For those praying for revival...
Updated: Mar 22
When I was at Passion 2023, which is a giant Christian conference for young adults that is held in Atlanta at the beginning of every year, I read a devotional the night before the first session. The devotional was by Cody Carnes, a Christian singer, and he said that he believed that our generation, Gen Z, is the generation that is going to bring revival to the world. After I read the devotional, that thought lingered in my mind all night and into the next day. As my best friend, Av, and I were walking to the first session that next morning, I looked at her and asked if she thought that our generation might be the generation that brings revival to the world. She looked at me and said, “Hm, I don’t know,” and I said, “Yeah, me neither.” And that was literally all we said. We moved on and started talking about something random after that. This conversation is so funny to me because of how brief it was and how we truly had no idea what was up ahead.
That day at Passion, the very first speaker talked about how they believed that our generation was going to be the generation that brings revival to the world. This was 100% a God moment for me. I was truly shocked to hear these words coming out of her mouth.
She spoke about how our generation has a HUGE appetite for something, but they can’t figure out what it is that they’re hungry for. So, Gen Zers are going to the wrong things to fulfill that appetite. For example, we see a lot of people in our generation looking to partying to satisfy their hunger, or maybe they’re looking to relationships, or maybe they’re even looking to social media. We keep searching and searching, but we are never satisfied! Our appetites have been suppressed for a very long time and finally, we are looking to God to satisfy that hunger.
C. S. Lewis put it this way, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
We are a generation that always wants to know the definite and final answer. We cannot take “maybe” as an answer, and thankfully, this is all for a reason! People are now realizing that they can’t find satisfaction or answers in this world – God is the only answer and the only source of joy, contentment, and true satisfaction!
Just a little side note – also, when we were at Passion, we heard about this program called the 12 Verse Challenge. Basically, individuals have the opportunity to donate a certain amount of money every month and that specific amount will aid in the translation of 12 Bible verses in a language that doesn’t have access to translated scripture. At the current rate they’re going, with the amount of donations they are getting to this day, every language will be translated by the year 2038. Do you understand how this is a full circle moment? OUR generation has the opportunity to be a vessel in proclaiming the Gospel to all the nations (Matthew 24:14)!
I left Passion 2023 completely filled and satisfied. I felt like I could move mountains, and I believe that with God’s help, ANYONE can move a mountain. I had a strong feeling that there was going to be revival in our country after this and my faith was unwavering in this belief.
To add even more flavor to this AMAZING story, the revival at Asbury University broke out a couple months after my experience at Passion. This is a super small college in Wilmore, KY and THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of people were flocking to the campus because of what God was doing there.
I had the chance to go with a few of my friends. I decided the night before that I was going to go and I am so glad that I went because it was a life-altering experience. My friends and I drove 7 hours to get to KY and when we got into the main chapel building, I witnessed an outpour of love, contentment, and hope from the Holy Spirit. There was no preaching while we were there, only constant singing of God’s praise. We sang hymns like Because He lives and worship music like Yeshua/Our God Reigns (I recommend listening to both of those songs!). People were experiencing all types of healing – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. I saw people crying on their knees because they were so grateful to just be in the presence of God. It was so, so, so beautiful.
After I left Asbury that evening, my friends and I were in such awe that we were able to witness an outpour of the Holy Spirit in such a unique way.
When we got back to WVU, I was meeting with my small group for BCM and every single one of the girls in my small group can tell you that we had all been praying for this outpour since the beginning of the year, and after Asbury, we kept praying for more revival to sweep the nation and the world.
I hope this collection of stories encourages and inspires you that revival was here AND is among us today.
I encourage you to keep praying for revival among the nations. But revival doesn’t have to be this gigantic outpour that sweeps the nation and makes news headlines. Revival can happen in the quiet of the night when you’re on your knees praying and worshiping God. Build revival with yourself and God, build revival with your family and God, or your friends and God. You don’t have to go to another place to find revival – God can bring personal revival to your heart. But for revival to start anywhere, your heart must be completely humble for God to truly do His work in you.
My friends and me at the Asbury Revival.
