ when we were born again desires the things of God and full communion with the Godhead. We are in constant warfare between our flesh and the Spirit of God who lives in us and who seeks to strengthen the new man in Christ that He put in us. 

We must bring all our thoughts under the captivity of Christ and keep our bodies under subjection to God's Spirit (1 Corinthians 9:27 & 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

We must earnestly pray for revival in our own heart as Habakkuk did. Our Father in heaven knows us, that we are weak, prone to failure and that we will need periodic reviving from Him.

Jehovah has promised revival to those whose spirits are humble and whose hearts are contrite. He will revive people like this because they have confessed their sins and forsaken them to the best of their abilities. The blood of Jesus Christ cleansed them from all unrighteousness and the Father can restore the fellowship and revive the heart. 

Remember, a revived heart calls out to the Lord and it seeks the welfare of God's people. A revived heart is full of fresh passion and hot zeal for God. A revived heart is determined to walk closer with God each day and to live in obedience to His word. 

Will you pray to the Lord about showing each of us where we fall short, and where we need to confess sin so that His Spirit might have His way on our hearts?

Bob