Revival is the reimagining, reanimating work of God in the hearts of His people. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are made alive spiritually, having been dead in sin. But being spiritually alive doesn’t necessarily mean that we are spiritually lively. Our faith waxes and wanes. We forget the redemptive power of God and neglect our responsibility to live holy lives. In those seasons of neglect—or even outright departure—we desperately need God’s reviving work. In addition, whole churches, communities, and nations need revival. Psalm 85 is a prayer for revival. Sprinkled throughout the psalm is the word translated “turn” or “restore” (verses 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8). At the heart of the psalm (verse 6) is the plea, “Will you not revive us again?” We can ask God to restore our spiritual vitality. We must pray for revival. In fact, we can anticipate God’s positive response to our prayers for revival for several reasons outlined in this psalm.
God’s past blessings
prompt us to anticipate revival (85:1-3).
Because God has already blessed us and others in the past we can be sure that He desires to bless us again, to bring revival again. The superscription to Psalm 85 attributes this psalm to the Sons of Korah and was given to the director of music associated with worship among God’s chosen people. It may have been composed after the exile (note the word “captivity” in verse one), but this cannot be determined with certainty. |
