Found myself thinking of this revival story, from the island of Lewis, as related by Duncan Campbell:

Some of the office bearers of the church in Barvas, had felt the call to pray for revival, like a covenant made and accepted before God. While they knelt in prayer before God in a barn, as they had been doing for about a month and a half,  a young man, a deacon of the church,  arose and read Psalm 24:3-5: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD”

Having read these words, he looked at those praying with him and said, “Brethren, it seems to me to be so much humbug, met as we are met, to be praying as we are praying, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God!” He  began to pray thus: “Lord, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” He and the others praying with him fell to their knees in the straw, in what they called “A trance.” At that moment, a power was let loose which shook Lewis. The effect?  “God seemed to be everywhere!”

“GOD SEEMED TO BE EVERYWHERE!” Of course He is everywhere, the whole earth is filled with his glory. Revival is the scandal of particularity of Christ being repeated. God is everywhere, but He became incarnate in Bethlehem in Jesus. God is everywhere, but in revival He comes in extraordinary power. His glory is everywhere, the whole earth indeed is filled with his glory, but in revival people become awakened to the knowledge of the glory of God everywhere in a glorious, fearful and inescapable way. They are on God’s earth, breathing God’s air, working, praying, sinning, repenting in His presence. In gatherings of the church, He is there. On the hillside, He is there. In the home, He is there. In the work place, He is there, not just as a theological truth, but as palpable immediate presence which men and women must wrestle with in a mixture of agony and joy.

But note the beginning of things.”Lord, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?”  You can be sure if or when Revival happens,  someone somewhere alone in private or together with others has asked that question.

God Bless

Kenny