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| Habakkuk by Donatello (1423-6) |
TO CHEW ON: "O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:2
God told Habakkuk earlier that waiting would be involved in the resolution of Judah's situation—that "the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak … Though it tarries, wait for it." In the meantime he needed to live by faith (Habakkuk 2:2-4).
But that knowledge didn't dampen Habakkuk's hope for the meantime. Here he prayed that God would revive His people even during the time of waiting: "in the midst of the years!"
Isn't that the cry of our hearts too? Wherever we are on the continuum of time between Jesus' ascension and return to earth, we long for God to again make His presence felt, to send conviction of sin like only He can, to break down resistance to wanderers returning to Him, and to cause a new spiritual sensitivity and fruitfulness in our land. And so we join Habakkuk along with David, Asaph, the Sons of Korah, and Isaiah in praying for revival:
"Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You" - David in Psalm 51:13.
"Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!" - Asaph in Psalm 80:7.
"Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?" - Sons of Korah in Psalm 85:6.
"Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest" - Isaiah 32:15.
PRAYER: Dear God, stories of revivals from years ago seem like fanciful tales—impossible to repeat. Would you send revival again? Please? Amen.
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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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