Let's Talk about Revival!

The following program is recorded content created by the Truth Network. Be encouraged. I hope you're ready to be blessed, stirred, have your faith and vision lifted with God.

All things are possible. And when we see massive national answers to prayer, it encourages us to take hold in the little things, in the daily things, especially things where you've prayed for years and years and years and not seen a breakthrough. Be encouraged.

God remains faithful and even when you see nothing, he is at work in us to make us more like his son and he is at work in many of the ways of which we know very little. Michael Brown, welcome to today's broadcast. We've got some special guests that will be joining us first. My dear friend and colleague, Pat Mahoney, who has been on the front lines of the pro-life movement for well over 40 years. I've been a support to the frontline leaders. I've helped be a voice for the frontline leaders, but Pat is one of those who's been on the front lines, sacrificially so, for decades. Pat, what a day to welcome you back to the line of fire on the other side of Roe v. Wade.

Come on. You know, Dr. Brown, you saying that, just hearing you say on the other side of Roe v. Wade, it still hasn't fully sunk in yet, and I apologize to any of your listeners. My voice for the past seven weeks out in front of the Supreme Court, I'm like a revival preacher under the tent. It's a little strained, but we are rejoicing, celebrating, but also very somber and serious, realizing that Roe v. Wade being overturned only has put us at a new starting point, not a finishing line. And our work is still much ahead, but nevertheless, what an incredible day Friday was, and there's an expression that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the front page of the New York Times captured it when they had, the very next day, a picture of several pro-life leaders in front of the court. I was one of them, and I look at that picture, and you can just see the joy, the emotion, the depth of feeling in all of us as the picture would snap the very second we heard Roe was overturned.

Wow, wow. So, Pat, you had called me the night before because you got some cryptic inside information that the decision was going to be released last Friday, and so I was thinking about it in the morning, okay, 10 in the morning coming, I was looking for the announcement. I guess I saw it first at 10, 11, but having been on the front lines for so many years, and you know most of the key pro-life leaders you've worked with, many of them for decades, how many times, especially after 92 with the Casey case, how many times did you feel like it's never going to happen?

It's never going to change. Well, as Dr. Brown, you've known me for 35 years, you know I'm a very optimistic person, but I must admit, Paul, when he wrote that beautiful verse, grow not weary in well doing, he knew we would grow weary in well doing. I mean, he understood that. He didn't say don't give up, he said don't grow weary, and I have to admit, seeing accounts in the media and seeing pro-life laws overturned and seeing so many things happen and seeing several Supreme Court decisions, and Dr. Brown, you have to realize why this case is so extraordinary. Think about this for a moment. The last abortion case that went to the Supreme Court a couple of years ago was should abortion clinics have the same standards as other medical facilities?

In other words, have to have hospital privileges, have to have hallways that you can get patients in and out of, etc, etc. And we lost that. Something so simple and basic, and just something that everyone should agree on, we lost. So I think after that decision, there was really a sense of weariness that came over God's people. But you know what, I always look at what is God's point of view. Think about this for a moment to all the listeners.

When President Biden became president, we now have the most pro-abortion administration and government in American history, so much so that they will not even introduce laws that will protect children who are born alive after late term abortions. And think about this. Think about God.

I'm sorry if I'm so emotional, but it's been an amazing more than 72 hours. We see Roe overturned. God did it in the most hostile and impossible of situations with the most pro-abortion government in history. There is no situation, brothers and sisters, that you are facing that God is not moving and acting and arranging circumstances for his glory and for our good.

Yes, sir. With you, amen to every word that you just spoke. And again, Pat, we've talked about this. We understand that changing hearts and minds is always the biggest thing. We understand that this just pushes things back to the states. We understand that there'll be a backlash and a lot of misinformation put out. We understand that the issues of the abortion pill and how that can be used across state lines potentially. So as you said, we're the new starting point. But why do you think in the sight of God and the sight of the nation, the overturning of Roe is so significant? Great question, Dr. Brown.

I'll start with a larger view and then move in. The key thing for me that came out of the Dobbs case decision on June 24th, abortion by the highest court in our land, by our highest judiciary voice, has said abortion is not a constitutional and fundamental right. I cannot overemphasize how important that is legislatively, practically, but spiritually.

There was a spiritual declaration that was made on Friday. This country as a nation by our highest court officially is now taking the position that abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right, is not a foundational right. So spiritually, I believe a heavy burden has been lifted off of America. And then, of course, practically in 2021, America passed the most, the largest number of state pro-life laws in our history, over 110, and every one of them were shot down in the federal court.

Now that is gone. So on a practical end, we are already seeing abortion clinics closed in many states. We're seeing many states abortion free. It's giving us the opportunity to move forward to support women in a post Roe culture and to implement legislative policies that will protect children and their mothers.

So both on a spiritual end, I can't stress, I'm trying to piece all this together and we're less than one week removed from the decision. But could one honestly say that we could experience a nationwide revival where the spirit, where the judicial position of our country was officially saying it was constitutional to kill innocent children? That has now been removed.

So Dr. Brown, what no one is talking about in the New York Times or the Washington Post or on national cable shows, but shows like yours are great. What kind of spiritual impact will this have on America? What kind of spiritual forces will be removed to allow the Holy Spirit to ignite an awakening across our country? And do you feel that the Roe v. Wade mentality and the constitutional right to abortion myth and then everything abortion brings, does that affect the larger culture outside of abortion? In other words, does it trigger a larger culture of death and denigration of life?

Well, there's no doubt about it. And so if simply say stated, if we can allow an innocent child for the full nine months of pregnancy to be legally allowed to be killed, then no freedom, no liberty, no right we enjoy in America is secure. And this opens up a Pandora's box of what we've seen in our country over the last 50 years. Yes, there is a direct linkage to the erosion of religious liberty, although with the Coach Kennedy case that the whole show, we're seeing that restored. But in so many areas of a moral decline, the violence in the womb, we were seeing violence within our streets. What does marriage entail?

What does family include? What are things that just think Dr. Brown 50 years ago, 49 technically, but almost 50 years ago, what Americans believed on moral issues, both Christian and non-Christian or Democrat and Republican, and many of those were the same. And over the last 50 years, we have seen this extraordinary divide within our culture, so much so that we literally have almost two Americas, almost two different views and opinions that that people have on cultural issues.

So Roe v. Wade opened that Pandora's box, and how could we say you couldn't have this happen or that happen if we allowed innocent children to be killed? Right now, we have to assess, and I would tell every pastor and every Christian leader to get onto their knees and seek God and say, okay, Lord, where do we move now from here? What is happening now from here in terms of crying out for a move of your Holy Spirit?

Yeah, absolutely. Hey, Pat, we're going to take a quick break, and then I just want to keep you a couple more minutes. I know you're running, running, running.

I knew it was unrealistic to think we'd get you on Friday. So glad to have you on today to rejoice with you and to honor you and the many others who have sacrificed for so many years for the life of the unborn, for the mothers, for the fathers, for a culture of life. We'll be right back. We are just getting started right here on the line of fire. If you've got a related question or comment, I may take some calls today as well. 866-342. Stay right here. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get on the line of fire by calling 866-342. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Alright, I want to grab a couple more minutes with my friend Pat Mahoney and then release him to get on with the busyness of everything that's happening these days. So, Pat, two last things I wanted to cover with you. One, I remember years back when you were here teaching our students at Fire School of Ministry, you were talking to Nancy and me about incremental changes over a course of a generation or two. And obviously we pray we want to see God shake the nation, do amazing things, and turn people's hearts.

It just switches overnight. But really it's more like there's this massive tug of war for the soul of a nation. And it goes a little this way and it goes a little that way. And all we can do is do what we can to shine the light and make a difference in our generation. Do you see this as a sign of larger incremental change or is the younger culture dead set against a pro-life position?

What do you see on the larger national level of sentiment and viewpoint? Well, these are really profound issues, but certainly that's how God works with us incrementally and touching our hearts and changing us. And what God does in individuals, he works the same with a nation. And we ourselves in our personal spiritual journey see moments where we move forward and then have struggles.

So what does this do? I believe, let's look at past history for some positive, some negative. We had segregation as a systemic problem in America, especially within our public schools. Brown v. Board of Education changed all that and we saw an incredible shift on an issue that we struggle with.

We always believed that marriage was between a man and a woman. And in the Supreme Court case, we saw a change in that. And we have seen a significant, almost incredibly rapid sense of what marriage is right now, what gender is right now.

So I believe, yes, this will change the hearts of people. We're seeing anger right now. We are seeing frustration on the part of people who are pro-choice. And I saw it for the last seven weeks.

I virtually, since the leaked opinion came out, I've been virtually at the Supreme Court nonstop for seven weeks. But I think once the dust settles, people will say, OK, how can we now move forward to help women? And it does take a generation, Dr. Brown. This entire 35, 40 and under, and particularly those who are 21 and under, have only grown up with, quote unquote, legalized abortion.

That now has changed. And I think history has shown us that this will be a significant turning point. However, there's an asterisk here. Will the Church step into this moment? God is giving us this moment to address and talk. And I am both euphoric and deeply burdened that will America and the American Church seize on this time, what we like to call a hinge moment in American history.

And we'll have to weigh that out. But for every pastor, church leader, member of the clergy and Christian leader, we need to step into this favor and into this moment. And we need to step into what God is doing in this hour. And it's a season of transition. And I wish I could say that it's a transition that will move America forward in a positive way. But those final chapters are yet to be written.

Right. And Pat, really, that got me to my second point in terms of what we can do. So, God willing, here on the line of fire and in our writing and other things that we do, we will keep facilitating what we do next, what we do next, highlighting the spirit of those opposing, because the darkness is becoming darker in this regard.

And people will see that as well, the attacks on churches and pregnancy crisis centers, the hatred, the anger, and behind that often a lot of pain. So, let us reach across the aisle with the gospel. And Pat, we rejoice with you. We honor you, the utmost respect for your tireless, persevering efforts. And now, let's consolidate spiritual ground, moral ground, and let's do what we can to build a culture of life. Hey, thanks, Pat, for making time for us today. Look forward to seeing you.

And Dr. Brown, I just want to say this. You were the first person I called in May of 2021. You were the first person I called when I had that information. I just want to publicly say to all of your listeners, thank you for your support, for your prayer, for your commitment. And you have personally been an inspiration and mentor to me over the last 12 months of seeing this historic moment come forward.

So, thank you so much. Thanks. Thanks, Pat. That means the world to me more than you could know. God bless, man.

Love to the family. Thanks, brother. God bless you, too. God bless.

Wow. Praise God. And let's pray.

Let us pray for Pat and let us pray for the continued forward movement of the pro-life cause. By the way, I just wanted to apologize. Robert from Mountain Home, Texas, when you called, I guess the end of last week, I guess on Friday, and you were mentioning how in the early days of the pro-life movement that you realized many pro-lifers were using contraception in terms of a pill, et cetera, that were actually acting as abortifacients so that we were undercutting our own position. And I was saying, hey, there's a difference between contraception and abortion. Yeah, in many, many cases there is, obviously. And certain types of contraception have absolutely nothing to do with abortion whatsoever. And from my understanding, in the earliest days of the birth control pill, that very, very, very rarely could act as an abortifacient in the case that there was a pregnancy.

But the pill more recently definitely can in certain cases. So when I spoke too broadly there, and then a few folks pointed that out in YouTube comments as well, so thanks for pointing that out, and I apologize for speaking too broadly in making that point. All right, we're going to go grab a call or two, and then we are going to focus on revival and take some calls on that as well in the second half of the broadcast. So let's go to Paul in Cleveland, Ohio. Welcome to the line of fire.

If you turn the speaker down, you are on the air. Welcome, Paul. Hello, Dr. Brown, thanks for taking my call. I just want to say that, you know, there's people that do say this is not really a big deal. But when you think about it, that the war industry that's being waged on babies has been is being dismantled. And actually, I'm pretty sure that Planned Parenthood offices are actually already closed, though, in my opinion, that is evidence, because they have said for years that, you know, the killing was only 3-5% of our business. Well, why are you closed one day after this? Thank you.

Yeah, hey, Paul, of course Planned Parenthood remains in operation across the nation, but for sure, clinics will be closing, or what others would just call abortion mills, in different states in America. And yes, it will bring a hit on the income. Here, listen. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. I have known preachers of the gospel who have become corrupted by the love of money. Christian business people who have been corrupted by the love of money. How much more people who do not know the Lord, and do not live by biblical ethics, and have already a wrong thing they are doing, be it a drug dealer, or being an abortion provider.

You say, how are you apparently? I am saying both of those things as sins, destructive sins, in God's sight. So, of course, greed comes into play. Of course, making money, the unplanned movie telling the story of Abby Johnson. She was right there as an eyewitness. Others who have worked in Planned Parenthood have said, oh yeah, the more abortions the better.

This is a major part of the income. But, look, as Pat Mahoney said, think back to Obergefell. Right? The Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage, which is an outrageous decision in terms of a legal decision. If states voted and said we're going to change the definition of marriage, states actually have the right to do that under the way America is set up. Right? But the court is completely outrageous.

There is no basis, legal basis, justifiable legal basis for the decision. Then the White House is lit up in rainbow colors in celebration. Now this is the law of the land, suddenly public opinion shifts in different ways. It just happens. So, all right, tell you what, we've got some calls on the subject of revival and we're going to bring on some guests to talk about revival in a moment, but check this out.

This was, I just spotted this posted on YouTube from Lex. Dr. Brown, speaking on politics and the culture has changed my point of view drastically. I was into the Q thing and very one-sided my beliefs and opinions. I'm now very open to listen to what others say and see how they are hurting. There is a better balance now between grace and truth. Thank you, Dr. Brown. Lex, I'm so glad that I saw this comment. We're going to leave it up for those who are watching for a moment. I'm so glad I spotted this.

You're very welcome. And that's why we do what we do. That's such a large part of why we do what we do. Dean responded, Q and the prophets are not the same, but they overlap in areas. The prophetic narrative will be established in spite of Brown exalting himself above it.

No, actually, actually I submitted to the word and held the prophets accountable to the word. Lex responded, I appreciate Dr. Brown. Dean said Brown is going to be proven much less trustworthy when it's all said and done. And Joe, while you can't, Dean, you're wrong on this one, buddy. You're wrong on this one.

What we said is true. What the prophets with timelines in guaranteeing Trump eight consecutive years said was false and needs to be called out for the honor of God for the good of the body. And as sure as I'm sitting here, Donald Trump will not be reinstated as president before 2024. Never going to happen. It's not going to happen.

Will he run again and win 2024? Could be. That's got nothing to do with the prophetic words, which did not come to pass. Fact. Let's live with reality and move forward. We're focusing on revival when we come back. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Friends, within the next week and a half, we're going to be sending out a special email announcement about our next trip to Israel, one of the greatest times you could possibly go to Israel, the month of May. That's our plan.

Second half of May 2023. We've also got some great announcements about new resources and special videos and articles. Make sure you get my emails. Go to askdrbrown.org.

Askdrbrown.org. Take 30 seconds or less to sign up for the emails and you'll be blessed immediately the very first day by the content you receive. I'm holding in my hands a book that I had the joy of writing the foreword to. It is called Reclaiming Revival by Billy Humphrey and Corey Russell, calling a generation to contend for historic awakening. Both of these brothers have been leaders in the prayer movement for many years, have been involved in movements with 24-7 prayer.

And along with that, encouraging and cultivating deeper individual intimacy with the Lord. And we've worked together in different settings, but this is the first time that we're bringing Corey and Billy on the air together with us at once. So gentlemen, welcome to the line of fire. All right, we're having a slight problem there, and we'll get our folks at Truth to resolve that. Let's just try one more time. All right, not sure what's happening, but we'll do this one last time for a moment. Hey, Corey, welcome to the broadcast.

We're going to reconnect with Billy. Glad to have you. Glad to be here. Hey, tell us about your own journey for a moment. First, what does revival mean to you, and how did you become so passionate about it? Yeah, I would say in 1997, in a small town in northwest Arkansas, I was a strung-out drug addict, most like yourself, and just February 18, 1997, my friend had gone through a season where it was really weird, but his mom was praying for him, and he came to the Lord, and he came preaching to me. And on February 18, 1997, he shares the gospel with me, and right when I'm about to get out of the van, the power of God hit me in the van, and I literally had a wild encounter with the Holy Spirit.

You know, it was a real intense encounter. It ended with me shouting the name of Jesus, getting completely set free, and then falling into the college parking lot and just screaming at the top of my lungs, Jesus, I give you my life, I'm yours. And in that moment, I experienced instantaneous deliverance, instantaneous salvation, and over the next weeks, I had a drug ring of friends that had similar encounters like that. And I ended up leading my little brother to the Lord who was still in the high school, and over the next six months, we would see half of the high school come to Jesus, either backsliding, coming back, or newly saved.

And we began to have around five meetings a week till three in the morning at this local church, and the presence of God in the spring of 97 just invaded a small town in northwest Arkansas. So I think I got a taste for it in my salvation, and then seeing what could happen in a region when the presence of God invades, and it just pretty much set me on a course that's taken me over the last 25 years. Right, so you got saved in a revival way, one of these seasons of unusual divine visitation, and then that became the norm and the pattern, and once you've seen that happen, you think, well, how can I live with anything less, especially when the Bible puts forth so many promises. Billy, how is it that revival has become such a passion in your own life? Yeah, for me it was in 1995 reading in Charisma magazine about what was going on in Toronto and in Brownsville, and then in the beginning of 96 going and visiting the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, and I'd never seen the power of God released in that way anywhere. And it wasn't manufactured, it wasn't contrived, it was on the worship, it was on the preaching, it was on the personal ministry time, but the scenes, you know, when you were there at Brownsville, there's a thousand to two thousand people waiting in line to get in church, you know, 10 to 12 hours in advance. And so then you go into the meeting and there's this haunting presence of God that's just filled the room, and I was a 26-year-old, 25-26-year-old guy, hungry for God but had never experienced Him like this, and in that season I just got marked so deeply. I read every book, I could get my hands on every biography of a revivalist, and got so deeply marked that it just became the constant prayer of my heart asking God to pour out His Spirit and release revival. The new book, Friends, Reclaiming Revival, Calling a Generation to Contend for Historic Awakening by Corey Russell and Billy Humphrey. I want to come back to Corey in a moment, but Billy, in the book you have a little story of meeting me in the meeting, your first encounter, and a lot of people, like, what's with this slain in the spirit stuff?

There's nothing we preach or emphasize or make a big deal about. I've prayed for many thousands of people who haven't been slain in the spirit, and my wife Nancy's never been slain in the spirit, but sometimes the power of God's poured out in these unique ways, and people I haven't encountered. What happened to you in this regard when you, quote, met me? Yeah, I don't know that we actually shook hands at that point.

No, I don't think so. We were there, and there was, you know, at the end of the services in Brownsville, you know, there's a thousand to two thousand people that want some sort of ministry, some prayer ministry, and you know, when the altar call was given for salvation, hundreds would come forward, sometimes thousands, but then there's several thousand in the meeting, so then there's more that want to get ministered to through prayer. And at that time, there were so many different people laying hands on people, but I remember my friend and I, Ryan, we saw you, you were actually going in the lobby area, and we were moving toward the back of the sanctuary to sort of, you know, meet where you were in the lobby, but as you were coming down the hallway in the lobby, I literally saw people's bodies flying, and I thought, my gosh, what is happening? I could hear you saying, fire, fire, and you're, you know, people are getting, you know, thrown five and seven feet back, I'm watching with my eyes, and by the time we get up to where we're going to get now prayed for by you, it is an enveloping presence of God that your body is not, you just become really aware that I'm, my body isn't strong enough for what's happening right here. And all I can, all I can say is that when you reached your hand out to touch me, I felt light. I felt like my, I took off, and I, when I came to sometime later, I was 10 or 15 feet from where you'd actually prayed for me. But the point wasn't, oh, Dr. Brown's got power, the point was God was anointing so many people, it was, it could be a grandmother, it could be, you know, a grandfather in the altar, just to pray for the impartation of the power of the Holy Spirit. And when you get up from an encounter like that, you know, you're shaken, but you feel renewed, you feel freshly convicted, convinced, but, you know, you also feel freshly empowered to seek the Lord and to share the gospel.

And so, I mean, that was my experience, it was, I laugh, when we talk about it later, we just laugh about it, because it was, it was haunting in the moment, it was, it was fearsome, and, you know, scary. Yeah, and when you're in the real presence of God, it is overwhelming, and there is that holy fear, and yet, you said, as a result, your heart was renewed and changed. Corey, you're also a long-time student of revival. There are a lot of books that have been written on revival. What did you and Billy seek to accomplish in writing Reclaiming Revival?

And by the way, for those that don't like long books, it's not a long book, it's powerful, it's chock-full, but it's an easy read. What are you hoping to accomplish with Reclaiming Revival? I think, for me, it's just to raise the bar. You know, I've been traveling, you know, over the last 15, 20 years, and I hear the words so many times, and I feel like when we turn everything into revival, then nothing is revival. And I feel like the Word has gotten watered down, domesticated, and really brought down, and I'm grateful, I'm honest, I'm grateful for every single breakthrough of God. Every time I see someone saved, healed, or delivered, or every breakthrough, I rejoice. But I think it's really, I think it's critical for this next generation of believers to raise the bar of what it looks like in those divine seasons when the Father openly manifests the rule of his Son by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the release of preaching that cuts, that truly can cut through all of the stuff. And I believe that's what happens in seasons of revival, so we just want to raise the bar of what the Bible and history tells us about what revival really is. And do you feel, as you've been part of some of these 24-7 prayer and worship movements, that there's a cumulative effect to our prayers, like incense going before the throne of God, and it builds, and it builds, and then you can reach critical mass, and something seems to suddenly happen, but it's actually been building for years or decades?

Yes, absolutely. I think of that phrase in Revelation 5 where it says the bowls were full, which means there's an accumulation through time, and I spent 18 years in Kansas City at the House of Prayer, and I think what we're seeing right now is the awakening of global prayer and worship that's going to culminate with a global outpouring, and that's going to bring the whole earth into a new season. And it's even more than what we've seen in history. I think history gives us reference points, but I think the days we're moving into and the emergence of prayer and worship is setting for something across the earth, for something that we've never seen before. Yeah, and the knees are greater than they've ever been, the harvest is riper than it's ever been, more souls to be reached, more attacked by evil, so in the midst of the darkness, light shines.

Alright friends, we're going to be right back on the other side of the break with Billy Humphrey, Corey Russell. There are a couple of questions from our callers. How do we prepare to become a leader in revival? How do we pray for revival? We're going to address those, but let me say this one thing, and the book, Reclaiming Revival, above all, will spark something in your own heart.

That's the key. There was an old evangelist many years ago, Gypsy Smith, who was asked, how do you pray for revival? And he said, I draw a circle on the ground, I stand inside the circle, and I say, God, revive everything in this circle.

So that's always a good thing. Lord, set me ablaze. Lord, bring me to repentance of areas of coldness and difference in my life, spiritual blind spots, lethargy. Set me ablaze with fresh love for Jesus, fresh love for the word of God, fresh love for the Holy Spirit, fresh love for a dying world. Burn brightly in me.

Burn out the dross. Draw me to your son. Spray for ourselves. It's a good prayer because if the coal of our life can ignite, it can ignite the other coals around us. Before you know it, holy fire is burning.

We'll be right back. This is how we rise up. It's our resistance.

You can't resist us. This is how we rise up. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. How much do I support, stand with the ministries of Corey Russell and Billy Humphrey? Well, I wrote the foreword to their book, Reclaiming Revival, and reviewing the contents again today. Of course, I read through the book and right in the foreword, but reviewing the contents, it really, it doesn't just give you vision. It doesn't just present a picture of what revival is and what God's done through revival in history and what could happen at the end of the age with great outpouring. But it's also a how-to, how to cultivate the hunger and the desire and the humility necessary to allow you to be in the front lines of revival. Billy, one of our callers has asked the question, how do we prepare to become a leader in revival? Obviously, you could teach on this at length, but in a couple of minutes, how would you respond to that? You know, did you, were you addressing me, Michael?

This is Billy, because he had offered to say, okay, sorry. How to prepare to be a leader in revival, I liked the act that you gave before the break. First, it's got to begin in your own heart, you know? And I think that in our Western context of church, we're used to teaching, preaching, doing things on social media that attract numbers. And the more public a ministry gets, the less personal an individual has to be. And what I think is that they've got to get personally real with God first. Whatever's going on in their own heart that has any kind of compromise or any kind of, you know, gray area, that's got to be the area where they start.

Being a leader in it isn't really about, you know, having this big sphere or this big influence over a lot of people. It's about having a heart that's pure, that's true, that's authentic. And so the place to start, like you said in that anecdote, is with ourselves. And it looks like prayer and fasting. It looks like, you know, hours, long hours of loving devotion in the Word and in meditation before the Lord.

That's what it looks like to begin with. It looks like sharing your faith when you're out in the marketplace and just being authentic about your Christianity. And when you give yourself to the Lord in that kind of a way, the desires that are in His heart will begin to be the desires of your heart, and it will begin to eat you up.

And so it'll be your waking thoughts. How is God going to break in? How is God going to change things? Not only in my life, not only in my family, but also in my church and in this region. And when that thing begins to bubble up in you, it has a possessing kind of power over the heart where you just make revival your bread, your air, your water. The prayer for revival is something you carry with you at all times. I think that's something that Corey and I share. You know, when we met each other for the first time when we were in Kansas City in 2003, it was just so evident to find the same marking in both of our hearts where we were carrying this desire and this longing for a break-in of God.

But I would just say to answer that question, it's got to start with the individual heart being completely on fire for the Lord himself, and then he can look at leading others. Got it, got it. Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you. And to add to that, Corey, you and Billy have a chapter about hunger. How does one cultivate hunger for revival, hunger for God? How do you cultivate that and deepen that in your life? Yeah, I remember reading a book by John G. Lake years ago where he would say this simple prayer, God, make me the hungriest man alive. And I think it starts with asking for God to give us something, and what he's giving us is the awareness of how much we need him. And that's how I define spiritual hunger. I think there's definitely the things that accompany spiritual hunger, the prayer, the fasting, the time, the intentionality, the waiting on the Lord.

But I think it starts with whether you have a little bit or none. I think it starts with, God, I want to want you. I want to hunger for you. God, would you give me something that I cannot give myself? Give me the awareness of how much I need you. And I think it starts by just being obedient to that hunger and that thirst and developing it and just beginning to prioritize it in your life.

And it just grows and grows and grows. Yeah, well said. I appreciate the practical answers from both of you on this highly spiritual subject. And to further answer the question about how do we pray for revival, what would you tell a local church pastor? Maybe he's got 150 people in his congregation. The idea of doing 24-7 prayer is a little ambitious. And obviously, God's like calling every church to do 24-7 prayer in the same way. But if they want to have a corporate prayer meeting once a week or early morning prayer, if they're going to start somewhere to pray regularly for revival, what would you encourage a local pastor to do?

Corey? Yeah, I would get rid of the whole burden of a 24-7 call. I would just say pick one prayer meeting a week that you can find that most of your people can get to a Wednesday night or find a time. And I would come through the door of worship and looking at God. I love how Jesus in the Lord's Prayer taught us to look at God first, our Father in Heaven. And I think getting people's hearts in loving worship and adoration and worship and loving God, and then out of that place, the pastor himself leading the prayer meeting, I think that's absolutely critical. If the pastor can't delegate prayer meetings to another pastor or to another leader, the pastor has to lead the prayer meeting. And I think at some point in that prayer meeting, it needs to shift from just worshiping Jesus and worshiping God into bringing God's promises in the Scripture back to God to ask him to do what he said he wants to do. And then beginning to lead that out and all the leaders beginning to follow in that route and engaging the people.

I find being faithful with that for a year or two and letting the Lord develop from that point is the best and wisest thing that you can do to cultivate the Spirit in your church. Excellent. Excellent.

Thank you for that. And that also means praying when you don't feel anything. It also means persevering when the turnout's what you expected because if we want to see revival, we're in this for the long haul. And in the book as well, towards the end of the book, Billy, you talk about the importance of hunger, humility, but holiness. Holiness is required. We've only got a couple minutes left on this, but why is holiness an essential part of revival?

You know, I remember hearing a revival preacher years ago say, if there's one thing about the Holy Spirit, it's his first name, he's holy. And the only thing is, he's just not going to continue to pour out his blessing and his anointing on impure sacrifices and impure vessels. And so he calls us to a place of being purified with him so that he can operate in us and through us. And I think that we've had a challenge in the church where we've seen anointing without there being purity in the vessels. And I believe that the Lord, he's really requiring holiness in this hour.

There's been a ton of compromises over the years, we've walked through many challenging things, and none of us is perfect. So I'm a grace man, I believe in grace. But we've got to utilize the grace of God to help us to deny ungodliness and step into this place of purity where now we are clay in his hands and he can use us in whatever means he desires. And so I think when we have sin in our lives, when we have impurities in our lives, compromises, they get in the way of us in God.

And he really just wants that out of the way so he can be closer. And I think to me that's one of the best definitions of revival, it's when God draws near. And if you think about what's in the heart of God to draw near to his people, he wants every other thing that's in the way to get out of the way so he can come and he can manifest in our midst in a very, very close and dynamic way.

So that's why it's required, holiness is required so that we can be close with him and he can come close to us. Yeah, so well said. And friends, as you're listening, you understand why I so wholeheartedly endorse this book. You hear the words from these men and the centrality of biblical foundations and all they're saying. The book Reclaiming Revival by Corey Russell and Billy Humphrey. Corey, could you just take a minute and just pray for the fire of revival to burn afresh in the lives of those who are listening and viewing this broadcast?

Yes, absolutely. Father, I just thank you for everyone who's listening right now to this. And I just ask you that you would release a fire, that you would release a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and fire on every heart, God. God, I pray that you would awaken those that are far from you or disconnected from you. I pray for the fire of God to come upon them. I pray, God, for those that are believing for you.

I pray that you would strengthen them in prayer. And God, I pray that you would connect them with one another. God, I pray that you would touch every pastor and every leader with a vision for revival. God, I pray that you would wound us afresh with a vision of what you want to do in our homes, in our lives, in our churches, in our cities, in our regions, in our nation. God, I pray that you would awaken spontaneous prayer that would fill the church across our nation and across the nations of the earth. I pray that there would be early morning prayer and late night prayer, that there would be a grace of prayer and fasting released upon the church. And that, God, that there would be holiness, that we would come out of deception and delusion and wrong assessments. And God, I pray that there would be a humility and a movement of your assessment about us, that we would come into truth with you, Lord. Release the fire of the Holy Spirit. I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen.

Billy, Kari, thank you so much for joining us today. Once more, the book, Reclaiming Revival, really encourage you to read it, give you an oversight of, an overview of revivals in the past, what revival is scripturally, and what role we can play. But we need a fresh outpouring, but God's moving. Things are happening. The prayers of God's people are being answered.

Let's say, Lord, here am I. Send me. Use me. Light a fresh fire in me. Thank you, my brothers. We'll be back with you tomorrow. Another program powered by the Truth Network.