Message from Ron Prentice - September 3, 2010

A call to prayer and fasting is coming from a united – yet diverse– contingent of Christian leaders. The call to “Pray & Act” is set to take place from September 20 – October 30 – forty days in all. The objective of this concerted prayer effort is to seek God’s transforming work in the lives of America’s people, to protect life, marriage, and religious freedom. Catholics, Presbyterians and Pentecostals are among those asking us to participate in this call for revival.

As a curious high school student, new in my faith, I saw an ad in the local paper for a tent revival at a church in our town. So I dragged a couple of friends with me to get a taste of “revival.” True to the ad, the church had constructed a large tent, and laid straw down on the asphalt floor. Of the number of chairs set up only a fraction of those were neeeded.

The music started and people were out of their chairs, “singing” at the top of their lungs. When a man at the pulpit was praying, people in the audience were talking too, and I thought that was rude, especially when I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. And then a still, small voice came to me, saying, “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.” 

What I most remember about the preacher that night was he was really loud. And when all was said and done, the event was over, and as far as I could tell, nothing was revived.

Historically, real revivals are marked by people and communities undergoing genuine transformation. One of the first revivals took place when Jonah walked through the streets of Ninevah and proclaimed “Forty more days and Ninevah will be overturned.” And in the blink of an eye, “the Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.“ When God saw the response of the people, he gave(?) compassion. (Jonah 3)

Jonah didn’t have much to do with the transformation of the city of Ninevah other than to finally show up! In fact, he desired and expected the city’s destruction, and fell into deep despair when it didn’t happen. 

Regardless of your expectation for California or America’s future, or your particular theological bent, Pray & Act is a call to “show up” for God. Some revivals have occurred quietly, while others have been wildly demonstrative. What is most important is a renewed commitment to seek God. The results of real revival are consistent over history: people repent of wrongdoing; families are restored; communities return to moral authority; and the Church returns to dependence on its Lord.

So far, over 700,000 people have pledged to pray and act for forty days. I invite you to join with us, as we seek transformation from its ultimate Source.

Sincerely,
Ron Prentice