Revival in our Hearts

🎧 Listen on the go: Audio Narrative

Revival in our hearts begins when God renews our passion, restores our focus, and draws us back into a deeper relationship with Him. This message explores how spiritual revival happens, how God revives dry seasons, and how we can position our hearts for renewed life through His presence.

Revival in Our Hearts

When we think of revival, we often think of moments when God’s Spirit intervenes in ordinary life and reveals the full potential of what a vibrant life in Him can look like. Revival awakens our hearts to God’s presence, power, and purpose. It is like God breathing fresh life into places that have become weary, distracted, or spiritually dry.

We love hearing stories of revival—such as what happened recently in Asbury, USA. People travel great distances just to encounter what they believe is revival. Some drive for hours, others fly across the country, just to spend time in an environment where hearts are stirred and people sense God moving in a deep and personal way. Our spirits are drawn to these moments because we were created for closeness with God. While these moments can be powerful, revival is not limited to a place or event—it can begin quietly, personally, and privately in our own hearts. As Christians, we long for God to speak to us powerfully and personally, and sometimes these stories awaken an expectancy for revival in our own cities and communities—yes, even here in Perth.

Yet there are seasons when we are not living to the fullest potential God has for us. This may be due to fatigue, unbelief, distraction, disappointment, or the weight of life’s circumstances. Sometimes we are simply tired and spiritually “flat.” Other times, we’ve been hurt, overwhelmed, or slowly drifted away from God without even noticing. At times, our spiritual life can feel dry—or even lifeless.

But God desires that we live abundant life.

📖 John 10:10 (NKJV)
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Jesus did not come merely to help us survive—He came to restore us to a vibrant, overflowing life in God. Abundant life does not mean a life without hardship. It means a life filled with God’s presence, strengthened by His Spirit, and anchored in His love—so that even in difficult seasons, we remain rooted and alive in Him.

Abundant life means God’s life sustaining us even when circumstances are difficult, not removing us from every difficulty.

What Do We Mean by Revival?

To revive means to bring back to life or to restore vitality. Spiritually, revival speaks of the Holy Spirit refreshing and renewing us—bringing us back to a place of surrender, hunger, passion, and responsiveness to God. Revival is not about hype. It is about life—God’s life filling us again.

When we speak of revival in our hearts, we are talking about our inner life—our spirit, mind, will, and emotions—being reawakened by God’s presence. It is the essence of who we are being restored to the life God intended.

In the original message, we also defined what we mean by “hearts.” The heart includes:

• our spirit (our deepest inner life),

• our thinking and mind,

• our will and choices,

• our emotions and soul,

• the core of who we are.

So revival in our hearts is not only emotional excitement—it is the renewal of the whole inner life. This means revival affects not just how we feel in a moment, but how we think, choose, and respond over time. God revives our devotion, our faith, our clarity, our courage, and our ability to pray and stand firm.

For revival to occur, we must first acknowledge that something has grown dry, weak, distracted, or divided. Revival begins with honest awareness and a desire for change. In fact, for someone to truly desire revival, they must first admit: something in me needs to come back to life.

Acknowledging dryness is not a sign of failure, but often the first step toward healing. Today, we focus on how our hearts can be revived so that we may live fully in God.

Ps Salome

Living Faith Community Church

Ps Salome is a leader dedicated to sharing the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Her heart is to help you move from a place of uncertainty into a confident, biblical expectation that is rooted in God's deep love for you.

"God invites us to live with hope—not because life is easy, but because He is faithful."

Drawing Near to God

Scripture gives us clear instruction on how revival begins.

📖 James 4:8 (NKJV)
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James is writing practical instruction for godly living. He teaches that revival begins with positioning—moving ourselves toward God. And the promise is beautiful: when we draw near to God, He draws near to us.

But James does not stop there. He immediately says:

• “Cleanse your hands” — speaking of our actions, habits, and choices.

• “Purify your hearts” — speaking of motives, desires, inner loyalties.

• “You double-minded” — a powerful phrase that implies being divided within ourselves, pulled in two directions. Being double-minded does not mean we are insincere—it means our hearts are tired, conflicted, or pulled by competing loyalties.

James is showing us that spiritual dryness often grows where hearts become divided—where we want God, but we also want to hold onto sin, self-will, or unbelief. Drawing near to God is not only coming closer in prayer; it also includes turning away from what is contaminating our hearts.

This is repentance: a turning away from and a turning to. It is not merely feeling sorry—it is re-aligning our hearts with God.

And James places this instruction in the context of practical Christian living. In other words: the only way we can live a truly godly life is when we draw near to God and allow the Holy Spirit to work deeply within us.

Choosing Whom We Will Follow

This call to wholehearted devotion is powerfully echoed in the story of Elijah.

📖 1 Kings 18:21 (NKJV)
“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

The people of Israel were torn between worshipping God and following Baal—a lifeless idol. Their divided hearts resulted in spiritual deadness. God sent Elijah to awaken them and call them back to true worship.

Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call on their god to send fire and consume their sacrifice. They cried out all day, but nothing happened—because Baal had no life in him. Then Elijah called on the living God. Even after the sacrifice was soaked with water, God answered with fire and consumed it completely.

This shows us something essential: when hearts are revived, it is because the living God responds. God is not a powerless idea. He is alive. He speaks. He moves. He intervenes.

Elijah stood alone against 450 prophets of Baal, yet God’s power prevailed. This reminds us that when God is with us, we are never truly alone.

There are times when we may feel isolated in prayer—especially when standing in the gap for our families or loved ones. But the same God who answered Elijah still answers His people today. Like Elijah, we must call on the name of the Lord and remain focused, not drifting between faith and unbelief.

It is when we take our eyes off God that we become distracted, overwhelmed, and spiritually dry. But when we draw near, God revives our strength and restores our focus.

In the original message, there was also a strong application here: seasons of family restoration require revived hearts. When God is calling families to healing and restoration, we need revived spirits to pray fervently, to stand in the gap, and to persist in faith. Revival strengthens us to keep standing—even when we feel like the only one.

Revival Through God’s Presence

King David understood the need for God’s nearness and renewal.

📖 Psalm 80:17–19 (NKJV)
“Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!”

David is praying for Israel’s restoration. He knows that revival is not produced by self-effort—it requires the hand of God and the presence of God. Notice the outcome David connects to revival: “Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.” Revival awakens prayer again. It awakens worship again. It awakens hunger again.

📖 Psalm 138:6–7 (NKJV)
“Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly… Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me.”

This verse is deeply comforting. God is high and holy, yet He regards the humble and draws near to them. He does not wait for the trouble to end before reviving us—He revives us in the midst of it. God’s nearness does not always change our circumstances immediately, but it changes us within them.

Seasons of Pruning and Growth

There are seasons when God seems distant, yet often He is closer than we realise. In hindsight, we can see how His grace carried us through hardship. At the time, we may feel dryness—like our heart is numb or our spirit is tired. But later we realise God was near.

Sometimes God is pruning us. When is the best time to prune a plant? Often in winter—when growth seems slow or invisible. But pruning is never done to destroy. It is done to prepare for stronger, healthier, more vibrant growth.

This is how it can be with us. When we go through “winter seasons,” God may be cutting away things that are damaging us—fear, bitterness, unbelief, unhealthy attachments, harmful thoughts—so that we can bear better fruit in the next season.

But pruning does not automatically equal growth. The key is still this: draw near to God. In pruning seasons, we must be reminded to draw near, so we don’t lose focus and become discouraged. Pruning can feel painful or confusing at the time, but its purpose is always restoration, never harm.

God’s Nearness in Personal Struggle

The years 2019 and 2020 were some of my greatest struggle years. In that season, I needed to stay in “the cleft of the rock.” One of the ways God helped me do that was through a song—Lauren Daigle’s “You Say.” That song reminded me of who I am in God. It became like a lifeline. I listened to it on repeat so much that my children got sick of it—but my spirit needed it.

In that season, God spoke to me about His unending love. My heart needed reviving, but I also needed to let go of negative things first. God needed to prune me before growth was possible. And He did it graciously and gently.

God was with me in the watches of the night when I could not rest. He was with me when my heart needed encouragement. He rescued me. He revived my heart.

This is important: we do not need information or intelligence to get through suffering or spiritual dryness. We need God’s grace, presence, and wisdom. And we often need others to walk with us—not to lecture us, but to love us and support us. God often revives us through community, reminding us that we were never meant to carry burdens alone.

God did not only give us instructions. He came near. He came in flesh. He walked with us. He revives us through relationship and presence.

Joy as a Reviver of the Heart

📖 Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV)
“A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”

Joy is not shallow happiness. Joy is a spiritual strength that keeps the heart alive. A broken spirit dries us out inside—but a merry heart brings life, healing, and resilience. Joy is often cultivated intentionally through gratitude, worship, and remembering God’s faithfulness.

Hope Beyond Dryness

Even Job, in deep suffering, held onto hope.

📖 Job 14:14–15 (NKJV)
“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.”

Job endured dryness and pain, yet he trusted that God would call his name. When our heart feels like it’s dying, we must remember the God who is beyond the grave. One day, He will call us into His eternal home. We shall live again. We shall be revived. This eternal hope gives us strength to endure present dryness without despair.

Dry seasons do not automatically produce growth; our response matters. Revival flows from honesty, repentance, nearness to God, and renewed hope.

Living in Ongoing Revival

The process of revival often looks like this:

• Being honest with where we are

• Drawing near to God through prayer, worship, meditation, and sometimes fasting

• Choosing joy and gratitude as spiritual medicine

• Surrounding ourselves with people who strengthen our faith

• Remaining devoted and prioritising God in the heart

And we can safeguard against dryness by staying planted near God’s life-giving presence.

📖 Psalm 1:3 (NKJV)
“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”

Remaining planted does not mean remaining unchanged—it means staying connected to the source of life. A life planted near the “rivers” of God’s presence remains nourished and fruitful. Even when seasons change, the leaf does not wither because the roots are still drawing life.

Gentle Reflection

What area of your heart needs revival today?
What disciplines do you need to put in place to draw near to God?
What area might God be pruning so that new growth is possible?
When you are revived in this area, what will you do to safeguard this growth?
Who are the “merry” people around you—those who strengthen your faith and help bring joy into your life?

And one more important question:
Is your revival needed not only for you, but for others—your family, your colleagues, and the community God has placed you in?

Revival is not reserved for special moments or distant places—it begins in surrendered hearts that seek God daily. As we draw near to Him, He is faithful to revive us, bringing renewed life, strength, and hope.

Let us pray for revival in our hearts, our families, and our community—trusting that God is always near and always ready to restore.