I just returned from a church leadership summit in South Africa. More than three hundred leaders gathered from nations in southern Africa and the Indian Ocean. I was blessed beyond measure as I listened to reports and testimonies. The spiritual vitality and enthusiasm at these meetings seems sadly lacking in many affluent Western countries.
What will it take to revive those who have slipped into a Laodicean apathy? Suffering? Persecution? Perhaps. Though some facing hardship just curse God and die. Without supernatural intervention we are all doomed. I am drawn to the prayer of the psalmist: “Answer me speedily, O LORD. My spirit fails—do not hide Your face from me. Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake” (Psalm 143:7,11, NKJV). This is my prayer today.