Why Revival Still Tarries

 Evangelist and author Leonard Ravenhill wrote a hard hitting book in 1959 titled, Why Revival Tarries. It was reprinted 35 times up to the time my copy was printed. I am sure it has continued to be reprinted. Ravenhill was a bold prophet. He preached hard and wrote hard. Many do not have the stomach for him. I've loved his books and preaching since I was first introduced to him back in 1986. One of his conclusions about why revival tarries is that the followers of God are content to live without it. 

Ravenhill died in 1994 without seeing the revival he longed for. He prayed eight hours a day. He preached into his eighties. He wrote numerous other books. He did not get to taste the revival he spent his whole ministry laboring for. He saw tremendous moves of God, but not the revival that burdened his heart. 

He would be offended to see what has become of the church today. He challenged churches to pray during his life. You would be hard pressed to find a prayer meeting in all the churches today. Sin has entered the camp of God. It seems every month we hear about the moral failure of another minister. The word of God has been compromised with tickle the ear sermons. Pew dwellers do not have the appetite for messages on repentance, holiness, sanctification, and surrender. The church today seems content to carry on without revival. 

Not me. God used Ravenhill to hook me as a college student. I've tasted three genuine revivals. It only whets my appetite to taste that again. It remains on my mind. I read about revivals. Listen to sermons on revival. Watch documentaries about revival. It burns in me. 

Revival still tarries because it is costly. More than most readers know. In a church age where ministry is tailored to be comfortable and convenient, there is no room for prayer, fasting, travailing, solemn assemblies and full out devotion. The church I serve is no better than the others. We still hold prayer meetings on Sunday nights. This past week we had a whopping 9 people show up which included my wife and me. Some of those prayed the same things they prayed the week before. There was very little travailing. 

Revival seems as far out of reach as it has been for decades. There are pockets of revival. Many happened on college campuses. They have not swept across the nation or the world like the Welsh Revival back in 1904-1905 that moved across the world. The Prayer Revival that started in 1857 with one man named Jeremiah Lamphier. He started a noon day prayer meeting. God blessed that meeting that spread across New York City and eventually a great portion of the United States. Hundreds of thousands were converted in both revivals. 

I long for God to move like that again. The Welsh Revival started with a praying young man named Evan Roberts. The Prayer Revival started with Jeremiah Lamphier. Whom will God use in our day to be the catalyst for another mighty move of His Spirit?