Heart Cry For Revival
By Sammy Tippit
Heart Cry for Revival – for many people attending the meetings held at Billy Graham’s training center, it was the theme for the week. For me, it was much more. It represented what was transpiring in my heart. I longed for a refreshing that comes from having been in God’s presence. In short, I needed revival.
My longing for a renewal in my life didn’t come from a deep conviction of some known sin in my life. It came from the same source that many Christian leaders face today. I was tired. I love God and have attempted to serve Him with my whole heart. Yet, I found myself exhausted in the midst of a successful international ministry. That’s why I cleared my calendar for the spring of 2006. The only event that I kept on my agenda was the Heart Cry conference.
Even though I was a speaker and our ministry was a co-sponsor of the event, that’s not why I attended. I desperately wanted God to work in my heart. I went to listen – to hear from God.
He spoke.
One day, Dr. Crawford Loritts led in the early morning prayer meeting. He said, "Let’s not take prayer requests this morning. Let’s just go to the Lord with what ever is on our hearts." That’s when God spoke to me. I had complained that I was tired because of the circumstances in my life during the past two years. My best friend had been killed in an automobile accident. The translator of my materials into one of the Afghan languages was kidnapped and murdered. I had been hospitalized twice during that period. And a man from Portugal contacted me saying that he had evidence that we were brothers.
I felt that the traumatic events that took place in a two year period were ample reasons to be weary in serving the Lord. However, that morning God spoke so clearly to my heart from His Word. I knew deep within that His Word is true and that I had been lying to myself about my condition. His Word said, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:31).
I had fainted. I had grown weary. Yet, His promise said that wouldn’t take place in my life. Either God was a liar, or I was. I came face to face with the truth. I had not been waiting upon the Lord in a manner that He desired. I had become so busy in a large international ministry that my time with God had suffered. That’s why I had grown weary. That’s why I had fainted.
I was broken and God worked deep repentance in my heart. I came out of that prayer meeting knowing that things would be different. I felt a need after the conference to spend three hours a day for seven days alone with God. My schedule didn’t permit that kind of time with God. However, I knew that I needed to rearrange my priorities. I could not allow "busyness" to rob me of refreshing that comes from the presence of God. Thus, I changed my schedule for that period.
I spent those seven days with God, and not only did refreshing come from His presence, but also a new vision. Joy began to replace weariness. Defeat was exchanged for victory. Revival filled my heart and my spiritual strength began to return. I was completely taken by surprise by a new vision that God gave me. He gave me a vision to challenge, teach, and train God’s people to pray for their families. He had done an extraordinary work in my own life and family during the past couple of years.
Consequently, I began writing a book, workbook, and producing a DVD called Praying for Your Family. I saw a need in North America to mobilize God’s people to pray for their families. As I worked on the materials, Christian leaders from around the world asked if they could translate them. As a result, we’ve launched Praying for Your Family in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Armenia, Angola, Iran, and one area of Mexico. The materials have been translated into Portuguese, Armenian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Farsi. Thousands of people in each of those nations and language groups have been impacted. Children have come to Christ. Prodigals have returned home. Husbands and wives have begun to pray together. Grace has been applied to broken relationships. God has moved. Revival has erupted in families in numerous nations.
It all began with a longing deep within my soul – a Heart Cry for Revival. We are planning another conference at Billy Graham’s training center, The Cove, in April 2008. I hope that many leaders will come with the same kind of longing in their hearts. I believe that God will meet with them, just as He met with me. If you are a leader who is weary, then come. If you know a Christian leader who is tired and has been through the fire, this is the conference for that leader. Help that pastor or leader to get there. I pray that hundreds of pastors and Christian leaders will experience "seasons of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord" and that new vision will emerge in their hearts just as it did in mine.