When you discover the story God is unfolding on the earth, it inevitably fills you with hope. It’s hard to stay discouraged when you see that God is still on His throne and is carrying out a master plan to bring all things under His rule and reign. Psalm 29:10 says: “The Lord sat enthroned at the flood, and the Lord sits as King forever.” The same God who reshaped the world through the flood is the same God who is shaping history today. Seeing this truth ignites hope in our hearts and creates expectation to see God move.
In 1904 a revival occurred in Wales that has shaped the Church around the world. Many denominations and churches trace their roots back to the influence of this early 20th century outpouring. The revival was led by 26-year-old Evan Roberts. For 12 years, from ages 14 to 26, he established a secret-place lifestyle with the Lord. He was in the word and in prayer. He separated himself, and the Lord spoke to him in those years about the revival that was coming. His encounters in the secret place awakened his heart with hope of national transformation. As a result, his prayers of great faith moved heaven.
We need an entire generation awake to what God can do and all the possibilities that flow from His ability. We are often more aware of what the Enemy can do than what God can do. We need to stop being impressed with darkness. We need to find out what God intends to do in our lifetime. And we need to become impressed with that. When the Lord begins to show you what is possible, faith and hope are released into your life and instil fresh conviction in your prayers, which ultimately moves the heart of God.
Sometimes in prayer meetings I can tell that no one is praying with conviction. It’s clear that the people praying don’t know who they are in God. Their prayers feel dutiful and half-hearted. It sounds good to say: “God, change my city.” But when the Lord speaks to you in the inner room, you move from half-hearted prayers to passionate, whole-hearted cries: “God, you told me you’d awaken an entire generation in my nation. You said that entire cities could be saved, that we would see transformation.” You begin to intensely focus on and feel passionate about what He spoke to you, not only for your city and nation, but for your life.
Do you know who changes nations? People who are driven by a word from God. If you want to become driven by the word of the Lord in your life, then you need to intentionally, deliberately, commit to the inner room. That is where God wants to develop your life and bring clarity, authority and focus to your role in His story. Lasting fruit that brings change to the world starts in the inner room of prayer.
This is an extract from Banning’s new book, Rooted, published in 2016 and available here.