2 Chron 7:14 defines how revival begins. It begins when the people of God understand their identity and the identity of God, that they have wronged Him and begin to humble themselves:
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
But what is humbling? Today it is mostly a lost art in the Church. What does the Bible teach?
1.Humbling is fasting
When Haman orders the extermination of the Jews, Mordecai, the Jews and Esther just fasted. The Bible doesn’t say that they fasted and prayed. Why? Because the key was the humbling. It is a type of positional prayer. That is we throw ourselves at the mercy and compassion of the Lord. It’s more waiting upon the Lord for His answer because of His great covenantal love (Hebrew=Hesed) and mercy. Fasting is an expression of our dependence on God and trust in only Him to fulfil our needs. God already knew the request of the Jews. He didn’t need 3 days of intercession about the need. What gained His attention was their humbling and dependence.
Esther waited for 3 days in this position of humbling! Daniel much longer. In Dan 10:2 he waited in this state for 21 days until the answer came!
Even after all of this Esther also needs to wait and persist some more after the humbling. She waits another two days to make her request to the King and even after the King kills Haman, Esther has to persist with her request until the answer is complete.
2.Humbling is confession of sins
Nehemiah did this in his prayer in Neh 1 when he heard about the dire situation of Jerusalem.
“I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.”
He not only confessed the wickedness of his fellow Israelites, whose behaviour had led to the dire situation, but also his own sins and those of his family.
This is true humbling. The result of this was a personal revival that led to a corporate revival much later when he arrived in Jerusalem (see Neh 8-9) when all the people began to weep and confess their sins.
3.Humbling is sackcloth
In the Old Testament, the people expressed their humbling by wearing sackcloth and ashes. For example, Daniel did this in Dan 9 when he wanted to plead the case of his people to return to Jerusalem (Dan 9:3). It showed submission and self-abasement. Even kings did it, showing that they could do nothing. Only God could save them!
Today no-one does this. This was a cultural expression of humbling. Today, we can express this in other ways. For example, not watching TV or internet, kneeling before God or lying prostrate before Him.
Some may argue that fasting or sackcloth or kneeling are juts external things. What matters is what happens inside our hearts. The humbling of our hearts. But the important point is this. When we begin to use these external things, they help also to position our hearts. The heart response is backed up by action that reinforces the humbling.
This kind of humbling is essential to see revival in our own lives and in our communities or nations.
See also “How Divine Awakenings start” and also my book GRACE OUTPOURINGS: 21 DAYS REVIVAL DEVOTIONAL which is a devotional based on past revivals to lead us into greater intimacy with God, humbling and seeing God act powerfully.