God is so overflowing with mercy, I am sure that in His grace and joy, He just surprises people by showing up in amazing ways and pouring out His love. God is always anxious to show kindness. Yet in most places another dynamic seems to be at work.

This dynamic amazes me. It is completely astounding! God is… responding.

The Sovereign Lord of the universe is responding to ordinary people like you and me, made from the dust of the earth. He is listening for their cries. He is scanning the whole earth looking for those whose hearts are wholly His. He is responding to people who are longing for Him and crying for His Kingdom to invade their sphere.

A.W. Tozer said it this way, “God waits to be wanted.”

God wants us to take initiative toward Him. He is looking for it, even waiting for it. Indeed the Scriptures are full of these invitations: 

• “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Js 4:8).
• “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” (2 Chr 15:2).
• “The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chr 16:9).
• “You will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and soul” (Deut 4:29).
• “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6).
• “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chr 7:14).

 We hear about revivals after they hit the newspapers. What we don’t see is what took place first. Throughout history all the major revivals were preceded by people who sought God for them. There were people who yearned for the presence of God and earnestly prayed for His Kingdom to come as it is in Heaven.

My question is Why not here? Why not now? Why don’t we become the people that God is waiting to respond to? Why don’t we become the people that God knows He can trust with an outpouring because we are longing for Him? Why don’t we set up the groundwork for a major Kingdom breakthrough here?

We are.

And we won’t stop until God breaks through.

That’s why we have set aside an entire week for continual prayer and worship, July 18-25. That is why we are gathering people from churches all over this region to seek His face. That day and night, an unbroken cry would go up from this place, “God, we want you here!”

And that is why you are invited—no, urged—to be a part. Revival is waiting. The world is wanting. God is watching.

The LORD longs to be gracious to you.

He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

How blessed are all those who long for Him!   (Isa 30:18)

To be a part of hastening revival right here, join the escalating cry that is going up to heaven for His Kingdom to come. As you know, it is not our intent that gets rewarded, it is action. A practical way you can be actively involved in bringing real breakthrough to this area is to register and participate in the approaching 24/7 Regional Prayer (http://www.urfellowship.com). We long for His kingdom to be released here!

As Isaiah 60 describes, nations are going to see the brightness of the Lord’s glory because it will be revealed through His people. It is the Lord’s intention to make known what He is like through us. The world needs who God is—they need His wisdom, His insight, His grace, and His favor. The Lord is going to use us in strategic places—at the right place, at the right time, with wisdom from heaven—to effect businesses, families, governments, media, education, arts and entertainment, both here locally and beyond. 

Isaiah 61 talks about the anointing that will be on God’s people to bring deliverance and freedom. As Jesus proclaimed, we will do the works that He did and even greater ones. Motivated by compassion, God is releasing a greater anointing for healing, miracles, and deliverance from all kinds of bondages in our cities. The world is desperate for those who can bring them Hope and Life. This will come through a people who have been set free themselves and are full of the Holy Spirit and abundant joy. 

What triggers the release of all these things, as Isaiah 62 expresses, is a people whose hearts relentlessly pursue the Lord and won’t let Him go until heaven touches earth and His glory is released upon the world. “All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa 62: 6,7). 

This is why a week has been set aside for continual prayer and worship. This why we carve out time and do whatever it takes to seek His face. We love His presence and long for His Kingdom to come here as it is in heaven. We are thrilled that He has chosen to reveal His glory by placing it upon us. We yearn for others to be touched by His kindness and for society to be changed by His goodness. So, oh Lord our God, let Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here as it is in heaven.

—Bruce Stryffeler 

Isaiah 60

    ¹“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
         And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
    ²“For behold, darkness will cover the earth
         And deep darkness the peoples;
         But the LORD will rise upon you
         And His glory will appear upon you.
    ³“Nations will come to your light,
         And kings to the brightness of your rising.” 

Isaiah 61

    ¹The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
         Because the LORD has anointed me
         To bring good news to the afflicted;
         He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
         To proclaim liberty to captives
         And freedom to prisoners;
    ²To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
         And the day of vengeance of our God;
         To comfort all who mourn,
    ³To grant those who mourn in Zion,
         Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
         The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
         The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
         So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
         The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 

Isaiah 62

    ¹For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
         And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
         Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
         And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
    ²The nations will see your righteousness,
         And all kings your glory;
         And you will be called by a new name
         Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.
    ³You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
         And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

O My Saviour, help me.
I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget,
so weak to climb;I am in the foothills when I should be in the heights;
I am pained by my graceless heart,
my prayerless days,
my poverty of love,
my sloth in the heavenly race,
my sullied conscience,
my wasted hours,
my unspent opportunities.
I am blind while light shines around me:
take the scales from my eyes,
grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.
Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,
meditate on thee,
gaze on thee,
sit like Mary at thy feet,
lean like John on thy breast,
appeal like Peter to thy love,
count like Paul all things dung.
Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be;
more decision in my character,
more vigor in my purposes,
more elevation in my life,
more fervor in my devotion,
more constancy in my zeal.
As I have a position in the world,
keep me from making the world my position;
May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the creator;
Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight.
Ride forth in me, thou King of kings and Lord of lords,
that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

Let us pray…

Almighty God, Our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of You alone. It all comes from You; it all belongs to You; it all exists for Your glory. History is Your story. The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God.’ The Lord is One, and You are the compassionate and merciful One and You are loving to everyone You have made.

Now, today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American President of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequalled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And, we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven!

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility; the courage to lead us with integrity; the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice-President Biden, the cabinet and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans united not by race, or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget You, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And, may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before You.

We now commit our new President and his wife Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into Your loving care. I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life – Yeshua (Hebrew), Isa (Arabic), Jesus (Spanish), Jesus (English) – who taught us to pray, “‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.