“Revive us, and we will call upon Your name” (Psalm 80:18b).
Dear Praying Friends:
Asaph, the writer of this and other psalms in this series, laments the devastating effects of God’s judgment upon the nation because of their sins. God’s enemies have totally laid waste the land he had given to his people. Asaph he asks for restoration, deliverance from their foes, and new life = revival.
His prayer applies to us in several ways: Christians in many lands now suffer from terrible persecution and deadly attacks from the enemies of Christ. The Christian church in our country is despised for its stand on ethical issues, distracted by political strife, wracked by division, afflicted with heresies and false doctrine, and sorely compromised by worldliness, sexual immorality, and idolatry.
As individual believers, we also lament our repeated defeats at the hands of our spiritual enemies: the allurement of the world, the deceptions of Satan, and our own distorted loves. As a result, our praises are feeble and faint, and our prayers lack passion and power.
How we need revival! Only a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit can liberate us from our spiritual lassitude and captivity to self.
“Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” (Psalm 80:3, 19).
Yours in his renewing grace,
Wright