Pray. Please.

2nd Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
I have attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA for hte past few months and have already heard a lot of speakers and pastors and people who have made a difference. Most of them come with the idea that we are going to be, not world, but "church-changers". They come with a message that will give us the encouragement and fire we need to pursue the newest revival. I've heard, even in this short time, a lot of talk about the right way to do it, but not until recently have I heard the correct approach to changing our churches.
Now, I must also make this straight. We are not called to save our culture. God did not send Jesus to die on the cross for us to be filled with the love of God so that we may save the tradition of things we like to do or ways in which we enjoy acting in. Believe it or not, this is the commission some teachers and guest speakers have given. However, I hope that my generation doesn't strive to preserve culture but to change lives. I know these same teachers would agree with me, but wording is key: there is a need for the lives of individuals in the church to be changed.
Again, before we come across the answer and key to revival, we must understand that we are not starting revival by being perfect people. We will not stand above the crowds and lead them in righteousness from our own flesh. We aren't perfect leaders because there already was one and He stands as our high priest who listens to our cries (Hebrews 7:26-28). With this said, revival must start with us. If we cannot be changed daily to the call of Christ than we have no part in asking others to do so. So let it be said, let it start with us.
We most recently had a pastor of a church in D.C. that came and spoke at our convocation. He knew. He understood. He told us to turn in our Bibles to Acts 10 as we would discuss Prayer. Having recently studied prayer throughout scripture, I thought this was a strange place. Usually, it's smart to search throughout the Bible for your topic and then pick the strongest one that makes your point. This didn't seem like a strong passage.
Cornelius was a centurion in the Italian Regiment and had a devout faith towards God. In verse two, it says that he prayed regularly. One day, God gave him a vision, in which he was told to send some of his men to fetch Peter and bring him back to Caesarea, where Cornelius had been staying. Peter also received a vision that was probably a bit stranger than Cornelius'. Peter became hungry during one of his prayer sessions and the Lord gave him a vision of animals on a sheet and God said, "Eat!" Peter rejects the food in saying that it was unclean. We was a devout Jew and he wasn't going to partake in food that was against his religious diet. However, God makes a bigger than we think statement and says, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
Cornelius' men show up at Peter's house and bring him back to Caesarea. Then it says in verse twenty-seven that Peter entered into Cornelius' house. It goes onto say that it's not custom or right for a Jew to associate with a Gentile, but God showed Peter the vision and told him that God has made things clean. Peter than begins to tell them more about the Gospel and they become baptized at the end of the chapter.
Still, what a strange chapter to chose for talking about prayer! But something that I learned was the reason behind this advancement of the Gospel. When did God meet with both Cornelius and Peter? When they were praying. You have to understand that this opened the door for all Gentiles to have the ability to become a Christian and to follow after Christ. This event shifted the tables and created a completely new world. Because of the prayers of both of these men, God made a practical way for those who weren't ethically called to be apart of God's plan. Most of you who read this article would probably say that you are not Jewish. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it's because of the prayers of Cornelius and Peter. Was it their power that did it? No, but God used their devotion.
So what does this mean for us? Let us pray. That's the only answer for revival. It's the only way lives can be changed. It's the only way because it's the purest motive of telling God that we don't have the ability or the power to do all the things that He can do. I don't want to work as hard as I can knowing that God can do so much more than I ever will be able to. I want to spend all my time tapping into His power. Does this mean we shouldn't preach or lead worship or have revival services? No, but it does mean that we shouldn't do anything without someone praying. An old Moravian saying is, "No one works unless someone prays."
Although praying is the hardest spiritual discipline, it avails much for the righteous. - Forsake All