Gather the People: Why Revival Needs a Sacred Assembly

Private repentance is necessary, but Professor Gary Maxey does not stop there. He writes that revival also needs a gathering of the people.

Joel's trumpet

In his book on why revival tarries, Professor Maxey turns to Joel 2. The prophet calls the people to blow the trumpet in Zion, to consecrate a fast and call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders and the children. Even the bridegroom was to leave his room. Let the priests weep between the porch and the altar.

Professor Maxey draws a clear point. Joel knew that if his people were to know genuine revival there needed to be strong collective determination.

What collective repentance looks like

He says revival often begins when a group of people deeply sense their need, perhaps in a state of lukewarmness. They use language like Isaiah and Daniel, who prayed in the first person plural. They are not praying about outsiders. They share the burden of their common need and clear the ground of the debris of false teaching together.

He also recalls that in the 1858 to 1859 revival, especially in America, the movement came largely from lay people moved to meet and call on God. Leadership is helpful, he adds, but it is not the only way revival begins.

A model from his own life

He took part in a season of prayer in Port Harcourt in 1983 and 1984 in which believers prayed together for more than three months, in one accord. There was no general leader. Mealtimes were frequently skipped. The prayer became laser-focused, and he reports mighty revival blessings as a result.

What to do in your setting

If you lead, call your church to a time of fasting and honest confession, without a program or guest. If you do not lead, ask two or three others to meet weekly. Agree on one rule: no one speaks about anyone not present. Pray for the sins of your own fellowship, and use the word we.

Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.