I have been thinking a lot about revival lately. 

Maybe it’s the articles I’ve been seeing coming out of the UK – detailing how church decline has not only stopped, but church attendance is greatly increasing, especially among younger people. Or maybe it’s me still processing the outpouring at Asbury University that took place a few years ago. 

Or perhaps it’s the youth conferences in Canada that I help run – where this month alone, I witnessed (with my own eyes) over 1,500 students make a commitment to Jesus and choose to follow Him forever. 

Revival… I want to see it happen. 

I have the word written down on one of the front pages in my Bible, followed by multiple exclamation marks – Revival!!! – reminding me to pray each day for revival to come to my nation. 

I pray for that regularly, but if I’m honest, I’m still not 100% sure what that would look like. Will I notice it if it comes? Could it already be here? 

In my work running conferences for youth across Canada, I’ve started to see high school students hungrier for encounters with Jesus than ever before. I’ve heard stories of atheist kids being dragged to one of our conferences, only to end up weeping and receiving the love of God for the first time. Kids are starting Bible studies in their schools. They’re being freed from shame and addiction. Many feel like God is calling them into ministry. Story after story. Testimony after testimony.

I don’t know if it’s revival, but I know God is doing something. And I don’t want to miss it. 

But what about when the youth conference is over and the students go home? I thought about this a lot after the Asbury Outpouring seemed to be done. What happens to the sparks of revival when it feels like the event has finished? 

Faithfulness.

When the students go home, and the conference is over… when the hype has died down, and you’re no longer surrounded by thousands of people… something still remains: faithfulness. 

I have come to believe that revival starts and is spurred on by faithful acts of obedience to Jesus every single day. I think it’s not only about having moments of inspiration at an event – though God often uses events to encounter and impact us deeply – but also about faithfully following Jesus for the long haul. As Eugene Peterson wrote, following Jesus is a “long obedience in the same direction.” 

I see the way Jesus is wooing this next generation into discipleship to Him. I see it at each event our team runs, and I am profoundly touched by the power of God on display before my own eyes.

But I also want to seek Him on the mundane days where revival seems far away. 

I want to pray in quiet mornings, even when I don’t feel like waking up.

I want to fast, even on the days when it feels painful.

I want to repent, even on the days when all I want is to hide my sin from God.

I want a pure heart and to see God’s Kingdom come to earth as it is in Heaven.

Don’t you? 

I actually believe that revival is coming — and that God’s Spirit is ready to unleash and do something I have never seen in my lifetime. 

And until that day comes, I’ll keep praying for it. 

The thing I do know for sure, though, is that I can spend every day of my life faithfully following Jesus, regardless of what I see around me. If you trace the origins of revival, you’ll discover the faithful disciples of Jesus who just kept on following Him, even when they weren’t sure if revival would come.

I’ll keep praying and interceding for my nation, and until that day comes, I’ll keep choosing faithfulness. 

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