The Asbury Revival was not a time when God just “showed up.” He has been, is and will always be with us.
The Asbury Revival has been a time when people have done what God told us to do. And many have seen God.
If My People, Who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
The people called to God.
They humbled themselves.
They prayed.
They sought The Face of God and found Him not only in the clouds overhead, but in the faces and arms of those around them.
They repented and committed to turning to new, better paths.
This revival was unplanned by humans. It was unscripted. But it was planned by God from the beginning.
Barriers disappeared. The very old and very young and everyone in between simply worshipped together.
People of different ethnic groups and backgrounds worshipped together.
Time was suspended. Many testified they were surprised to discover how long in earth time they had been in prayer. They had entered eternal time where a thousand years is as a day.
There was freedom to come and go. There was no set beginning and no set ending. Each person responded to when The Spirit said come and when The Spirit said go.
There was fellowship. There was unity. There was a clear manifestation of that for which so many had prayed for such a long time.
But most importantly, there was a manifestation of exactly what Jesus prayed for … and still prays for … not only for those who went before us, but for those who will come after us, who will believe because of our testimony.
Jesus prayed,
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
I have given them The Glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One — I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.
Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
John 17:20-23
Revival may not be the right word. I believe God is not simply doing a “do over.” He is doing a fresh, new thing. And it is just beginning!
See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up!
Isaiah 43:19
