Nehemiah is a book whose major theme is revival, and it describes the schematics of a person who God instrumentally used to bring that about. Any person seriously seeking to bring revival in their context needs to read the truths of this book.

Part 2

Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:4

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The foundation of revival is prayer.

There has never been a major move of God in the history of Christendom that has not been preceded by massive movements of sustained prayer and fasting on God’s people. This, I add, begins with the book of Acts all the way up to today.

For those who live in places where we are far from the state of being revived, perhaps what we suffer most is a poor memory. We hear of God’s great hand at work throughout history, but cannot recall how those things took place. It is a simple answer: prayer, prayer, and more prayer.

Nehemiah demonstrated that a broken people who get on their knees in prayer and intercession are the funnel through which the blessings of God will flow to his people. Nehemiah was just one man, and his prayer led him to the king of the largest empire at the time. Not only did prayer lead him there, but prayer had produced its good effect in the king long before Nehemiah began talking with him.

That’s because prayer calls on God, it calls on God’s strength, it calls on God’s persuasion, it calls on God’s blessings–all of which will accomplish anything God pleases, but if only there were a praying people to do so. But God in Nehemiah’s time had already been moved by prayer. And so His Spirit went forth and softened the king’s heart to lead Nehemiah to build the house of God, which led to revival.

It is a fanciful story at first, but consider our current context and you will see the power of prayer.

Prayer can move our presidents and our nations. It can move the most powerful people on earth to do God’s will because God is Lord over them. Prayer can move people groups, it can move cities, it can shake schools, it will change families. Prayer is effective for all applications. Without prayer, Christians are nothing. With prayer, Christians are everything.

And to say it quite bluntly, yes, prayer will bring revival to America.

But oh, if only there more Nehemiah’s out there.