THE HUNGER FOR REVIVAL

THE WORDS OF TRUTH WEEKLY DIGEST
Nov 8th, 2025

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THE HUNGER FOR REVIVAL

Ministers’ & Workers’ Retreat Teaching

Main Text:

Psalm 85:6 – “Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?”

Supporting Scriptures:

• Habakkuk 3:2
• Isaiah 57:15
• 2 Chronicles 7:14
• Hosea 10:12
• Joel 2:12-13
• Matthew 5:6
• Acts 2:1-4
• Revelation 3:15-20

OBJECTIVES OF THE SESSION

By the end of this teaching, every minister and worker should:

1. Understand what true revival means from a biblical and spiritual standpoint.
2. Recognize the symptoms of spiritual dryness and loss of hunger.
3. Identify the conditions and requirements for revival.
4. Develop a personal and corporate hunger for a move of God.
5. Commit to the process of maintaining revival in their ministries and personal lives.

INTRODUCTION

Revival is not a church program — it is God’s divine visitation to the hearts of men, awakening what has died, rekindling lost passion, and restoring the fear of God.
The hunger for revival is the holy dissatisfaction that refuses to settle for routine religion without the presence of God.

No revival ever began in comfort or complacency.
When God’s people lose their hunger, heaven withholds the rain. But when we begin to cry again, “Lord, we cannot continue without You!”, revival fire is kindled.

SECTION 1: WHAT IS REVIVAL?

1. Definition

• Revival is the restoration of divine life, power, and passion in God’s people (Psalm 85:6).
• It is a renewed manifestation of God’s presence and a return to first love (Revelation 2:4-5).
• It is God’s visitation that awakens dead consciences, rekindles prayer, holiness, and evangelism (Habakkuk 3:2).

2. Characteristics of True Revival

• Deep conviction of sin (Acts 2:37).
• Genuine repentance and restitution.
• Renewed hunger for God’s Word.
• Fervent prayer and worship.
• Passion for lost souls.
• Restored unity and love among believers.
• Manifestation of spiritual gifts in holiness.

SECTION 2: THE HUNGER THAT PRECEDES REVIVAL

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” — Matthew 5:6

1. Hunger is the Proof of Spiritual Life

A dead man feels no hunger. Spiritual hunger is the evidence of life in the spirit. When hunger dies, revival dies.

2. The Hunger for Revival is:

• A restless desire to see God glorified again.
• A holy discontent with spiritual dryness and religious routines.
• A burden that drives intercession and weeping before God (Joel 2:12-17).
• A refusal to accept the absence of divine presence in worship and ministry.

3. Signs That Hunger Is Missing:

• Prayer becomes mechanical.
• Preaching becomes professional.
• Holiness becomes optional.
• Sin becomes tolerated.
• Evangelism becomes neglected.
• The presence of God becomes rare.

SECTION 3: BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF REVIVAL HUNGER

Example	Description	Reference
Jacob	“I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me” – hunger for encounter.	Gen. 32:24–30
Hannah	Bitter soul prayer that provoked divine remembrance.	1 Sam. 1:10–20
David	“My soul thirsteth for Thee…”	Ps. 63:1–2
Isaiah	“Woe is me!” encounter that birthed renewal.	Isa. 6:1–8
Disciples	Tarried in Jerusalem until filled with power.	Acts 1:8; 2:1–4
Ezra & Nehemiah	Weeping and returning to covenant obedience.	Neh. 8–9

Each of these examples shows hunger leading to divine visitation.

SECTION 4: CONDITIONS FOR REVIVAL

1. Brokenness of Heart – Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15
2. Repentance from Sin – 2 Chronicles 7:14
3. Fervent Intercession – Habakkuk 3:2; Joel 2:17
4. Unity Among Believers – Acts 2:1
5. Obedience to God’s Word – John 14:21
6. Restoration of Holiness – 1 Peter 1:15-16
7. Return to First Love – Revelation 2:4-5

SECTION 5: MAINTAINING REVIVAL FIRE

• Maintain daily fellowship with God (Prayer, Word, Fasting).
• Build an altar of personal and corporate devotion.
• Avoid spiritual pride and complacency.
• Remain accountable to spiritual authority.
• Keep the flame of evangelism alive.
• Continually seek fresh filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

SECTION 6: HINDRANCES TO REVIVAL

• Pride and self-sufficiency.
• Unconfessed sin and hidden offenses.
• Coldness in prayer and the Word.
• Worldliness and love of comfort.
• Division and strife among brethren.
• Neglect of the Holy Spirit.

SECTION 7: THE FRUITS OF REVIVAL

When revival comes:

• Worship becomes alive.
• Souls are saved and restored.
• Churches overflow with unity and holiness.
• Ministers regain vision and passion.
• Communities experience transformation.
• God’s glory becomes tangible again.

ILLUSTRATIONS

1. The Dry Well

A missionary once found an old well that had dried up. On digging, he discovered that the water was still there, the channel had only been blocked.
Likewise, revival does not bring a new God; it simply reopens the blocked channels of His presence.

Lesson: Revival begins when we allow the Spirit to dig out our pride, sin, and unbelief.

2. The Boiling Pot

A pot of water left on low heat will never boil. But when the fire is turned up, it boils over.
So it is with revival, only intense hunger and prayer can ignite the boiling point of divine presence.

Lesson: Lukewarm desire never births revival; only burning hunger does.

CALL TO REPENTANCE AND COMMITMENT

Let every minister and worker search their heart:

• Have I lost my hunger?
• Am I content with programs without power?
• Have I neglected the secret place?

Let the cry of our heart be:
“Lord, revive me again, that Your fire may burn in me and through me!”

PRAYER POINTS

1. Lord, forgive me for every complacency and spiritual coldness.
2. Father, restore my hunger for Your presence.
3. Rekindle the fire of prayer, worship, and holiness in me.
4. Let every barrier to revival in my life and church be broken.
5. Breathe upon every dry bone in our ministry again.
6. Pour out Your Spirit upon our ministers, workers, and leaders.
7. Ignite fresh passion for souls and holiness.
8. Let revival fire sweep through our families, altars, and pulpits.
9. Lord, make me an instrument of revival in my generation.
10. Father, let the glory of the latter house surpass the former, in the name of Jesus.

HYMNS

Hymn 1: “Revive Us Again” – William P. Mackay (1863)

(Public domain hymn)
Key Lines:

“Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.”

Hymn 2: “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour” – Fanny J. Crosby (1868)

Key Lines:

“While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.”

Hymn 3: “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” – Edwin Hatch (1878)

Key Lines:

“Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine.”

CLOSING DECLARATION

Lord, we declare that the fire will not go out again!
We will seek You until You come and rain righteousness upon us.
Let Your glory dwell among us once more.
Revive us, O Lord, and let it begin with me.
In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen!