The Pacesetters Ministry Team praying at the 5th Anniversary dinner in 2017. Photo: Courtesy|facebook.com/dusabepeter.
Do you have a desire in your heart to see certain things happen in your lifetime? Have you taken off some time to think and possibly imagine what God would do in your life and through you to bring transformation in your community and generation?
Well, yesterday I received an email that stirred my heart towards this direction as I read the story that was featured. Doctor J. Edwin Orr, the greatest authority ever on revival in the church was a lecturer at Wheaton College. He took some students in 1940 on a brief visit to England, to visit the Epworth refectory where John Wesley was based. So, besides the bed on which Wesley slept were two worn impressions in the carpet where it was said that John Wesley knelt for hours in prayer for England’s social and spiritual renewal. As the students were getting on the bus, Dr. Orr noticed one of his students was missing. Going back upstairs, he found the student kneeling on the carpet knee-holes praying with his face on the bed. “Oh Lord, do it again! Do it again!” Dr. Orr placed his hand on the student’s shoulder and said gently, “Come on Billy, we must be going.” And rising, Billy Graham joined the bus.
What a story! God surely did it again in the lifetime of Billy Graham and this He did through the life and ministry of this man, who has been branded as the greatest evangelist of the 20th century. His heart was beating for a moral and spiritual renewal for his generation and the Lord surely answered his prayer. Can the Lord do it in our life as well? Oh yes, the Bible tells us that with God all things are possible, and so as we commit ourselves to earnest prayer God will answer this prayer. As I write this, my heart is likewise beating with an unquenchable desire for a moral and spiritual renewal for my generation.
A genuine conversion
I yearn for a genuine conversion of souls. At the advent of the East Africa revival in the late 1920s when Dr. Joe Church met with Simeon Nsibambi at Namirembe hill in 1929, there was a great move of the Holy Spirit and as these two men read the scriptures together, they reflected on the shallowness of their faith as they studied scriptures. The European repented of his racial pride and the African his tribal pride. This eventually sparked the revival across Uganda and in many parts of Africa. Thousands upon thousands came to the Lord in the years that followed, young and old, small and great alike. Those who practiced witchcraft and sorcery gave up all their elements and committed to following Christ and it was evident that society had been turned the right side up for Christ. While William Carey the father of modern missions was quick to trust God for great things, he was remarkably slow to accept a profession of faith from any new convert, even when there was substantial sacrifice involved. One of his sayings was “Let nothing short of a radical change of heart in your converts satisfy.”
Great reverence for God’s word
The Psalmist wrote, “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises” (Psalm 119:148), and “Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your word is not obeyed” (Psalm 119:136). I desire that Christians in my generation will study the holy scriptures with great reverence and walk in obedience. Not merely reading the Bible to pick out the promises of God that speak to their situations alone and yet live contrary to the demands of God.
A concern for the souls of men
The Bible says that “Lot, a righteous man, was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men…he was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (2 Peter 2:7-8). The Bible also says that our Lord Jesus Christ “had compassion on the people because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). I desire that Christians in my generation will be distressed and made uncomfortable by what’s going on in our broken world and that they will be moved to pray for our world and reach out to those in need without any reservation but with genuine love.
Boldness in proclaiming the word of God
I yearn to see that time in our generation where God’s people in my generation will proclaim God’s timeless truth with such a great boldness in their communities without any fear of offending anybody. The early Church was founded on this kind of boldness exercised by the early Christians during one of the most dangerous periods of ancient history. As a result of this boldness, many people came to the Lord including those in authority.
Lives of purpose and dedication
I ask of the Lord for that moment in my lifetime where Christians will live with steadfast commitment and purpose in their areas of influence and workplaces. When Wilberforce was elected to the British Parliament in 1780 at the age of 21, he purposely worked and dedicated himself toward the abolition of the slave trade, and in 1807, 20 years of the struggle against this evil trade, the Abolition Bill was passed in the House of Lords. William bent forward in his seat, his head in his hands, tears of gratitude streaming down his face that his long crusade had been crowned with success by Almighty God. William always believed, “If a man becomes a Christian, it should influence everything he thinks and does.”
Unity in the Church
Lastly, I desire that there comes a time in my lifetime where the Church of Christ comes together, laying aside our different notions, creeds and, denominational differences. That we shall be united by love and grace that is found in the Christ we preach to the world. The Bible says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common…Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…” (Acts 2:44-47).
That is my earnest desire and prayer to God Almighty, that by His mercies, I will live to see this in my lifetime!
Dusabe Peter is an author and the Executive Director of Pacesetters’ Initiative for Africa, an outreach and evangelistic ministry that seeks to point the generation to Christ. Find more of the ministry resources at dusabepeter.wordpress.com
