A Lutheran Prayer for Revival

“How are you?” she asked. He usually says, “Good.” But today, his eyes were dark, almost bruised underneath. His hair was a mess.  

“How are you?” she repeated.  His only response was a five second sigh.  

Inexpressible exasperation. You feel like you’re carrying a backpack full of rocks and you’re not allowed to put it down. Pandemic anxiety. Masks and vaccines. Political toxicity. 9/11 remembrance. Afghan tragedy. Hurricane devastation. Future uncertainty.  Families fractured . . . 

It is a moment in history when only a sigh will work. There are no words. At times like these, I’d like to make a case for revival. I know. You’re thinking of a big tent revival with a fired up charismatic preacher shouting and sweating behind a podium. But “revive” is a biblical word. It means to “restore to life” or “to give new strength or energy.” I want to show you this word in the Bible and how you can use it in your life.

Psalm 85 is a Psalm of revival, and it follows a particular pattern that gives us insight into the word “revive.”  First, the Psalm remembers the past, what God has done:  “LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.” (Ps. 85:1)  We know someone by their actions. You trust your best friend because they’ve proven themselves over time. They showed up when you were in the hospital. They watched your kids when you were sick. They came to your game when no one else would.  It’s the same with God. We know who he is by what he has done. He has proven himself consistently over time.

The second part is to ask God to do it again.  “Revive us again” (Ps. 85:6). God, we know what you did in the past. Do it again. Do it now. Do it in our time and place. This is the pattern of revival.  (Another example is Habakkuk 3:2.) 

1.)  Remember what God has done in the past.  
2.)  Call on him to do it again.  Here and now.  

It’s like the Lord’s prayer.  We pray, “Thy kingdom come.”  “Thy will be done.”  Martin Luther commented that of course God’s kingdom and will can happen apart from our prayer. He doesn’t need our prayer to do his will. So why pray? Luther says, “But we pray in this petition that it may also be done among us.”  Father, bring your Kingdom here, now.  Do your will here, now.  
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This is a furnace season, a time of testing. Under stress, many things break.  But these are precisely the times when God brings about revival and renewal. I may be accused by fellow Lutherans of being a Pentecostal, but will you join me in a prayer for revival?

God, we’ve seen a sea split in two so your people could escape.
God, we remember the wicked giant who fell at the feet of a shepherd boy.
God, we’ve seen the rainbow and the promise it guarantees.  
​Revive us again.  Do it here, now.  

Jesus, we remember how you subdued a violent storm with a word.
Jesus, we know the time you wiped mud on a blind man’s eyes and he could see.
Jesus, we know demons flee at your command. 
Revive us again.  Do it here, now.  

Jesus, we saw you on the cross.  We know our sinful pollution put you there.  When the odds were a million to one.  When you breathed a last breath, a final sigh.  But we know it was not your last breath.  

Resurrection.  Restoration.  Redemption.  Revival.  

O Lord, we pray, revive us again.  Amen.  


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