Revival yearnings are widespread in the church today, but Raymond Ortlund Jr. believes that we still need to give more attention to the Bible itself in the matter of authentic revival.
One reason for this is that we need the discernment which only the Bible can give, to enable us to tell the difference between what’s valuable and what’s cheap. Otherwise we may squander our heavenly Father’s good gifts. Another reason is that our expectations of God may be too small, our desires too shallow. The biblical vision of our God is breathtaking. We need to enlarge and deepen our grasp of what God can do – and what we must do.
Dr Ortlund’s ultimate aim is to persuade us that revival is a valid biblical expectation, and so to motivate us to pray that God will rend the heavens and come down in our generation. Above all, he wants us to be encouraged in God: we need never give up or give in, because he remains committed to the glory of his own holy name in this world.