Seeding Heaven for Revival




Seeding Heaven with prayers for revival is in the hearts and mouths of many Christians these days. It is clear that America is in great need of revival. We are in need of a Heavenly downpour if we are to again be One Nation Under God. Seeding for revival can happen in many ways, but the most common is united prayer. For many years our nation has been lacking in prayer meetings. The tragic event of 9/11 began a seeding of prayer for America. It drew folks together in prayer all across the nation.
Seeding revival has a natural counterpart. Nations use cloud seeding as a way of getting clouds to release rain when needed. The cloud seeding begins by Silver Iodide being released via a plane or through a ground based-generator into clouds. Ice crystals form snow and it begins to fall from the clouds. If the air is real cold it stays snow, but if it is warm it becomes rain. The Bible tells us the principal of first happening in the natural and then in the spiritual realm. “But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual.” 1Co 15:46.
In seeding Heaven for Revival there are actually three parts. The first part is cold Christians repenting and returning to their first love. It begins with repentance in God’s people. They allow the Holy Spirit to search them and are willing to see their sins and repent. The Bible promises healing of the land when God’s people humble themselves and pray. . “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chr 7:14.
The church is instrumental in the turning of our country. Praying Christians are the key that can open the floodgates of Heaven to pour out revival on our land. Revival means to recover, repair or restore. Hosea 10:12 says: “Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness upon you.” Revival brings life.
There are three stages of natural life, conception, gestation, and birth. So it is in the spiritual realm for revival. There is conception-prayer that breaks up fallow ground, gestation - happenings and growth, and birth-revival and awakening.
Conception prayer breaks up the fallow ground of the believer’s heart. There is a heart felt seeking the Lord for the welfare of the whole nation. Hearts are broken over their sins, and for the sins of their country
Gestation involves happenings that draw people together in prayer. Sometimes they are tragedies that God allows to awaken a community. God did not create pain and suffering, but He permits that which He hates to accomplish that which He loves. God did create humans, who through their own free will carried the potential for good and evil to enter the world. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they knew good and evil, and the ability to release both.
God takes no pleasure in tragedies, but He has been known to turn tragedies into triumphs for us when we look to Him. Ro 8:28. We find a great example of this in the Old Testament in the story of Joseph. He went through rejection of his brothers to the point of them wanting to kill him, but instead they sold him into slavery. He was the apple of his father’s eye when at 17 years old he was robbed of his father’s love. He was sold by his jealous brothers for a slave and taken to a foreign land. There he was unfairly accused of a crime and put in prison. And in all that the Bible says, “God was with him.” Ac 7:9.
Because of Joseph’s God given gift of being able to interpret dreams he was released from prison into a position of great authority where he was in the position of helping to save the lives of his own family and many others. When he was reunited with his brothers who sold him into slavery he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Ge 50:20; Ro 8:28.
The late Billy Graham said, “ Yes, God may use tragedies or heartaches to bring us closer to Himself. I’ve experienced this in my own life, and I’ve observed it in the lives of others also. Does this mean God is being cruel when He does this? No, not at all, in fact the opposite is the case. The problem, you see, is with us, not with God. Our hearts easily become cold and indifferent to God, and we refuse to listen to Him when He’s trying to get our attention. We can even become so hardened toward God that we can’t hear His voice. When this happens, the only way He can get our attention may be to allow something to happen to us that will shatter our indifference or rebellion. Only then will we face our need for Christ, and turn in faith and trust to Him.”
Sometimes in an area God uses tragedies to draw the community or a nation together to pray and seek God. The tragedy of 9/11 drew the nation together in prayer. The churches were filled for a few months, but again when the tragedy grew cold our nation went back to its old ways. Since that time more tragedies have occurred with increasing violence across our nation. Our schools are no longer a safe place for our children.
It is very clear that God is speaking loud and clear to our nation. Over the last seventeen years since 9/11 we have seen disasters across our land as the hand of judgment has moved on our nation. Crime and violent acts have become daily news. Our nation is in turmoil as never before.
What is God saying to us as a nation? He is saying, if we will pray and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear from Heaven and heal our land. 2 Ch 7:14.
In the Northwest area of Kootenai and Bonner County I believe we are seeing a seeding for the coming revival here. We have had a series of tragedies that have a distinct pattern since 2015. On May 5, 2015 Sergeant Greg Moore, a dearly loved husband and father, 16- year veteran of the Coeur d’ Alene Police Department was fatally shot in the line of duty. The hospital was filled with people praying, but Sergeant Greg passed away. The community was shocked and deeply wounded with his death. The community was drawn together in prayer. Nationally policemen were drawn together in this terrible loss, almost 4,000 filed the local high school for Greg’s funeral. “Following the funeral, the community came out in a huge show of support for a funeral procession that included law enforcement vehicles from across the country and stretched down the streets of Coeur d’Alene for miles.” Our community would never be the same. I believe this was the first seeding for revival in this area.
We had another seeding for revival on March 7, 2016. Pastor Tim Remington was greeting people after church when he was shot 8 times by a visitor. The hospital was packed again with praying people in behalf of Pastor Tim. In churches, homes, and prayer groups families gathered to pray for Pastor Tim. Again across this nation Coeur d’ Alene was brought to attention. Miraculously Pastor Tim’s life was spared, but he was severely injured - enough to remain a constant reminder to this community to keep praying for him. And enough to be a constant reminder to stay in united extended prayer.
A few months ago in our Bible study prayer group during prayer the pattern of seeding became clear. We prayed for the safety of whoever might be involved in another seeding for this area. On February 27, 2018, Officer Charles Hatley was shot in the line of duty. The people of Coeur d’ Alene were again drawn together in prayer for Officer Hatley. Again the same pattern of shooting occurred, and thankfully officer Hatley’s life was spared.
On March 5, 2018 officer Michael Hutter and Officer Eric Clark were shot in the line of duty in Sandpoint, Idaho. The community of thankfully both officers lived. Officer Clark was more seriously injured and is still recovering. Again this area was drawn into united prayer. Is this all a coincidence? Or could these tragedies be part of the seeding of the coming revival to the northwest?
Just as the clouds are seeded for rain with material, revivals are seeded by happenings. When we pastored in New Mexico we experienced a move of God among the churches. Carlsbad had a rash of suicides in the local high school. It left many families in mourning within a short period of time. It was a pattern that was happening in the city, and it was a pattern that preceded a move of God in that city. Pastors were moved to come together for prayer, and the community was drawn into a time of prayer walking the streets and the high school. The mayor and officials became part of the prayer movement there. The result was hearts were awakened to God, and people returned to Him who had been drifting in their faith. As much as the tragedies of the suicides were, God used them to seed Heaven for the move of God we experienced there.
The third part of a move of God is wide spread revival, and the awakening of lost people to the warmth of Jesus Christ’s love. Revival and awakening affects a nation on every level when it happens. The Welsh Revival has a completely changed nation when the outpouring came. So much so the police had to form singing quartets because there was no crime.
How much do we want revival? Do we want it as much as we want air to breathe? Hardly or we would all be on our knees constantly. Church, we hold the key to revival. I encourage you to become part of a prayer group that is seeding Heaven for revival