Psalm 85: 6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.
Revival must begin with me. We look around us and know that this great land of ours is in trouble. National debt, crime, homelessness, joblessness, stress, pain, and sorrow fills our streets. We have churches, TV ministries, Internet Ministries, Radio Ministries, and millions of Bibles available. Yet, what we need is a revival so that we might once more rejoice in God’s love. With so much available, we so often go about our busy lives with little thought of our Savior and Redeemer. TV becomes more important than our Bible. Prayer is that which we go through the motions before we eat or right before we go to bed and more often than not, only when we want something from God. If revival is to come, it must begin within the heart of each believer. Look at this verse as David prays for Israel (who so often got caught up in their pride-filled follies while ignoring the God of their salvation). We must each as individuals begin by developing a reverence for the magnificent Holiness of God so that we clearly see the sin in our own lives for what it is– an abomination against God. We must ourselves repent before Him and lay ourselves before Him as a Holy Sacrifice to denounce sin and put on His righteousness so that His Glory may dwell in our hearts and in our lands. Only then can we demonstrate where mercy and forgiveness have met with the perfect truth of God’s Justice, Holiness, and hatred of Sin as He took on our penalty. It is at the Cross of Christ where perfect righteousness with it’s condemnation of sin met with finding peace with God through His paying our penalty. So get rid of your pride and in humble obedient love follow after Christ. Only as we revive the heart within ourselves can we hope for revival in this our great nation. Then, God will guide us in the "way of his steps", "righteousness shall go before Him" and "the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase."