Day Seven "The Pursuit of Revival"

“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my souls thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” [Ps. 63:1]

Part of the pursuit of revival is God awakening within us a passionate hunger and thirst for more of Him. David was such a man. He longed for more of God. There is always more of God to be pursued.

David made God the object of his relentless pursuit. Today the church makes other things the objects of their relentless pursuits. Whether it is accumulating wealth, possessions, success in the job market, or the accomplishments of our children and grandchildren, these become our pursuits. How many people do you know for whom God is their ultimate passion and object of relentless pursuit? Let me go a step further. When you look in the mirror are you such a person?

We have been duped by commercials and by the god of this age. We truly believe things down here will bring us ultimate satisfaction and give so much of ourselves to chasing those things. They never satisfy. Not a raise. Not new homes, vehicles, or gadgets. Not relationships, clothes, education, championships, accolades, or fame.

David had it all. David’s defeat of Goliath made him a legend. He had riches, power, wives, and yet one fateful night he threw all of that away to pursue sin with Bathsheba. It cost him dearly. Listen to David when he says, “My soul thirsts for You and my flesh yearns for You, God.” This is the burning need in the church today. We need men and women who cry out from the depth of their hearts, “I am not satisfied. I yearn for more of you in my life. I have an unquenchable thirst to know you more intimately.” Is that your burning desire?

Revival will have come when we yearn for God more than anything in our innermost being and are willing to pursue Him at all cost. A.W. Tozer stayed up all night on a train and wrote a book which is now a classic entitled, The Pursuit of God. For Tozer those were more than words. He truly lived His life in pursuit of more knowledge of God. Like the Psalmist, may the Lord move us to live and pray, “As the deer pants for water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God”. [Ps. 42:1]

Only God can create that hungering and thirsting in our souls. We cannot will ourselves to do it. Our flesh will get in the way. As we cry out for God to develop this in us, we can no longer be satisfied with lesser blessings. God Himself is the ultimate blessing. He is the prize, the treasure, the reward we should go after.

“O God, I plead with you to awaken a hunger than can never be satisfied and an inward thirst for you that will never be quenched. May we find such joy and fulfillment in this holy pursuit it inspires us to pursue you with greater intensity. I ask you to allow us to find you, to enjoy you, to taste you, to experience you, and to know you. Then we will know revival has broken out in our lives as well as in the church.”

Steps to Revival

1. What do you most hunger and thirst for? Have you attained it? If so, how did it make you feel?

2. What is the object of your relentless pursuit? In what ways have you pursued this? What has it cost you?

3. Where does your hunger and thirst for God rank among all the other pursuits of your life? Do you need to reprioritize any of your pursuits?

4. Pray for God to awaken a hunger and thirst in your innermost being for Him.

5. How will you go about pursuing God? What disciplines will you incorporate into your life?

6. Close your time by rewording [Ps. 42:1] into a personal prayer.