Day 9

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!”—Isaiah 64:1-2

“The god who answers by fire, he is God!”—1 Kings 18:24

“I have come to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”—Luke 12:49

When God comes—when His presence invades the sphere of our existence—He comes by fire. And it is fire that revives us. In simplest terms, revival is fire. It is an intense, spiritual fire that burns deep and prolonged. It will scorch before it heals. It will ruin us before it changes us.

But fire doesn’t fall on an empty altar. If there is no humility, no brokenness, no prayer and fasting, no conviction of sin, no spirit of expectation, no sacrifice, fire will not fall! But for those who pay the price, His presence will come like fire:

It burns. The fire of God burns away the chaff—the worthless sin-burdens that cling to us, and hinder the pure wheat of God’s Word from nourishing us. We are a culture entertained, but bored; wealthy with materialism, but poor in the true riches; full of knowledge, but empty of truth. It is only the fire of God that can turn this nation around.

It purifies. The fire of God separates the holy from the unholy. It melts away the dross of this world. It refines us into the pure image of Christ.

It softens. The fire of God reduces even the hardest hearts to the soft, pliable material for God’s shaping. When God comes, He softens the hard crust that encases our hearts. Like wax before a fire, God mollifies and tenderizes us for His work.

It warms. The fire of God creates in us such a presence of God that the world will be attracted to us—they are like men and women in spiritual winter—unsaved—who are drawn to the warmth of God’s presence.

It glows. The light of God’s fire breaks into the darkness of this world. Darkness must flee; it can never overcome the light!

It spreads. Just one spark of revival can set a nation on fire. Soon the newly saved will pass the fire of revival from one to another, spreading it across this nation.

It tempers. Through the constant heating and re-heating and watering and hammering of the Spirit, our character is formed and shaped into His image.

How does God answer our sacrifice? He answers by fire!

Prayer Topics: Revival; Fire of God’s Presence; Sacrifice; Applying Spiritual Disciplines; Christlikeness.

Day 8

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
—Psalm 73:2-3, 16-17

It is not unusual for the wicked to prosper in this age. In fact, despite the plethora of laws and regulations to constrain evil, the wicked still seem to find ways to circumvent society’s restraints and exploit others for gain. And they seem to do it with ease, without remorse, without regret—callous in all their ways.

Psalm 73 reveals the struggle of Asaph when he was tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked. At first he recounts how all the outward appearances seemed to confirm their success. They looked happy and prosperous—“free from the burdens common to man.” For a moment the prideful triumphs of the wicked captivated the heart of the psalmist. How his own righteous acts seemed to pale in comparison to the achievements of the wicked!

Until he entered the presence of the Lord.

There is something about the presence of the Lord that brings everything into proper perspective. His presence brings judgment back into view. His presence reminds us that this age is temporary—that it will be engulfed by eternity. His presence reminded Asaph of the wicked’s final destiny.

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”

Without His presence, we too may be overcome by the temptations of this age. But whenever our feet slip after the wicked, His presence is there to point us to truth. His presence will cause us to conclude along with Asaph: “Earth has nothing I desire besides you!”

Prayer Topics: Seeking His Presence; Desiring Him Above All Else; Contentment; Final Judgment; Eternity.