I went onto Google yesterday afternoon or evening and googled “Prayer for Revival” or “Praying for Revival” and one of the first “hits” to come up was a mention of a treatise by Jonathan Edwards called, “AN HUMBLE ATTEMPT TO PROMOTE PRAYER FOR REVIVAL” (1746).  I haven’t read the entire work (I’ve only read a few paragraphs) but part of the entire work can be found at the following link:

http://www.revival-library.org/catalogues/miscellanies/prayer/edwards.html

What struck me was the text which Edwards used as the basis of his treatise and also some of the striking language which he used in terms of his belief that the Lord would move on the basis of “extraordinary” prayer…

We may observe who they are that shall be united in thus seeking the Lord of   hosts:  the inhabitants of many cities, and of many countries, yea, many people, and strong nations, great multitudes in different parts of the world shall conspire in this business.  From the representation made in the prophecy, it appears rational to suppose, that it will be fulfilled something after this manner:-  There shall be given much of a spirit of prayer to God’s people, in many   places, disposing them to come into an express agreement, unitedly to pray to God in an extraordinary manner, that he would appear for the help of his church, and in mercy to mankind, and pour out his Spirit, revive his work, and advance his spiritual kingdom in the world, as he promised.  This disposition to prayer, and union in it, will gradually spread more and more, and increase to greater degrees; with which at length will gradually be introduced a revival of  religion, and a disposition to greater engagedness in the worship and service of  God, amongst his professing people.  This being observed, will be the means of awakening others, making them sensible of the wants of their souls, and exciting in them a great concern for their spiritual and everlasting good, and putting them upon earnestly crying to God for spiritual mercies, and disposing them to join in that extraordinary seeking and serving of God.  In this manner religion shall be propagated, till the awakening reaches those that are in the highest stations, and till whole nations be awakened, and there be at length an accession of many of the chief nations of the world to the church of God.  Thus after the inhabitants of many cities of Israel, or of God’s professing people, have taken up and pursued a joint resolution, to go and pray before the Lord, and seek the Lord of hosts, others shall be drawn to worship and serve him with them; till at length many people and strong nations shall join themselves to them; and there shall, in process of time, be a vast accession to the church, so that it shall be ten times as large as it was before; yea, at length, all nations shall be converted unto God.  Thus (Zech 8:23.) “ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, of the skirt of him that is a Jew,” (in the sense of the apostle, Rom 2:28-29.) “saying, We will go with you; for we have heard, that God is with you.” And thus shall be fulfilled, (Psalm 65:2) “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”

The text which Edwards used was as follows:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.  (Zechariah 8:20-23 KJV)

Edwards believed that this had not yet occurred in his day…

I believe that it has not yet occurred in our day also…

But it is near…

And it will happen in our day…

The Lord has turned again to His Nation, the Nation of Israel…

I have sensed this in the spirit (the spiritual realm)…

His Nation, the Nation of Israel will take root below and bear fruit above as the scripture says…

Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. (Isaiah 37:31 NIV)

It will; the time of her sadness – her widowhood – is nearly over – it is over already in the spirit (the spiritual realm) and will soon be seen to be over in the natural…

The Land of Israel is soon to receive her salvation…

Before her King “cometh unto her” she will see the greatest Revival in the history of mankind – the turning of the whole earth (in the purposes of God this was always the meaning of her existance) to Himself…

He created the Nation of Israel as a light to the nations, He wanted her to pray for the salvation of the nations and He wanted her to adopt the nations into her “fold” to seek the Lord together with her in the House of the Lord…

But the place for the Gentiles was “marred”, it was not recognised although the Lord repeatedly put it on the hearts of His Prophets to go to the nations with prophecies which would turn them back to Him – although He did all this the Nation of Israel did not fulfil her mandate to become  a house of prayer for all nations…

He was grieved when He was on earth to see how far they had fallen below what He had intended for them…

So grieved that we see a single display of aggression from the Holy God Himself in the act of making a whip from cords and overturning the tables and throwing out the moneychangers from His Father’s House which had been intended to be called a house of prayer for all nations…

This is the passion with which the Holy God of the Universe has towards the salvation of the nations of the world…

He is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe as the scripture tells us…

And He loved the world so much that He came in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sin which we deserved to pay…

When He came to His Own and His Own received Him not He said this…

“Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'” (Luke 13:35 NASB)

Scripture tells us this…

Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.” (Isaiah 62:11 NASB)

And this is what we are about to see…

From the end of the earth we are about to hear a statement, a loud and clear statement, from the end of the earth, where the Nation of God should have come to preach the Gospel, from the end of the earth, a Prophetic Statement will be heard back to the Nation of God, “Lo, your salvation comes”…

It will be heard, I am speaking in the Spirit, it will be heard, I know this in my spirit, Praise You Jesus, It will be heard…

From the nation of New Zealand, from the end of the earth, the Prophetic Statement will go back to the Nation of God, “Lo, your salvation comes”…

And it has…

Their salvation has come…

The Lord’s attention has turned back to His Nation…

What will this mean?

This will be the salvation of the world…

The Prophetic Word which was spoken by Zechariah in this text which Jonathan Edwards preached on will come to pass in our day…

This text is not in the Millenium…

It will come to pass in our day…

Before He comes to Reign from Jerusalem…

Before the Fullness of the Gentiles has come in, in fact this text shows us the Fullness of the Gentiles being brought in as the Nation of Israel returns to its Husband, to its soon and coming King, to its Bridegroom, to its Redeemer and to its Lord…

Jesus Christ….

He said it would happen and it will happen…

He is not going to let a Single Word which He Spoke (He is the Word of God) return to Him Void, His Honour is at stake…

He has Spoken and He will fulfil every single word which He has Spoken…

There is a Nation which needs to be saved now…

This is not what we read of in Zechariah 12 – that day is yet future (and occurs just before the Millenium begins)…

This is also not what we read of in the early part of Micah 4 – that time is yet future (in the Millenium)…

 This is, I believe, what we read of in Romans 11…

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. (Romans 11:11-16 NASB)

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead…

This is what I am seeing coming to pass at this point in time…

Their acceptance and this resulting in what we see prophesied in Zechariah 8:20-23…

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” (Zechariah 8:20-23 NASB)

Where “pray” in the KJV is interpreted “entreat the favour of the Lord” in the NASB…

“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3 NASB)

This scripture is about to be fulfilled in our lifetime…

The Nation of Israel will experience this scripture in our lifetime…

And as they do, the nations of the earth will be drawn to the Lord to experience His Salvation as He always intended…

O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. (Psalm 65:2 KJV)

Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, commenting on Psalm 65:2, said this…

…it may be considered as a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their calling upon God through Christ, and of their coming to God in his house, which was to be, and is, an house of prayer to all people, ( Isaiah 56:7 ) ( Zechariah 8:21-23 )

I really sense that verse 20 of Zechariah 8 could occur anywhere around the world – like an organisation of the nations to come together to unify in their intent to go and seek the Lord together with their brothers and sisters in the Lord in Jerusalem – and then verse 21 is what occurs when they get there – kind of like a delegation sent from the nations to agree with the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem…

As we seek the Lord together He will pour out the blessing “life forevermore” upon the nations of the earth…

There will be Revival…

Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12 NASB)

It is time to seek the Lord until He comes…

Seek and you shall find…

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? (Luke 18:7 NASB)