Raise Up A Remnant

And the remnant shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

2 Kings 19:30 KJV

In the eighteenth century, Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf formed a holy conspiracy called “the Order of the Mustard Seed.” Members wore a ring inscribed with the motto “none live for themselves.” They solemnly pledged to be true to Christ, to be kind to people, and to take the gospel to the nations. The secret order included such notables as the king of Denmark, the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, the secretary of state of Scotland, and the eighty-seven-year-old Creek Indian chief Tomochichi.

On the evening before the order was formed, Zinzendorf called his friends to prayer. He held up the ring and said, “Brothers, we know why^a we are here. Tomorrow we will make our covenant, but tonight let us pray.” Zinzendorf himself prayed all night. The next morning they pledged to use all of their gifts, all of their wealth, and all of their influence for the conversion of the heathen. Zinzendorf then laid hands on each member of the order and individually prayed for them. The ceremony lasted a few minutes, but the covenant lasted a lifetime.

What was begun that day culminated in the Moravian Pentecost at Herrnhut in 1727. On August 27 of that year, a small remnant of twenty-four brothers and twenty-four sisters began praying around the clock. That prayer meeting was visited^b by the Holy Spirit, not unlike the 120 who prayed in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Thus began hourly intercessions that would not stop for one hundred years! Even the children of the village formed prayer circles. And those prayers reverberated all around the world in one of the greatest missionary movements the church has ever known. Thousands of missionaries were called and commissioned. Some even sold themselves into slavery in order to reach their mission field.

Reformation

At critical junctures in history, God raises up a remnant to reestablish His reign and rule. It’s rarely a majority. In fact, it’s almost always a small minority. But all it takes is a faithful few to begin a reformation.

It’s not a new discovery that sparks it. Reformations are birthed out of rediscovering something ancient, something simple, something true. In the days of Hilkiah^c the priest, for example, it was the rediscovery of the Book of the Law that sparked national revival. That one rediscovery brought a nation to its knees.

Every generation needs a reformation. Every generation needs to tear down its idols and rebuild its temples. Every generation needs to repent of its sin and rediscover the ancient truths.

During our forty-day challenge at National Community Church, we felt we needed to circle one promise for forty days.

If we circle the promises of God, God will deliver on them. It’s not a question of if; it’s only a question of when. But if we are determined to pray as long as it takes, revival will come. It’s as predictable as the sun rising in the east. It’s as inevitable as the sun setting into the west.

In the words of Charles Finney,^e “God is one pent-up revival.”

And all it takes is a remnant rising up!

As a reminder of the promise, our church started gathering at 7:14 a.m. for corporate prayer. When the clock hit 7:14, we hit our knees. It became as instinctual as hunger pangs. Not getting on our knees felt like missing a meal.

It was at 7:14 a.m. on the National Day of Prayer that I felt as though the Spirit of God gave me a word: I’m raising up a remnant. To be honest, I was a little discouraged on that particular morning that we didn’t have more people at our prayer meeting! After all, it was the National Day of Prayer. But that’s when God reminded me that all it takes is a remnant. I stopped worrying about who had or hadn’t shown up. I started focusing on the promise of exponential potential when just two or three pray in His name!

I believe there is a remnant within every church, within every city. It’s time to rise up. It’s time for reformation. The next great awakening won’t be the result of a planning meeting. Just as it was for Pentecost, it will be birthed in a prayer meeting.

Since the National Day of Prayer, I’ve been circling 2 Kings 19:30. I believe it’s a promise for our generation, for every generation.

We will bear fruit above! Heaven will be populated because of our prayers. But the root of revival is prayer. We’ve got to press into the presence of God as never before. Like the members of the Order of the Mustard Seed, we must covenant to seek^f God with all our heart and soul.

An Eviction Notice

In the 1950s, Argentina was a spiritual wasteland. According to Dr. Edward Miller, a missionary who spent four decades in Argentina, there were only six hundred Spirit-filled believers in the entire country. In his book Cry for Me Argentina, he describes the genesis of a revival that started in Argentina and swept across South America.

It began with fifty students at the Argentine Bible Institute who developed an intense prayer burden for the nation of Argentina. Dr. Miller said he had never seen people weep so hard or pray so long. Day after day, they wept and prayed. After hours of intercession, students would literally be standing in their own puddle of tears.

On the fiftieth day of around-the-clock intercession, there was a prophetic word. “Weep no more, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed over the prince of Argentina.” Eighteen months later, hundreds of thousands of Argentines were flocking to crusades at soccer stadiums. The largest stadiums, seating 180,000 people, weren’t large enough to handle the crowds.

Dr. Miller came to this conclusion:

We never know how or when or where a move of God might begin. But if we hit our knees, God will extend His mighty right hand on our behalf. If we lay a foundation of prayer, God will build something spectacular on top of it. If we intercede like never before, God will intervene like never before.

When the prayer meeting becomes the most important meeting, revival is around the corner.